Ruger Gold Label

Last updated
Ruger Gold Label
Type Double barreled shotgun
Place of originUnited States
Production history
Manufacturer Sturm, Ruger
Produced2002 – 2006
Specifications
Mass6½ pounds
Length45½ inches
Barrel  length28 inches

Caliber 12 gauge
Action Break-action

The Ruger Gold Label was a side-by-side double-barreled shotgun that was made by Sturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated, at their manufacturing facility in Newport, New Hampshire. It was designed to be similar to traditional English shotguns used for upland bird hunting and for clay target games such as sporting clays. [1]

Contents

Features

The Gold Label has a stainless steel receiver and blued barrels. The stock and fore-end are made of AAA-grade American walnut. [2] At 6½ pounds, the Gold Label is relatively lightweight for a double barreled shotgun. [3]

Equipped with a single trigger, a barrel selector mechanism is used to choose whether the left or right barrel fires first. The second shot can be fired even if the first shot was a misfire and the shotgun has not recoiled. The barrel selector is combined with the manual safety and is located at the top rear of the receiver, behind the top lever. Opening the action automatically engages the safety mechanism. [4]

Only produced in 12 gauge, the chambers are three inches in length, to accommodate either 2¾ inch or 3 inch shells. [5] The Gold Label uses screw-in choke tubes that are steel shot compatible. [6]

Models

There are two models of Gold Label. One has an American style pistol grip stock. The other has an English style straight grip stock. Both models have a splinter style fore-end.

The Gold Label was produced from 2004 to 2006 and has not been produced since. While the shotgun was still pictured in Ruger's 2008 Catalog, it was listed as "current production sold out, anticipate availability in 2009." According to most reports, the Gold Label will not be produced again due to its high cost of manufacturing. [3]

Awards

In 2002, the Gold Label was named Shotgun of the Year by Shooting Industry News. [7] In 2005, it won the "Golden Bullseye" Shotgun of the Year award from American Rifleman magazine. [8]

Notes

  1. Bodinson, Holt. "Ruger's Elegant Game Gun", Guns magazine, July, 2002
  2. Hanus, Bill. "It's Time to Make Nice with Your Ruger Dealer", Bill Hanus Birdguns
  3. 1 2 Lee, Jerry (16 December 2014). Standard Catalog of Ruger Firearms. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media, Inc. pp. 115–116. ISBN   978-1-4402-4060-7.
  4. Ruger Gold Label Instruction Manual
  5. "Miller, Payton. "Ruger Gold Label", Guns & Ammo, April, 2005". Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  6. "Ruger's Gold Label Takes On British 12-Bore Game Guns". Gun Tests. 19 September 2005. Archived from the original on 11 November 2007.
  7. ""Shotgun of the Year, 1992 - 2007", Shooting Industry News". Archived from the original on 28 April 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  8. "2005 Golden Bullseye Award Winners". NRA.org. Archived from the original on 17 July 2005. Retrieved 21 June 2023.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single-shot</span> Firearm that holds one round of ammunition

In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have no moving parts other than the trigger, hammer/firing pin or frizzen, and therefore do not need a sizable receiver behind the barrel to accommodate a moving action, making them far less complex and more robust than revolvers or magazine/belt-fed firearms, but also with much slower rates of fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruger Mini-14</span> Semi-automatic rifle

The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, the design was outwardly based on the M14 rifle and is, in appearance, a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, though with its own gas system design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mossberg 500</span> Series of pump-action shotguns

The Mossberg 500 (M500) is a series of pump action shotguns manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons. The 500 series comprises widely varying models of hammerless repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver and action, but differ in bore size, barrel length, choke options, magazine capacity, stock and forearm materials. Model numbers included in the 500 series are the 500, 505, 510, 535, and 590. The Revelation 310 and the New Haven 600 were also variations of the 500 series produced by Mossberg under different names. By 2021, 11,000,000 M500s had been produced, making it the most-produced shotgun of all time.

The Ruger 10/22 is a series of semi-automatic rifles produced by American firearm manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co., chambered for the .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge. It uses a patented 10-round rotary magazine, though higher capacity box magazines are also available. The standard carbine version of the Ruger 10/22 has been in production continuously since 1964, making it one of the most successful rimfire rifle designs in history, with numerous third party manufacturers making parts and accessories for upgrading and customization. The 10/22's aftermarket is so prolific that a complete 10/22 can be built without using any Ruger-made components.

A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attached. The stock also provides a means for the shooter to firmly brace the gun and easily aim with stability by being held against the user's shoulder when shooting the gun, and helps to counter muzzle rise by transmitting recoil straight into the shooter's body.

