THE YEAR 1949 WAS GOOD FOR GUN PEOPLE. It was that year when entrepreneurs and gun guys Joyce W. Hornady and William B. Ruger started the companies that bear their names. Both started small, but look at them now. Hornady Manufacturing and Sturm, Ruger and Co. both celebrate their 75th anniversaries in 2024.
The contributions of both brands are legion. Ruger, in excellent and incredibly varied firearms, and Hornady, in bullets, reloading equipment and ammunition. Some will recall that an unusual partnership once occurred that produced a series of cartridges launched from 2003 to 2008.
Part of what made these cartridges possible: In the gun industry, whether the manufacturing side or my branch, the media, there are competitors, but bitterness is rare.
We are often close friends, and almost always…