doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ruger Gold Label

If Ruger was real smart they would make the Gold in special runs of 1-2,000. First run would be 12 gauge. That has been done. Second run would be 20 gauge. Third would be 16 gauge the the last would be 28 gauge. One run per year or every other year. Repeat when the cycle is finished.

Back years ago, when Bill Ruger was running the show, he would take a chance on a special run like this. Several times he made his bolt action rifle in calibers that every gun writer in the world had written the final obit. on and he sold the entire run, in short order. Better than that he repeated the run several times.

With CNC machinery it should be fairly simple to run a product line for a few thousand copies and then move to another model. Not like he has to train five hundred workers to make a new gun each time. The goal should be to keep machine, men and profits up and running for as long as possible.

If Ruger had 1,000 Gold labels in 20 gauge, to deliver today, a large number of the RBL orders would be gone today. There is strong demand for a $2,000-2,500.00 20 gauge gun right now. Just that simple, if you can build the product people will buy American.

Ruger is getting just like Remington in they are letting the bean counters run the show and decide what they can and will build. That is bass-ackwards management. Figure out the demand, figure out how to build it and then get the bean counters into figuring out the price. Profit can only be made by building and selling.

I have a Gold Label and it fits me well enough. It has surprisingly nice wood. It is quite versatile given that it has Briley thin wall choke tubes, it will shooot steel, and it will handle 3 inch shells. I feel I certainly got a lot of gun for the money. I also have some fine European and American doubles that I use more often than the Gold Label, but in general they cost a lot more and are not as versatile nor as modern. I think Ruger deserves credit for accomplishing quite a lot with the gold label.

If Ruger had offered the GL with double triggers, I would have bought one in a nanosecond. If they had offered it in 16ga. and double triggers, I would have been the biggest Ruger fan in the world.

With all due respect, producing a decent double, at less than 3 large or so, even with CNC machinery, must be pretty tough to do-the list of companies doing it is pretty short. From all the blather here, and elsewhere concerning the RBL, I wonder if Tony G would do it all over again if he had the choice.
The thing about the Ruger stuff is, they will attempt to take care of you if you have a problem with the gun-customer service seems exemplary from them.
A Ruger Gold Label, with even just so so wood, in 16, with double triggers, would have suited me just fine as well. My own fixed choke Red Label went down the road many seasons past, one of the reasons being that single trigger and the silly safety that went hand in hand with it. But, the gun never failed to go bang, and, of course, never had to see a gunsmith. I don't think many of them do.
Best,
Ted

You can count me as another ex-Red label owner (28", 12 gauge, choke tubes) and my experience with it was one reason I never considered buying a Gold Label. The gun just never fit me well, though I shot maybe 45-50 rounds of skeet with it over a couple of years, I never did as well as I did with my other shotguns. It was 100% reliable, though despite being pretty heavy the felt recoil seemed worse than my other 12-gauge guns.

I think Ruger's decision to make the GL only as a 12 gauge single trigger model sealed its fate. Were it initially offered as a DT 16 or 20 gauge, maybe I (and apparently a number of others) might have given it a chance.

Ruger shouldn't have offered it at all in any combination. They were doing just fine with their Red Label, just clean it up a bit, slice some weight off of it and offer some if not all custom features. How about a 6 1/3 lbs. 12 gauge Red Label, how about a 5 3/4 lbs. 20 gauge Red Label!!!! Did the management at Parker suddenly wake up one morning and say we need to offer an over/under even though we know absolutely nothing about them!!!!
Foolish business decision they should just let the Gold Label die a good death and stick to what they know and know very well.........over and unders!!!!
All the best

I disagree with the comments about they should have stuck to o/u, I have a 28ga o/u and love it...Ruger should have done some market research, and got there ducks in a row before producing the gun they advertised for a year before anyone ever seen one! and yes I would have bought one in a hearbeat if in 20 or especially 28...

I disagree concerning Ruger's lack of market research re: the Gold Label. In 1976, I met Bill Ruger at the annual National Sporting Goods Show in Chicago. We had a discussion about doubles and specifically the Dickson round action. I learned that he personally owned a sleeved round action Dickson and admired the design. I wrote Bill a letter following up our meeting about the features that could be considered in a Ruger double, if ever manufactured. I still have a copy of the correspondence. One of his people answered my letter and commented that they felt that the market was not yet ready (1976)for a SXS Ruger. I feel certain that many other people also voiced similar requests.

Ten years later at another major sporting goods show, I learned from one of his people that Mr. Ruger had built a prototype SXS shotgun. I suspect that this eventually evolved into the Gold Label.

If that was the case (market not ready for a Ruger SXS in 1976) then why didn't they build a Ruger automatic shotgun? Good Lord, had they taken even 10% of just Remington's business over that time, the Ruger boat would be floating far higher than it is today.

As to market research, all I can say for sure is Ruger never asked me, or, it would appear, a LOT of the people who post here. Too bad. I'm of the firm opinion that a double trigger 16, instead of a single trigger, 6 1/3 lb 3" magnum 12 with choke tubes might have been a heck of a lot easier to build and sell.
Hell, I believe Klunk might have even bought one.
Best,
Ted

Ted, I talked to Bill Ruger at two different shows - years apart. We all know that he was an excellent businessman with very good product timing; example Ruger No.1 etc. - Ruger as a business is successful and has grown. Secondly, Bill Ruger Sr. was a traditionalist and was interested in doubles. I do not consider myself as the end all of knowledge here. No - I've never owned a Ruger product. The Gold Label does interest me however. Other than the mere $40K selling price of the cased show gun they had at the Vintagers 3 years ago, go I.