plum loading gates

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eveled

Hawkeye
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
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5,606
None of my frames are plum colored, but almost all of my loading gates are. I'm thinking it must be very common for loading gates to turn plum? Have others found this to be true?
 

contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
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Location
Lake Lure NC USA
The plum color comes from the metallurgy mix when they are made. Frames are made at a separate time & as such they can be different. It's not uncommon to find just part of a gun blue & part plum colored.
 

Hondo44

Hawkeye
Joined
Apr 3, 2009
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8,041
Location
People's Republik of California
New Models, Old Models or both?

It seems strange that after all these years Ruger still has this issue that's not seen near as often with other makers. But to me, it's just part of their appeal!

If mine was the only one that it happened to, I might feel different, but many, many show this "panache" if you will. Some of the old models with completely purple frames or purple 'lightening' streaks are pretty desirable. No two are alike.

One old model I have had severe scratches on the loading gate which had some purple left on it. It was a project gun anyway, not collectible, so I polished out the scratches and cold blued. I heated the metal as I always do for cold blue and it came out blue, and still is.

orig.jpg
 

eveled

Hawkeye
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
5,606
Anybody have an idea how long it takes to show up? Pretty sure my guns weren't like this when I bought them, then one day I noticed the loading gates are all very plum. No lightning bolts yet. Ed
 

Silent Sam

Blackhawk
Joined
Feb 26, 2006
Messages
728
It's not unique to Ruger revolvers or just to Ruger either. I have some Ruger rifles with plum receivers and some with just the bolt release lever plum colored. I also have an H&K P7 with a nicely plum colored slide and that is not particularly unique. Personally I like it although I understand from a manufacturing standpoint it was not desirable.
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
2,271
Location
Orange County, CA
I have a 1960s Finnish Valmet 12 guage O/U shotgun that has a plum receiver; rest of the blue is BLUE! And plum receivers are very common on Marlin Model 90 O/U shotguns made in the '40s and '50s. I had a 16 made in the late 1940s that was a very plummy purple plum, and still have a .410 made in the early 1940s that is a brownish plum.

It's not unknown on other American guns; my 1930s Savage Model 219 .30-30 has a "brownish plum" receiver, although I'm not sure it is from the same metallurgical process as the "plum" on other guns like Rugers. May be an effect of humidity on the bluing in the case of the Savage. But it is very even and shows no pitting or rust under high magnification. And the rest of the bluing on the gun is blue....

Who doesn't like plum? Now if they were BANANA, I'd have a problem!
 

Tip

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 11, 2014
Messages
368
Location
Round Rock, Texas
My early SBH has "gone plum" on not only the loading gate, but on the GF, cylinder, & frame as well. The (modified) 4 5/8" bbl. and steel ERH have remained blue.

14ilrty.jpg

Bluing of 1970 Blackhawk (.41 magnum) as Contrasted to Plum 1962 SBH
 

chet15

Hawkeye
Joined
Jan 22, 2001
Messages
5,993
Location
Dawson, Iowa
I've often wondered if some of these bad batches of "purple" cylinder frames weren't re-melted and the metal used to cast loading gates. Most of the loading gates I've seen on any SA have some brown to purple color to them.
Chet15
 

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