Ruger has announced that demand for firearms is far exceeding their ability to manufacture them, so they are suspending acceptance of new ordered from distributors. From the press release …

SOUTHPORT, CT –Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE-RGR), announced today that for the first quarter 2012, the Company has received orders for more than one million units. Therefore, the Company has temporarily suspended the acceptance of new orders.

Chief Executive Officer Michael O. Fifer made the following comments:

• The Company’s Retailer Programs that were offered from January 1, 2012 through February 29, 2012 were very successful and generated significant orders from retailers to independent wholesale distributors for Ruger firearms.

• Year-to-date, the independent wholesale distributors placed orders with the Company for more than one million Ruger firearms.

• Despite the Company’s continuing successful efforts to increase production rates, the incoming order rate exceeds our capacity to rapidly fulfill these orders. Consequently, the Company has temporarily suspended the acceptance of new orders.

• The Company expects to resume the normal acceptance of orders by the end of May 2012.

The Company will announce its results and file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2012 on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, after the close of the stock market.

When I first started blogging, back in 2007, I was very critical of Ruger. Since then CEO Michael O. Fifer has been successfully shaking off what some would call the toxic legacy of Bill Ruger and embracing the demands of 21st century consumers in American, obviously with great success. Bill Ruger was without a doubt a genius, but in his latter years he instilled a culture in the company that resisted modern weapon trends like compact carry guns and tactical rifles. In the minds of many shooters, William Batterman Ruger, Sr. will be remember best for saying “No honest man needs more than 10 rounds in any gun.”, not for his 10/22, Mini-14, Ruger No. 1 or pistol designs. Michael O. Fifer’s Ruger will sell you whatever is legal and will make a profit!

As you would expect, the market responded positively to this news.