Poverty Pony No More: Ruger Buys, Closes Anderson Manufacturing

Ruger added a well-known AR maker to its portfolio this week with the purchase of Kentucky-based Anderson Manufacturing.

A company with some 70 years of history behind it, Anderson was a big player in the black rifle game for years, making and selling whole lines of firearms, parts, and accessories for America’s most popular guns.

“After careful consideration, we made the difficult decision to sell the company and close this chapter of our story,” said Anderson in a statement across its social media channels and website, which, as of Tuesday, was non-functional. “With the sale now complete, the Anderson brand has been discontinued, and Anderson products will no longer be offered. As a result, warranty services on Anderson firearms, parts, and accessories are no longer available.”

As for Ruger, the company issued a statement clarifying that it had no intention of continuing the legacy brand or catalog from its latest acquisition. Instead, the “strategic purchase” that includes Anderson’s manufacturing facility and machinery will provide Ruger “the opportunity to work with a skilled and experienced workforce, strengthening its production capabilities and expanding its product offerings.”

The move could easily position publicly traded Ruger to become the largest rifle maker in the country. According to the latest published manufacturing statistics from federal regulators, Anderson produced 338,742 firearms in 2023, with most of those guns (308,566) being serialized AR lowers, a segment of the market that the company had long led. The next most prolific lower maker was South Carolina’s Palmetto State Armory (252,735), followed by Washington’s Aero Precision (224,333).

When speaking of rifles alone, 2023 production numbers put Massachusetts-based Savage Arms on the top of the pile with 639,591 guns, while Ruger garnered a close second place with 321,160 firearms made in its North Carolina plant and 289,791 in its New Hampshire plant, giving it a total of 610,951 rifles.