ive had the chance to see rugers old production methods first hand, back in the bill ruger days. basicall their casting and forging departents are super flexable (like any other big casting company) because "retooling" at pine tree castings is as easy as switching out the dies and fixtures. any machining is basicaly done on a cnc line, again with flexable tooling and pre written programing and tool setup guides. i know this might seem a little basic without going into great detail but trust me as a machinist i am truely impressed with what bill established his manufacturing lines to be (also impressive are the casting techniques he personally developed). back in the 50's he imagined a zero hand fitted firearms and aside from the few hiccups along the way ruger has nearly achieved bills manufacturing masterpiece. if you have the chance to see it youself you will really be amazed at what they do, even if your not in the machining/manufacturing industry.

on the other hand i feel your pain. here in canada, pistols are hard enough to get in stanard models. getting that one ruger that first my personality, in this case a super blackhawk hunter .44 mag, is very had find here and as i understand isnt the most common wheel gun across the border either.