 Designed by company founder William B. Ruger, the Standard model and its offspring went on to become the most accepted and successful .22 caliber semi-automatic pistols ever produced.Sometime in the years following World War II firearm designer and entrepreneur Bill Ruger acquired a pair of World War II Japanese Nambu pistols from a returning US Marine, which he successfully duplicated in his garage.Using the Nambu's silhouette and bolt system, Ruger produced his first prototype, but lacked the venture capital necessary to fund its introduction.