The Forgotten Ruger MP9 Room Broom
Sure, Ruger has built plenty of pistols, rifles and shotguns, but did you know they also made a handy little submachine gun for a while? It is true. The guns name was the MP9, and its inventor may surprise you.
In the 1980s, Ruger was very keen to attract law enforcement and military sales. It was always rumored that Bill Ruger himself thought that the Mini-14 should have been chosen to be the US Army’s standard rifle after Vietnam. The P85 series pistols came about from the US military handgun trials that led to the adoption of the Beretta 92 as the Department of Defense’s M9.
With the above in mind, at the same time, police forces across the country were rapidly establishing SWAT teams and SRT units. These small, specially trained groups would be sent into harm’s way, often engaging serious threats at close quarters. For this, they liked compact 9mm submachine guns like the S&W Model 76 and HK MP5. Well, if Smith and the Germans could make a sexy little 9milly burp gun, by gosh Ruger could too. Better yet, old Bill had an Israeli ace up his sleeve.
Read the rest in my column at Ruger Talk
