Clearly not Standard

The year was 1949. most of our soldiers had returned from Europe and Japan. Most were settling back into civilian life. One of them was not William Ruger. Ruger had contributed to the war effort. His designs for guns equipped our soldiers with cutting edge tools of war. now the war was over, and he continued to design guns. his first civilian project was dubbed the Standard. it was anything but. A simple knock off of the famous Japanese Nambu design, it was a unique weapon for its time. Ruger lacked money though, but to the rescue came an enterprising fellow, Alex Sturm. Sturm knew a good thing when he saw it, and he saw great things in the Standard. So great, that he plopped down capital to launch the pistol that launched the most successful firearms compant in America. Am I exagerating? I don't think so. The standard, also known as the Mark I, is the most successful target pistol in the world. It has undergone only a few changes. The Mark I is in fact not the same as the Standard. The Mark I is the first target version of this fantastic plinker.

The Ruger has a distinct look and appeal to it. When it was first intorduced, many people thought Ruger was a spelling error in the ads, and that it was in fact a new Luger. While looks are close, and feel is similar, this is by no means a German engineered weapon. Its America through and through.
I aquired my Standard in 1981. A quick glance will confirm that it is a newer one, not an early copy. I cannot tell you how many rounds I have put through it. I have worn out several magazines in the years of shooting I have enjoyed with it. Its not easy to wear out a magazine, let me assure you of that. The original models lacked a last round bolt stop. A modified follower took care of that, if you wanted it. Since the bolt closes as soon as the mag is withdrawn, I found them to be a waste of time, an extra round was much prefered. The MkII upgrade solved that issue.

One of the few drawbacks to the Standard thru MkII was the mag release. It was situated at the bottom of the grip, and could be a bugger to operate, expecially in cold weather. the new MkIIIs solved that problem.
Ruger offers many lines of guns. From competition rimfires like the Standard to cowboy action  shooting to home defense and Police lines, they touch every niche of firearms, all from a company that started in 1949.

The Standard remained virtually unchanged for 33 years. That, coupled with sales in excess of two million will confirm that Bill Ruger had a winner. It wasn't a standard, it set a NEW Standard.