Ruger GSR – The ExhaustNotes Blog

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

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Good buddy Mike was in town for a few days, and what better way to spend it than on the range ringing the gongs that good buddy Duane built for me. We had a blast. We’ve known each other since the 7th grade. Mike and I joke about who’s the better shot, and after our session at the West End Gun Club, that’s still an open question. The man can shoot (and so can I).

Mike wanted to stop at a nearby 5-11 outlet to pick up a few clothing items, and while we were there he pointed out the Black Rifle coffee. If you read the blog you know that I’m not a member of the Mattel crowd and I have negative interest in so-called black rifles. In fact, the closest thing I have to a black rifle is my Ruger GSR (it’s what you see Mike ringing gongs with above). It has a green and black laminate stock that Ruger calls black laminate, so I guess maybe it could be called a black rifle. The GSR is a fine weapon, and Mike and I were both making the gongs sing with those big 173 grain full metal jacket .308 bullets.

But I diverge. This blog is about Black Rifle Coffee and the company that makes it.

In a word, Black Rifle Coffee is great. I wish we had it when we rode across China, but like they say, better late than never. You know, they don’t drink coffee in other than the big cities in China, and staying awake on the bike was a challenge for me on that ride. But here at home I start every day with a cup of black coffee (the only way to drink it), and Black Rifle Coffee was rings my gong well.

Black Rifle Coffee is veteran owned and a portion of the profits go to veterans’ groups, police, and other first responders. That’s a good thing. And Black Rifle Coffee is a U.S. company. Reading the labels tells me that the owners have a sense of humor, too. That’s good. Good coffee and a good sense of humor make the world more fun, I think.

It’s good stuff, and it became my coffee of choice as soon as I had my first taste. Give Black Rifle Coffee a try. You can thank me later.

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