Our hunt camp was a Ruger 44 Meca we all shot them . I have ownd six in my lifetime still have a sporter model and a carbine with a four digit serial number and a friend has one with a factory peep sight milled into the receiver . All bought new for less than $250 bucks .Would I buy one at present day prices not a chance would I sell mine at present day prices not a chance . It is easy to love these little guns what's not to like great cartridge and the best little cedar swamp gun out there. Deer and black bear medicine nothing better. You will drop close to a grand for a Ruger 9mm pc ok gun but it's not a Deerstalker .
Your mention of the Deerstalker name reminded me of the misbelief by some that it was initially named The Deerslayer and changed when sued by Ithaca who already had a shotgun named The Deerslayer.
Here's a little history that may be of interest to owners or who would like to be.
Design engineer Harry Sefried, who had worked at Winchester and High Standard went to work for Bill Ruger in 1959. At the time Bill Ruger was playing with a design for a .44 mag carbine. Sefried immediately began working with Bill Ruger on the design. This continued through many trials and tribulations until perfected and shipment began in 1961. This was Ruger’s very first entry into long guns.
This rifle was initially called The Deerstalker not Deerslayer. The Deerstalker name was offered to Bill Ruger by Harry Sefried because of interest he had in stag hunting in Scotland. This name was soon dropped to avoid confusion when Bill Ruger learned of its similarity to Ithaca’s shotgun named The Deerslayer. There was never a lawsuit or patent dispute with Ithaca of any kind as is often portrayed.
The rifle was then re-named the “Ruger .44 Carbine”.
Production continued until 1985 and some 250,000 were manufactured. Initially the Standard model sold for $108.00, the Sporter for $118.00 & the International for $128.00.
There were actually two series. First: 1961 to 1974 and second 1975 to 1985. The latter model beginning with serial 102-04751 has a cartridge release button inside the loading gate which allows for emptying the magazine without cycling the action making the second series much more desirable than the first.
So that’s the short version. The complete story can be read over several pages in the book “Ruger & His Guns”
The Ruger Deerfield model 99/44 is a completely different animal designed roughly on the Mini 14. It was produced from 2000 to 2006 with approximately 17,500 manufactured with most of them sold in the U.S. and is the reason they are now fairly scarce here.
