Gasman,
Ruger's sales figures are just a reflection of the overall gun industry--which isn't in any sort of depression.
The number of BATFE background checks for gun sales started upward quickly as soon as Obama was reelected, then zoomed even higher after Sandy Hook. They kept rising (though not as fast) until January 2014, and have been dropping slowly since--though they're still higher than they were before Obama's reelection.
Everybody I know in the gun industry (which includes people in firearm, ammo, and reloading component manufacturing) has been predicting a drop in demand for a while now, so aren't surprised to see it. Most have been a little surprised by the length of this panic, but it's the same pattern that been repeated in EVERY firearms buying-panic since the Clinton assault-rifle ban back in the 1990's: Shooters think the Feds are going to take away their guns and ammo so start "stocking up."
Then, a few months or a couple years later they have plenty of guns and ammo, and maybe a high credit-card balance as well. They not only quit buying but may even sell some of their guns and ammo to pay the mortgage--which floods the market and lessens demand from manufacturers.
In late 2009 the market was flooded with cheap AR-15's that people bought after the first Obama election. The price went as high as $2000 in the months after the election, but dropped to $600-$800 by the next fall. Why? The panic was over and demand was down--and the Feds hadn't passed a law banning AR-15's.
This panic has been deeper, both because people thought there was no way Obama would be reelected, and because Sandy Hook kept politicians talking about new gun laws for a long time, though almost nothing happened on a national level.
But ALL the gun-buying panics of the past couple decades have died down again, which is why Ruger isn't sweating it (they're still making PLENTY of money) and .22 ammo companies haven't been doubling their manufacturing capacity. They have seen it happen before, and it's always the same pattern: a big jump in sales, and then a drop-off to more normal levels.
Which is why it has nothing to do with muzzle brakes or anything else the marketing geniuses of the Campfire can come up with. And my bet is that Ruger will indeed be offering more left-handed American Rifles, now that demand for semiauto handguns is finally dropping off enough so they can make other stuff.
