Guide

Smith & Wesson Buys Savage, Beretta Reaches 25% of Ruger, Ruger Pauses Lines

By Cole Harlan, EditorUpdated Oct 23, 2026How we verifyEditorial standards

Three deal and production stories hit the gun industry in the same ten days. Smith & Wesson closed its purchase of Savage Arms. Beretta Holding finished its partial tender offer for Ruger stock. And Ruger told the press it has stopped building several revolver families. Here is what each source actually says, and what we could not confirm.

How we sourced this. The Smith & Wesson and Beretta items come from the companies' own releases, including the exhibit filed with the SEC. The Ruger production change comes from a statement by a named Ruger spokesperson, as reported by American Rifleman and other outlets. We found no matching release on Ruger's own newsroom as of October 23, 2026, so we label it "as reported." Facts checked October 23, 2026 (EDT).

Smith & Wesson acquires Savage Arms (closed October 21)

What happened: Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ: SWBI) announced on October 21, 2026 that it "has acquired the Savage Arms business by merger" from an indirect subsidiary of JDH Capital I, L.P. The release says the deal "was completed on October 21, 2026."
Price: the release values Savage at $160.0 million, subject to customary adjustments. It's paid in about 9 million shares of Smith & Wesson stock, valued at $13.62 a share, plus $37.5 million in cash.
Ownership: after closing, JDH owns 16.7% of Smith & Wesson's outstanding common stock, becomes its largest stockholder, and has appointed a representative to the board, which now has seven directors.
Savage's size: the release puts Savage's net sales at about $160 million for the twelve months ended September 30, 2026. Savage is based in Westfield, Massachusetts.
Company projections (not results): Smith & Wesson says it expects the deal to be accretive to earnings per share by about $0.04 for the rest of fiscal 2027 and $0.07 for the full year, excluding acquisition accounting. Those are forecasts from the buyer.

The release doesn't say what happens to Savage's product line or brand names, so we aren't predicting any. We track Savage releases on our Savage Arms page and Smith & Wesson releases on our Smith & Wesson page.

Beretta Holding's tender offer for Ruger: final results

The offer: Beretta Holding S.A. offered to buy up to 2,400,184 shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company (NYSE: RGR) at $44.80 per share in cash. It expired at one minute after 11:59 p.m. New York time on October 15, 2026.
Result: on October 20, Beretta announced a final count of 6,094,325 shares validly tendered. The offer was oversubscribed, so Beretta accepted 2,400,184 shares on a pro rata basis. The proration factor was about 39.4%.
Stake: Beretta says that after the purchase it "will beneficially own approximately 25.0%" of Ruger's outstanding shares, based on the count as of September 17, 2026.
Cost: 2,400,184 shares at $44.80 is about $107.5 million. That's our arithmetic from the release's numbers, not a figure Beretta stated.
Earlier step: Beretta's October 16 preliminary release had 3,589,647 shares tendered, not counting 2,652,256 more tendered by guaranteed delivery. The final count includes the guaranteed-delivery shares.

Beretta chairman and CEO Pietro Gussalli Beretta said the investment "marks our first participation in a publicly listed company" and that cooperation with Ruger "expands our position in the United States." Ruger and Beretta announced a strategic cooperation agreement on May 4, 2026, and Ruger posted an update on it on September 16, per Ruger's newsroom. We did not read the update or Ruger's board response to the tender offer in full, so we don't characterize either one. Ruger says it will report third-quarter 2026 results on Wednesday, November 4, with a webcast at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Ruger suspends production of several lines (as reported)

American Rifleman reported on October 14, 2026 that Ruger "announced changes to several current-generation product families yesterday as part of our ongoing Ruger 2030 strategy," quoting Abbey Clary, Ruger's director of media, advertising and public relations. According to that report:

Production stopped immediately: the LCR, SP101, GP100 and Bearcat revolvers.
Final 2026 production runs: SR1911, LC Carbine, PC Charger, PC Carbine, LC Charger, Redhawk, Super Redhawk, Blackhawk, Super Blackhawk, Single-Series revolvers, Vaquero, No. 1, 77-Series rifles, Hawkeye and Ruger Precision Rifle.
Continuing into 2027: the LCP line, RXM, MAX-9, Security-380, Security-9, Ruger 5.7, Mark IV and 22 Charger handguns; the Wrangler and Super Wrangler revolvers; and the American Rifle, American Rimfire, Ruger Precision Rimfire, Harrier, 10/22 and Mini-14 rifles.
Not necessarily permanent: Clary said the changes do not "necessarily mean these product families are permanently discontinued," and that Ruger has "no specific product plans or reintroduction timelines at this time."

The lines are suspended, not confirmed gone. Ruger gave the reasons as "consumer demand, evolving market preferences, manufacturing complexity and the long-term profitability of each product family." We have not changed any status on our product pages because of this report. Anything we list as available stays tied to a maker or retailer check. Browse our Ruger page for what we track.

ATF's October 9 enforcement change, for context

Separately from the deals, ATF's October 9, 2026 open letter said it will stop enforcing the NFA's approval, registration and tax-stamp rules for suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns and AOWs. The guidance page is marked "Last Updated October 16, 2026." That is an enforcement policy, not a repeal, and it doesn't change state law. We keep the details current in our NFA updates hub, and our SBR guide now has a verified state-by-state table.

What we couldn't confirm

We found no Ruger newsroom release for the production change. The details above rest on the spokesperson statement as quoted by media.
We haven't read Ruger's Schedule 14D-9 or its board's recommendation on the tender offer, so we say nothing about it.
Neither company has published product-level plans for Savage or the paused Ruger lines. We aren't guessing.

Frequently asked questions

Did Smith & Wesson buy Savage Arms?

Yes. Smith & Wesson Brands announced on October 21, 2026 that it had acquired the Savage Arms business by merger from a JDH Capital subsidiary, and said the deal closed that day. The release values Savage at $160.0 million, paid in about 9 million S&W shares and $37.5 million in cash.

How much of Ruger does Beretta own?

Beretta Holding said on October 20, 2026 that after its tender offer it will beneficially own approximately 25.0% of Ruger's outstanding shares, based on the share count as of September 17, 2026. It accepted 2,400,184 shares at $44.80 each.

Is Ruger discontinuing the LCR, SP101 and GP100?

Ruger's spokesperson told the press the company is ceasing production of the LCR, SP101, GP100 and Bearcat revolvers immediately, but said that does not necessarily mean the families are permanently discontinued. Ruger gave no reintroduction timeline. This comes from media reports quoting Ruger; we found no release on Ruger's newsroom.

When does Ruger report third-quarter earnings?

Ruger says it will announce third-quarter 2026 results on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, after the market closes, with a webcast at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Sources

Supplementary sources

News reports, advocacy groups, dealer practice and unofficial copies. They add context or report statements; the primary sources above control.