Beretta Holding S.A. formally launched its proxy campaign against Sturm, Ruger & Co. on April 8, nominating a slate of four directors to Ruger's board and standing up a campaign website at ReloadRuger.com — putting the American gunmaker on track for a contested shareholder vote at its May 27, 2026 annual meeting.

Beretta, which holds approximately 9.95% of Ruger's outstanding common shares, filed preliminary proxy materials with the SEC naming four director candidates: William F. Detwiler of Fernbrook Capital, former Vista Outdoor CEO Mark DeYoung, Ancora Holdings chief Fredrick D. DiSanto, and Inwood Capital founder Michael N. Christodolou. The Italian holding company also proposed, in a letter to Ruger's board reported by BusinessWire, a $44.80-per-share all-cash partial tender offer for up to an additional 20.05% of Ruger's outstanding shares — a price Beretta characterized as roughly a 20% premium to Ruger's 60-day volume-weighted average through March 24. Combined with its existing stake, the tender would bring Beretta to approximately 30% ownership.

Ruger's board has rejected the tender and is urging shareholders to vote for its own nine-director slate on a camo-green proxy card. In its proxy materials, Ruger invoked national security, warning that Beretta's proposed ownership threshold and board representation would trigger a mandatory review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States given Ruger's role as a U.S. defense contractor. Ruger also alleged that during a March 9 phone call, Beretta general manager Robert Eckert pressed CEO Todd Seyfert for an immediate 25% stake via newly issued shares — and signaled interest in acquiring another 25% after that. Beretta has publicly called those characterizations "blatantly false and misleading," per a statement covered by The Outdoor Wire.

Beretta's public case rests on Ruger's financial performance over the past several years. The Italian firm's SEC filings cite significant compression in gross margins, operating margins, and net income at Ruger since 2021 and argue the current board has not taken adequate steps to address the decline. Ruger, which completed the acquisition of Anderson Manufacturing in 2024, has maintained that its strategy is sound and that a CFIUS entanglement would harm the company's ability to serve government contracts.

Shareholders of record as of April 13, 2026 are eligible to vote at the May 27 meeting. With both sides running active campaigns, the vote will determine whether one of the largest domestically owned firearms manufacturers adds an Italian-backed bloc to its boardroom.