Thompson/Center Arms was an American firearms company based in Springfield, Massachusetts. The company was best known for its line of interchangeable-barrel, single-shot pistols and rifles. Thompson/Center also manufactured muzzle-loading rifles and was credited with creating the resurgence of their use in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H&R Firearms</span> Firearms brand

H&R 1871, LLC, or more commonly known as Harrington & Richardson, is an American brand of firearms and a subsidiary of JJE Capital Holdings. H&R ceased independent production February 27, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thompson/Center Contender</span> Break-action

The Thompson/Center Contender is a break-action single-shot pistol or rifle that was introduced in 1967 by Thompson/Center Arms. It can be chambered in cartridges from .22 Long Rifle to .45-70 Government.

The Marlin Model 60, also known as the Marlin Glenfield Model 60, is a semi-automatic rifle that fires the .22 LR rimfire cartridge. Produced by Remington Arms in Huntsville, Alabama formerly in Mayfield, Kentucky, formerly by Marlin Firearms Company of North Haven, Connecticut, it was in continuous production from 1960 to 2020 and the company says it is the most popular rifle of its kind in the world. Major features include a micro-groove barrel, a cross-bolt safety, hardwood stock with Monte Carlo comb, and brass or blued steel inner magazine tube. The Marlin Model 795 is a very similar rifle and based on the Marlin Model 60, changed only to accept a detachable box magazine.

The Stoeger Condor is a double-barreled shotgun. It is an over/under gun, with one barrel above the other.

The Winchester Model 21 is a deluxe side by side shotgun. The shotgun's initial production run from 1931 through 1960 yielded approximately 30,000 guns. Winchester Repeating Arms Company ceased the main production line of this shotgun in 1960 and the Model 21 was sourced to the Winchester Custom Shop until the gun's retirement in 1991. New Winchester Model 21 production continues under license to Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snubnosed revolver</span> Type of gun

A snubnosed revolver is a small, medium, or large frame revolver with a short barrel, generally less than 4 inches in length. Smaller such revolvers are often made with "bobbed" or "shrouded" hammers and there are also "hammerless" models ; the point is to allow the gun to be drawn with little risk of it snagging on clothing. Since the external movement of the mechanism is minimal or nil, shrouded and hammerless models may be fired from within clothing. The design of these revolvers compromises range and accuracy at a distance in favor of maneuverability and ease of carry and concealment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Browning Citori</span> Double-barreled shotgun

The Browning Citori is an over-under double-barreled shotgun. It is marketed and distributed by the Browning Arms Company in Morgan, Utah, and manufactured for Browning by the Miroku Corporation in Nangoku, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winchester Model 1200</span> Pump-action shotgun

The Model 1200 is a pump-action shotgun that was manufactured by the Winchester-Western Division of Olin Corporation, starting 1964. It was redesignated the Model 1300 in 1978 with minimal changes. Production ceased in 2006 when the U.S. Repeating Arms Company, the subsequent manufacturer, went bankrupt. A militarized version of the Model 1200 was acquired by the U.S. Army for use during the Vietnam War. It has seen service with the U.S. military in various conflicts through into the twenty-first century.

The CZ 452 also known as BRNO Model Two .22 Rifle is a series of magazine-fed bolt-action rimfire repeating rifles manufactured by the Czech firearms manufacturer Česká Zbrojovka Uherský Brod and imported into the United States by CZ-USA. Most versions of the 452 rifle series were discontinued in 2011 and replaced by the CZ 455, although CZ continues to offer the CZ 452 American in a left-hand model, with the bolt handle and ejection port located on the left side of the rifle.

The Remington Spartan 310 is a double-barreled shotgun. It is an "over and under" gun, with one barrel above the other. There are several different models, each of them chambered in various gauges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruger Standard</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Ruger Standard Model is a rimfire semi-automatic pistol introduced in 1949 as the first product manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co., and was the founding member of a product line of .22 Long Rifle cartridge handguns, including its later iterations: the MK II, MK III, and MK IV. It is marketed as an inexpensive .22 caliber rimfire intended for casual sport and target shooting, and plinking. Designed by company founder William B. Ruger, the Standard model and its offspring went on to become the most accepted and successful .22 caliber semi-automatic pistols ever produced.

The Stoeger Coach Gun is a side-by-side double-barreled shotgun. It is marketed and distributed by Stoeger Industries in Accokeek, Maryland. It is manufactured by E.R. Amantino (Boito) in Veranópolis, Brazil.

The Ruger Red Label was an over and under shotgun that was built by Sturm, Ruger & Co. at the direction of William B. Ruger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vepr-12</span> Semi-automatic shotgun

The Vepr-12 is a multipurpose semi-automatic detachable-magazine shotgun, produced by Molot-Oruzhie Ltd. It is patterned after the original Kalashnikov rifle and built on the heavier RPK light machine gun receiver.