Ruger Old Model Single Six Serial Number History

Ruger Old Model Single Six Serial Number History
Single Action
Ruger Old Model Single Six Serial Number History Magazine

According to the chart Ruger Super Single Six Serial Number History Yours is a Super Single Six made in 1970. The last year of production for the SSS was 1972 starting with SN# 60-81278. Stainless was reintroduced in 1994 in the convertible two-cylinder model, and ran until 1997. The Super Single-Six in.17 HMR was introduced in 2003.There was even a centerfire Super Single-Six in. Ruger's 'Old Model' Single-Sixes by Bill Hamm. Photography by Bill Hamm: RUGER COLLECTING. In the next several series of articles I will attempt to provide a general overview of each of the Ruger Single Action revolvers made from 1953 through 1972.

RUGEROLDMODELSINGLE-SIX “LIGHTWEIGHT”

Ruger Old Model Single Six Serial Number History

PRODUCED1956 - 1959

GENERALOVERVIEW

In 1956 Ruger introduced a “Lightweight” version of its Single-Six revolver.The first Lightweights had an alloy cylinder frame, alloy cylinder, alloy grip frame, and steel barrel.All Lightweights had astandard 4-5/8 inch barrel. The first guns weighed 23 ounces versus the 35 ounce weight of the standard 5-1/2 inch barrel Single-Six.The guns are roll-marked on the cylinder frame just like the standard Single-Six model, the word Lightweight does not appear in the roll-mark.The first production guns had a silver/gray anodized cylinder frame, black anodized grip frame, flat cartridge loading gate, blued barrel, and Black checkered hard rubber grips.They also had a coating on the alloy cylinder, the coating was known as “Martin Hard Coat”.It was a brown or dark golden color (sometimes appears greenish or another color).These first guns became known to collectors as the “Tri-color” Lightweight.

In early 1957 Ruger began to make Lightweights that were all blue in color.These guns were first made with a blue anodized alloy cylinder and then later concurrently with a blued steel cylinder.Also in early 1957 the flat loading gate was changed to the contour or round Colt-style loading gate to coincide with the same change to the standard Single-Sixes.

There was also a group of Tri-color and a few all blue guns that had been set aside during production.These guns were assembled later in 1964/65 and marked with an “S” to indicate used or seconds.These particular “S” guns can have a combination of any of the above discussed parts but most have a steel cylinder. Many will have the later XR3-RED redesigned grip frame and oiled Walnut grip panels since these were standard parts when these guns were assembled and shipped.

All Lightweight Single-Sixes will be found in the 200XXX to 212XXX serial number range.

The Lightweights came in silver and red colored boxes with black or less common green wreaths around the Eagle on top of the box.However, some were shipped in the standard black and red colored box of the Single-Six, usually with the appropriate mark up or sticker on the end of the box to indicate that it contained a Lightweight.

Ruger Old Model Single Six Serial Number History

The Lightweight guns did not prove to be very popular and were dropped from production in 1959.There were only about 12,000 of these produced which makes them very scarce and hard to find.Pristine Lightweights in their original boxes are extremely hard to find thus extremely desirable - and normally fairly costly.

RUGEROLDMODELSINGLE-SIX “LIGHTWEIGHT” REVOLVER

SOMEOFTHEMAJORTYPESANDVARIATIONS

Single-Six, Lightweight:

Tri-color, Flatgate, Black checkered hard rubber grips, alloy cylinder, 4-5/8” barrel.

All blue, Roundgate, Black checkered hard rubber grips, alloy cylinder, 4-5/8” barrel.

All blue, Roundgate,Black checkered hard rubber grips, steel cylinder, 4-5/8” barrel.

“S” marked Tri-color or All Blue, steel cylinder, XR3 or XR3-RED grip frames, Black checkered hard rubber grips or Walnut grips, steel or alloy ejector rod housing, 4-5/8” barrel.

Single Action

My next article in the series will review the “Magnum Only” chambered Single-Six.

Bill Hamm

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Ruger Blackhawk
A .357 Magnum/9mm convertibleRuger Blackhawk in blued finish, with Adjustable Sights, and a 4 5/8' Barrel
Type	Revolver
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Manufacturer	Sturm, Ruger
Produced	1955–Present
No. built	2 million^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]
Specifications
Mass	36–48 oz (1,021–1,361 g)
Length	10 1/4–13 1/2 inches (260–343 mm)
Barrel length	4 5/8–7 1/2 inches (117–191 mm)
Cartridge	Varies, see Calibers
Action	Single-action revolver
Feed system	6-round cylinder

The Ruger Blackhawk is a six-shot, single-actionrevolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. It is produced in a variety of finishes, calibers, and barrel lengths.

History[edit]

In the early 1950s, Westerns were popular in movies and television. Colt had discontinued the iconic Single Action Army prior to World War II, and few single-action revolvers were available to meet market demand for cowboy-style revolvers. In 1953, the new firm of Sturm, Ruger & Company introduced the Single-Six, a .22 LRrimfire single-action revolver. The Single-Six proved to be a popular seller, leading Ruger to develop and market a centerfire revolver similar to the Single Action Army: the Ruger Blackhawk.^[6]^[7]

Ruger introduced the Blackhawk in 1955. Chambered for the .357 Magnum, the Blackhawk was a simple and strong design, and it sold well. In 1956, as Smith & Wesson was introducing the new .44 Magnum, Ruger quickly developed a variant of the Blackhawk in the new cartridge. Ruger achieved wide popularity with this firearm in a hotly anticipated new cartridge, which was both cheaper and more readily available than the Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver. According to popular legend, Ruger was able to field a .44 Magnum revolver at nearly the same time as Smith & Wesson due to a Ruger employee finding expended .44 Magnum cartridge cases at a scrapyard and deducing that Smith & Wesson was about to launch a new cartridge.^[8]^[9]

The 1955–1962 Blackhawks are known today as the 'Flattop' models, because their adjustable rear sights were not protected by 'ears' extending up from the frame as later became standard. From 1962 through 1972, Ruger made the 'Three Screw' Blackhawk in various calibers, so called by the number of screws visible on the side of the revolver.

The Flattop and Three Screw Rugers were modernized compared to the Colt Single Action Army, in that they had adjustable sights instead of the Colt's fixed sights, and they used wire coil springs instead of the Colt's flat leaf springs. Bill Ruger chose coil springs due to their greater durability, saying that it solved one of the primary weaknesses of the Colt design.

The early models of the Blackhawk still operated the same way as the Colt, in that the hammer was half-cocked to load and unload and that the firearm was not safe to carry with all six chambers loaded due to the hammer resting upon the sixth chamber.^[10] In 1973, in order to eliminate accidents occurring from the hammer jarring against a round loaded in the sixth chamber, Ruger introduced the New Model Blackhawk. The New Model Blackhawk did not require the hammer to be half-cocked for loading and unloading, and it employed a transfer bar mechanism which prevented the cartridge under the hammer from being fired without the trigger being pulled. The New Blackhawk was seen as limiting firearms accidents and legal liability. Ruger then began offering a retrofit program, offering free transfer bar conversions to earlier variants of the Blackhawk.

It is worth noting that the Super Blackhawk is capable of operating with much higher pressure handloads than factory produced ammunition in .44 Magnum. Factory produced loads, such as Federal Champion 240 gr JSP loads are right around 800 ft-lbs muzzle energy. Loads in excess of 1200 ft-lbs muzzle energy are commonly produced by handloaders for this caliber and the Super Blackhawk can, in fact, handle more powerful loads than any .44 Magnum lever action rifle and substantially more powerful rounds than any double action .44 Magnum revolver. Buffalo Bore makes a heavy load that is in excess of 1500 ft-lbs muzzle energy.^[11]

These facts make the Ruger Super Blackhawk one of the top choices for handgun hunting. It is capable of reliably taking down deer, elk, caribou, moose, lion, grizzly or brown bear and even cape buffalo.^[12] It is commonly used to deliver a coup de grace shot to mortally wounded large game, having the ability to dispatch even an elephant with a conscientiously placed close range shot to the head. The wide availability of .44 Magnum cases and bullets make the .44 Magnum chambering far more practical than .454 Casull or .480 Ruger, while allowing for similar ballistics in custom loadings.^[13]

The Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum is one of the most accurate big bore pistols for target shooting, typically returning 5 shot groups that are one ragged hole from a rest at 25 yards. Work is commonly performed on the action of these revolvers to give a light, crisp trigger pull, thereby contributing to accuracy.^[14]

Various models[edit]

Ruger Old Model Super Blackhawk

Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk and Javelina

The Ruger Old Army is a 45-caliber percussion revolver based on the Ruger Blackhawk action.

The Blackhawk is a popular base gun for custom work. This one is a cooperative effort by members of the American Pistolsmith's Guild.

Variation of Ruger Blackhawk of all-steel construction and a number of retro features including .357-size frame and steel micro sight. There is a Bisley Grip Variation and a selection of calibers-.44 Special pictured.

Over the years the Blackhawk has appeared in a wide variety of models. These models include:

New Model Blackhawk: Produced in blued steel in .30 Carbine, .357 Magnum, .41 Remington Magnum, .44 Special, and .45 Colt; produced in stainless in .327 Federal Magnum with an 8-round cylinder, .357 Magnum, and .45 Colt. Multiple barrel lengths were offered in many of these configurations.
New Model Blackhawk Convertible: The cylinder of a Blackhawk is easily removed, and can be replaced with a cylinder for a different cartridge of the same diameter. Ruger has offered 'convertible' cylinder revolvers in .45 Colt/.45 ACP, .38-40/10mm Auto, and .357 Magnum/9×19mm Parabellum. Other than being sold with multiple cylinders, these firearms are identical to the Blackhawk.
New Model Super Blackhawk: Produced in blued and stainless, with or without a rib for mounting a scope. The Super Blackhawk is built on the same frame, but with a larger grip (in the 7.5' and 10.5' barrels) and unfluted cylinder (except for 5.5' barrel), in order to more effectively deal with the .44 Magnum's recoil. Also, the grip frames are made of steel, versus aluminium for those same components in the Blackhawk. Ejector rod housings were originally steel on old model Super Blackhawks. The new model stainless steel versions have steel ejector rod housings.
Vaquero and New Vaquero: With the popularity of Cowboy Action Shooting came demand for a single-action revolver that was more traditional in appearance. As the standard Ruger Blackhawk departs from the Single Action Army looks due to its adjustable sights, Ruger offered a fixed-sight equivalent to cater to buyers wanting a more traditional appearance. In all other ways, the Vaquero was identical to the Blackhawk, though offered in slightly fewer variants. The original Vaquero was offered in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt. After some time, Ruger went with a smaller frame to more closely resemble the actual size of the Colt SAA, changed the name to the New Vaquero, and dropped the powerful .44 Magnum from the lineup. While keeping the smaller size, Ruger later went back to the simple Vaquero name.
Bisley: The Bisley grip is a type of angled grip developed by Colt for target shooting at the end of the 19th Century. Ruger's 'Bisley' offerings incorporated a Bisley-style grip, hammer spur, and trigger.
A limited edition of 1,000 Units from TALO Distributions featuring Turnbull Restorations Case Hardened frame.
Old Army: The Old Army is a percussion ('cap and ball') black powder revolver based on the Blackhawk frame.