You are assuming the California approved list has the right number. Can you call Ruger and find out who was the last distributor to make a purchase of that model?
This one is available there but no "A" shown. No, I haven't heard of the "A" version and if you're a serious collector and chasing numbers …. Good to have them all.
hhmmm, alloy, of what ? stainless steel? or something else "lighter" but then they claim a "stainless finish"......... the LCRs are the lightweights I thought.........
For CA'a "not unsafe roster" some handguns carry an A - either on the SKU or gun itself. Smith does the same. Whatever the gun is without the A it's likely the same.
But you know, an aluminum SP101 is a pretty good idea.
The "A" is probably the abbreviation for "Approved".
I'm surprised Ruger didn't give it a different model number if that is what it is.
I've found that the new California Approved models over the last couple years appear to be identical in every way to a regular production Ruger model, the only difference being the model number.
Chet15