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Hi Everyone I am new to this forum. I came across a beautiful Blackhawk 357 with what I believe is level four engraving and it has gold inlay and gold plated screws, hammer and trigger, highly polished. What I am trying to find out is who did this engraving. I sent a letter with the serial number to Sturm Ruger and was less then pleased with there response. All they told me was that it was originally shipped from the factory as a model BKH34 in November 1969. Never mentioned where it was shipped to, if the gun was blued or highly polished like it is now, no barrel length nothing else.
Anyway, I have removed the grips and found initials in what appears to be pencil (Initials are CH on the right grip and #826 in black magic marker on the left grip). I will try and attach pictures of it. I hope someone may recognize this work please let me know.
Thanks
http://s1072.photobucket.com/albums/w378/38master1/

Welcome to the forum, 38Master.
Don't be to harsh with Ruger Corp. A BKH34 designation means Blackhawk .357 with a 4-5/8" barrel. All were blued that I am aware of but never say never....



Nice scratching on it though.

Tim

yes, typical letter from the factory, model number ONLY and when it shipped.....as noted above...nice gun, cannot tell if the gold is wire inlay or just a 'wash',not like anything we've ever seen from the factory..........
gotta look all over the gun for any initials or such, the engraver would NOT put it on the grip panel s they can be removed, changed at any time.....some engravers like Floyd Warren used to sign his work UNDER the ejector housing, his name and the date of the work.................others like Charles Jarred worked their initials into the pattern and could be found on the trigger guard.........bottom line its an old model 3 screw BKH34 that was engraved,aftermarket, obviously not a "presentation as no name or such, as to whom it may have been presented to,so the value is of the gun itself plus the work, if it was gold wire very pricy...good luck and thank you for sharing......................

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Dan

NRA Benefactor

That gun has been re-worked some. The original Old Model .357 Blackhawks had fully-adjustable rear sights, and the gun shown has had the top strap welded up and reshaped prior to the engraving and other custom finish work.

Very interesting gun. Hope someone can shed some light on its history and you can share it with us.

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I^3

38master welcome to the forum. Thank you for sharing pictures of a very interesting gun. Did it come with a box? 1969 was before Ruger made Blackhawks in SS. If I am wrong someone will chime in and correct me. Ha ha.
gramps

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Pretty sure it's not stainless.

I'm guessing it's polished and blued, and then engraved thru the bluing so the engraving shows up "silver".

Maybe.

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I^3

Thanks for the responses! I do want to clarify a few things. First - were you able to look at all the pictures through my link to Photobucket? 2nd - The pictures do not due the gun justice because it looks like some bluing is on the gun but in reality there is absolutely none. After I placed the pictures I have into Photobucket they all appear to have taken on a blue hue or tint. The gun is actually polished to the point it looks like a mirror and it is the aluminum frame that is polished it is not plated. 3rd - There was no box with the gun when I received it and as far as being reworked regarding the sights, I am not so sure about that. It was the letter I received from Ruger that states the gun was shipped in November 1969. If anyone would like to see the pictures I took and have them emailed to them please let me know.

Is it possible that Charles H Jerred did work on these after he left Ruger, does anyone know if he is still alive?
Thanks again!

The work by Jerred, for the factory or not ( he did the work by the gun, on a contract basis, he did NOT work FOR the Ruger company ,anytime he does his work it is "signed", his initials worked into the pattern of the engraving............ I recall seeing some of his work on double barrel shots, may have been LC Smiths?? and it was awesome.......BIG difference from the Ruger handguns and the LC Smith double barrel shotguns we saw

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Dan

NRA Benefactor

The revolver looks like it was engraved, then someone of lesser talent came back and added the lines with the gold along with other "additions" to the original engraving.

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"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Well, I'm sure about the sights.

Your nice pictures reveal that the original adjustable rear sight has been removed and that area of the frame welded up. The top strap was then machined to resemble the old Colt single-actions. In addition, the original patridge front sight has been removed and the barrel fitted with a "half round" blade also similar to the Colt style. In other words, someone went to a lot of effort to create a good copy of the old Colt single actions, expending quite a bit of talented gunsmithing in the course of doing so.

Fascinating piece.

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I^3

Wow, someone spent some time on that job!

Thanks for sharing!

flatgate

PS I took the liberty to insert a few of your images in your post.

The patterns, minus the "barbed wire" accents, grips included, look Asian to my untrained eye. Just saying, nice pistol though.

Good example of a BBQ gun.

Mr. Jerred is sadly no longer with us. I'm certainly no expert on engraved pieces, but that design just doesn't look like Jerred's work to me.

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Yep The fast draw guys and Guys like Joe Bowman "The Straight Shooter" had this done to their Blackhawks. Plus a few of us CAS Shooters.
Nice Blackhawk
Jim