SUPER BLACKHAWK BRASS GRIP FRAME

cbraemer1":n82ziak6 said:

I have a .45 NM Blackhawk, made in 1997, SR#47-68053, a very nice shooter! I just want to spif it up a little.

It has that awful aluminum powder-coated gripframe and ejector rod, chipped and flaking. I'd LOVE to swap the gripframe for a BRASS SBH Dragoon style (squareback trigger guard) frame. Can't find one anywhere! Any ideas? Factory is nice but aftermarket is fine if it's good quality.

Also want to swap out the hammer for the SBH hammer, and replace the crappy aluminum black ejector rod with a blued steel one...unless I can actually find the rumored-but-never-seen brass ejector rod.....

Help is much appreciated!

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Well I just happen to have one that will fit your gun,
You can get a hammer from Ruger for about $30-35 along with an ejector rod, but it might come in the white from Ruger.
I want $325 for my brass grip frame. It will fit old and new models.
Jim
This is it on an OM 45 convertible

.....for the NM SBH that I am looking into buying now, to match the one on my OM .41 mag. Anyone have one that they don't want my eldest grandchild in trade for it?
I LOVE the look of the Brassies, they just seem to have a bit more "character" then the anodized aluminum GF.
Otherwise, I might "try out" buying a SS GF, polishing it out to a nice bright finish, then installing it, but I guess I will have to settle for one without the squared trigger guard, that way.

Jim, when we bought a bunch of those frames years ago at our shop, every one one had to be be "fitted" to a gun, yes, it is far better and easier to hopefully find one that came off a shipped gun or at least was "properly" fitted to the gun it came off of..gotta be careful of "fitted" ones, that they was were NOT over polished/cut, made too small or undersized for the 'next' gun....we've seen some that there were 'casting' flaws, actually 'bubbles' (pockets) in the brass, and when one starts to polish out or file down, they remove one bubble only to open another nearby or make the hole even bigger, very common accurance and that really 'peed off' the ole man (WBR) from what we were told many years ago, in 1973.......they scrapped a BUNCH of them...........and any polishing of 'brass' in or around the "bluing " room ( operation) was a NO-NO for the outcome of any "blue job"........left residue on the wheels and spots on the guns finish...........they learned quickly :shock:

Did they make a SBH brass frame? They sure did. They command a pretty good price because some guys seem to favor them as you can see below. This customer sent me all three at the same time.

Wow, Cary, those grips are "awesome" ( as usual we might add...)

Very nice,,,,,,,,,,,,

Bob, that is exactly how the ones we bought from Ruger back then looked, and we too bought quite a few, and they were NOT more than $7.50 per 'set'...gosh wish I had them ALL again, now...but much like your dealer having "left overs' we never used up all of ours eitehr , and sold them at the local gun shows, even before the Ruger 'theme show of Monroeville,PA back in the late 70's.............sold them 'cheap" too, made a "few dollars more".they were NOT "big sellers" back then............

Cary as Dan said "Wow", fantastic grips and they look well matched. 8)

Ruger1441 said:

Cary as Dan said "Wow", fantastic grips and they look well matched. 8)

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Thank you. Would you believe I actually have another MR-3DB here from another customer right now? I did another about two weeks ago.

Makes me wonder how many of those things are actually out there.

"Better Yet".. :?: .......How many of these already nicely polished brass frames we have found, are actually take-offs from Factory built brass framed guns? And taken off back when due to the then owner's preference for an alloy or steel frame........ :roll:

HAWKEYE#28 said:

"Better Yet".. :?: .......How many of these already nicely polished brass frames we have found, are actually take-offs from Factory built brass framed guns? And taken off back when due to the then owner's preference for an alloy or steel frame........ :roll:

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I've done a lot of them over the years but have never had a "factory fresh" one sent to me.

Here is another one Cary made grips for. These are Macassar Ebony while I believe Axehandle's are Claro walnut if I am not mistaken.

An "aftermarket" New Model brassie.




OM, Ruger produced but only partially finished. It must have failed inspection :shock:

flatgate

41 nut said:

Ale-8(1), I think you are a bit high on your estimate of 100 or so non prefix brass supers manufactured. From the number of known ones in collections that have been verified I doubt if there were a total of two dozen manufactured. They are the scarcest of the brass guns.

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I've pondered the question of how many were made as well and the mystery continues. In my notes, and with you 41 nut, we've had eleven reported S47B with non-prefix serial numbers....serial numbers 28291, 34187, 34429, 35306, 35452, 36012, 36033, 36081, 36111, 36183 and 36315.

Sometime before JD's latest book came out he did an article in the RCA Journal that stated there were 126 of the S47B shipped with non-prefix serial numbers. Then his book came out and at the back he gives a list of only 18 serial numbers although he states a quantity of 20 as being assembled April 30, 1968 (page 375 of his book).

From my research on other rare models like the BKH47, BKH30, BKH40, S46, BKH41B, SC4, chrome SC6 etc. I have serial numbers on roughly 10-15% of all that we've estimated were produced. It is very interesting how every one of those models comes out at the 10-15% consistently, and the S47B would be at the same percentage "if" Ruger did indeed make 126 non-prefix S47B. I'd like to add that only the factory RSSE engraved Single-Six comes out at 50% or so of those known to have been made, and with the way the gun is...engraved with case etc. etc. (something really special!!) it is no wonder the RSSE stands out like a sore thumb when you see one (the bragging factor is alot higher for guns that stick out like that....SC4, S47B, BKH47 not near as much),
But here's where it gets interesting. Of the eleven S47B sn's listed above, seven of them are in JD's listing of 18 guns...a very high percentage, but maybe its just coincidence. There are however four S47B non-prefix guns that are verified as S47B that do not appear in JD's list, including his own sn 36012 he has pictured on page 279. So from the number of additional guns known that he did not list, it would suggest maybe 30 guns produced...but in all honesty, it still woudln't surprise me if his "126" quantity was correct as it still fits in with the standard 10-15% known.
Chet15

And then there is the S46B sn 36411 that has the "interesting" story as SteveRuger hints.
Chet15

This letter From Ed nolan States We have made a couple! Thats a long way from 128 guns!

It is interesting that the letter states Ruger was obligated to drop the S47B from their product line because of demand for the S47. I reckon that is the official reason, eh?!

Awesome Super, Don! :shock:

Fantastic!

flatgate

Great Letter Don! I have heard of that letter but,
That is the first I have got to see it!

Whatever the quantity produced by Ruger, the non-prefix Super is still a hugely rare gun...and should be a highlight of anybody's collection. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if over a hundred were made.
That was my point about the bragging factor....about 50% of the factory RSSE are known, and if Ruger made only 18 or 20 S47B...well, with 11 non-prefix S47B known the percentage comes out higher than even the RSSE.
Another example, JD lists a total of 61 BKH41B sn's in his latest book and I've only got nine of those noted (about 14-1/2%). You'd think the bragging factor would be even higher for the BKH41B (than the non-prefix S47B)...but only 9 known.
Were I a betting man, I'd go with the 126, but J.M.O.
Chet15