By Joe Berk
One of my favorite rifles (and one that is a lot of fun to shoot) is my Ruger GSR. I bought one when they first came out; my late buddy Jim Wile did the same. That was 14 years ago. Man, the years are flying by. It seems like it was just a few months ago.
The marketplace is the ultimate authority on what stays in production and what does not, and I guess the market has spoken. My GSR cost about $800 14 years ago, and even though I thought that was a bit pricey at the time, I felt it was still a good deal. I love shooting .308 and I especially love shooting the GSR with its open sights. It is accurate. With certain loads, it can keep five shots in an inch. It fits me like a glove. That was a over decade ago, though, when I was steadier and my eyes were better.
Nothing in this world stands still, however. The price of the GSR climbed to nearly $1500, and Ruger came out with lower cost alternatives on different rifle platforms with the black plastic furniture that’s so in vogue today with shooters who think they know everything (file under: there’s no accounting for some peoples’ tastes).
As one of the world’s largest and most successful firearms manufacturers, Ruger knows what it is doing. But that doesn’t change my feelings. I wish the GSR was still in production.
I’ve posted a number of stories on the GSR. Here are the links:
Ruger’s .308 GSR Rifle
Caldwell Shooting Accessories
Tipton Bore Guide
A Tale of Two Rugers
A Day At The Range
More gun stories? You bet!
Buy yourself (or a friend) a copy of The Gatling Gun.
Join our Facebook ExNotes page!
Never miss an ExNotes blog: