Another TULSA TREASURE.......

I have seen this on another Collectors table the last couple of years but was never able to get him to price it....this is BKH4 # 1252 listed in RENE guide as a tool room machined Super frame on a 44 FT....you can see some of the tool marks if you look close....two grip locating pins and an awesome pair of micarta grips.....well this year he actually priced it :lol: :lol: :lol: another TULSA TREASURE has found me.....just thought I would share....see ya RR.

Good buy, Rod. I saw that 357 FT number 108 we were all discussing a few months back. It had just changed hands at the Denver show in May. I saw it Sunday afternoon at Tulsa, just sold again. Don't know for how much.

Don, I have seen that # 108 357 at the last 2 or 3 shows.....I wasn't crazy about the type 2 front site.....it was shipped Aug of 1957 but so were several of my early guns and they all have type one sites.....oh well ya can't own them all....even thought it seems that I try....RR

Way to go RR , those grip panels are really awesome.
Leon

Awesome stuff! I LOVE the fit of the grip frame to the cylinder frame. The high polish screws are "something else"! :shock:

Skinny trigger slot in the grip frame? If so, Holy Cow!

Where'd those micarta grips come from? I'm probably "out of touch" but I thought micarta, esp. as handgun grips, was a "post 1950's" development.

Nonetheless, AWESOME, RR!

flatgate

AWESOME :shock: 8) I believe your RUGER BOLO TIE brings you good luck do not lose it :!: I have a few old native American ones I wear I wonder which one would bring a MICRO RSS my way :lol:

radicalrod said:

Don, I have seen that # 108 357 at the last 2 or 3 shows.....I wasn't crazy about the type 2 front site.....it was shipped Aug of 1957 but so were several of my early guns and they all have type one sites.....oh well ya can't own them all....even thought it seems that I try....RR

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Rod:
I know what you mean about #108. But then there are probably two different scenarios for those early sn'd flattops....those that were assembled and held back intentionally for writers, employees and such, and those few that weren't fully assembled at all until Aug. 1957. That explains the late front sight on that #108 as that gun would have had no reason to be held back. August 1957 just happens to be when Ruger "cleaned" them out of there.
The low #'d .357's were also shipped with matching #'d .44 flattops, and some Single-Sixes and some even with LW Single-Sixes. That month might have been Ruger's first warehouse cleaning!!
Chet15

Great Snag RR!
Terry

WELL--WELL looks like my bolos work too thanks to RR :shock: future posting will explain ---I HOPE :lol: RIGHT now I am a believer in RR's RUGER BOLO---DO NOT LOSE IT. see ya :!: :!: americal

It is a Long Frame, right?

flatgate

Rod, concerning 357 flattop #108 the individual who purchased the gun at the nov 2011 Tulsa show got it lettered and it was shipped in 1957. It is also specified as one of the 62 super polished guns that were assembled in 1957. See John Dougans latest book, page 347.

h bone said:

Rod, concerning 357 flattop #108 the individual who purchased the gun at the nov 2011 Tulsa show got it lettered and it was shipped in 1957. It is also specified as one of the 62 super polished guns that were assembled in 1957. See John Dougans latest book, page 347.

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Welcome to the Forum Henry!

Hi Henry, glad to see you here.....I have 121 that shipped in 12/57 that has a type 1 site....I guess if it wasn't barreled when they cleaned house the factory would not have cared and used the later type front site.....also have 113 shipped 9/55 with a type 1 site.....I think you saw this one in T town...RR.

Henry...where you been man??? Have a big question for you I'm going to send by PM here in a couple minutes.
Anyway, on the list of high polish guns listed by JD in his most recent book (page 347), I think John may have picked that list of guns out as high polish only because of the late ship date. The problem is, not all of the guns listed there are high polish, and I also know of high polish guns that aren't on the list. I think it more likely that this list is a representation of one of Ruger's first warehouse cleanings as many of those low numbered .357's were shipped with matching numbered .44's.
Chet15

Chet 15, good to hear from you. I was over at Johns house last Saturday and spent about 4 hours with him in his archive room. I asked him about the high polished guns and he told me exactly what you stated. I do not think that Ruger ever recorded or documented which guns were high polished or even if that was a consideration. But he does have the records showing that those particular 62 guns were in fact assembled in 1957. Some of them may have been high polished and some were not. Also when they were assembled there probably were some assembled with the type 1 front sight and some with the type 2 front sight. Of the records that I had a chance to see Ruger did not go into that much detail back then and document the specific parts that went on a particular gun and how it would be shipped. I do know that I looked at 357 FT #108 and it did not appear to me to be a high polished gun, but it did have the type2 front sight and I know that it was shipped in 1957. In the past I have had two very high polished 357s in the low 3 digit range and they are not on the list of 62. I have 357 FT #486 now and it is extremely high polished with a type 1 front sight and it is not on the list. I asked John about this and he stated to me that the list is not all inclusive. So who knows for sure? I believe that in some cases you just have to use your best judgement and knowledge and compare ship dates, other guns in the same time period. I do know that John Dougan has thousands of factory documents that he worked tirelessly on over several years to provide as much information as possible in his book. And I am sure that in the future more info will surface. Hope this explantion has'nt been to long. I know that I learn something new about Rugers everyday. So please let me know if there is more to this. Thanx, Henry

That is just way cool!

Henry:
Yeah...the best thing on those early high polish guns is to first be sure they are a factory finish, and there are clues to that as well for those early guns. But one needs to handle a lot of guns to be able to tell the difference.
Chet15

Hello, awesome gun radicalrod!! And thanks for showing showing some of your incredible collection over the last few months. 8)

So I have a question about high polish guns. How can you tell if it is or isn't? I have # 200 which is on the list of 62 in the book, but it doesn't really look any different than any other of my flattops. Maybe it was one of the ones shipped with the matching 44 flattop? If anyone can tell me I would appreciate it, thanks, Mike.

The high polish guns are pretty easy to tell. Looking at the finish you will either see the grit polish marks in the finish over the entire surface of the gun (normal polish) or you won't. Look at the end of the muzzle also. The high polish guns will have the turn marks on the end nearly if not fully polished off, pretty much to a mirror polish. Regular finish guns of course have the turn marks on the end.
As far as reblues, just look for the clues of a reblue gun....blued front of cylinder cone, fully blued appearance of recoil shield area inside the cylinder opening, etc.
Chet15

I owned 357 FT SN 367, NIB, at one time. Believe it resides in the West at present. It was a high polish finish gun and was original. It was not on the published list, yet had a factory finish. 8)