Sgt Duncan
Bearcat
I agree !Gosh, and I thought the 44 mag flatop came out in 1956.........
1955 Ruger Blackhawk SN 55
- Thread starter Chisholm
- Start date
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just some small 'details' but all in all, some very, very NICE guns..........
If you'd share the SN of the brass frame .30, we can tell you if it is the ONE known.
Or, I guess, we could just tell you that the one known is 50-18400 and you can check yourself and report back please.
Ruger sold many of the brass grip frames as a $20 part that folks would buy to customize their guns, so a lot of brass frame guns you run across today were modified that way and don't fetch the values that the factory-shipped brassies do.
Or, I guess, we could just tell you that the one known is 50-18400 and you can check yourself and report back please.
Ruger sold many of the brass grip frames as a $20 part that folks would buy to customize their guns, so a lot of brass frame guns you run across today were modified that way and don't fetch the values that the factory-shipped brassies do.
Then I'd suggest spending the ten bucks for a factory letter to attempt to confirm it. Unconfirmed, it is a $700 or so gun. If it confirmed, you might be looking at $10K.
contender
Ruger Guru
As you can see,, the .30 Carbine can be either a very rare one,, or just a screwdriver modification. As noted above,, you could buy the brass g/f & trigger easily, and swap them out. Dealers did it,, and private parties did it. A FEW unsavory types,, would CLAIM it to be "factory" when in fact it wasn't,, trying to get more money out of one.
But if it's an OM .30 Carbine,, and the brass g/f is a Ruger one,, I'd put the value closer to $900. A factory brass g/f & trigger is worth about $300 alone. You can check the g/f by removing the grips,, and if it has casting markings of "MR3-DB" it's factory. That was the factory designation for their brass g/f's.
But if it's an OM .30 Carbine,, and the brass g/f is a Ruger one,, I'd put the value closer to $900. A factory brass g/f & trigger is worth about $300 alone. You can check the g/f by removing the grips,, and if it has casting markings of "MR3-DB" it's factory. That was the factory designation for their brass g/f's.
Well, my valuation, while off the cuff, factored in (or out) the missing XR3-RED grip frame, grips, and narrower trigger needed to restore a modified gun to original configuration. But sure, it could be $800+. The larger point being that since there are exactly zero confirmed brass frame .30 Carbine Blackhawks at this time, if one were to confirm as a BKH-31B, collectors would bid it to the moon in a well-publicized auction. Even the one "known" example 50-18400 will not letter as aBKH-31B.
It is known that many brass frame Super Blackhawks left the factory without being noted as having brass frames. That happened when there was a shortage of steel grip frames, so brass ones were substituted but not noted. That could very well have happened to a few .30's as well, but the chances are less likely since the standard .30 grip frame was the alloy XR3-RED that was not in short supply. And if Dougan found no evidence of that when he was allowed in to plow through Ruger records while researching his P&R book (which lists all known brass frame revolvers by serial number in tables in the back), the chances of getting one confirmed are slim. There are however still occasional S47B guns that come up as probably legit that didn't make it into the book.
It is known that many brass frame Super Blackhawks left the factory without being noted as having brass frames. That happened when there was a shortage of steel grip frames, so brass ones were substituted but not noted. That could very well have happened to a few .30's as well, but the chances are less likely since the standard .30 grip frame was the alloy XR3-RED that was not in short supply. And if Dougan found no evidence of that when he was allowed in to plow through Ruger records while researching his P&R book (which lists all known brass frame revolvers by serial number in tables in the back), the chances of getting one confirmed are slim. There are however still occasional S47B guns that come up as probably legit that didn't make it into the book.
thank you. I will do that.
as we all know, anything is possible. I was wondering if the Ruger letter would confirm the Brass frame?
It will list the catalog number they recorded back in the day. It will likely be BKH-31 but if they recorded it as having the brass frame, it will be BKH-31B. The trailing B denotes Brass. You should explain the situation in hopes that they will dig a little deeper to see if they can find evidence of the brass frame.
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Nice, box, but the thing to remember was back then any of that "added" information, in this case a possible 'brass' grip frame would have been marked on the outside, ,on the cardboard shipping wrap, the letter "B" would be at the end of the catalog number as 'WmG' noted above....still and again all NICE stuff, you are very fortunate.....
My friend has a Blackhawk 357/9mm which came in a Regular 357 box. But the cardboard box that came with it had the serial number hand written on it, just as you stated.Nice, box, but the thing to remember was back then any of that "added" information, in this case a possible 'brass' grip frame would have been marked on the outside, ,on the cardboard shipping wrap, the letter "B" would be at the end of the catalog number as 'WmG' noted above....still and again all NICE stuff, you are very fortunate.....
Also, as I just found out- when Ruger transferred all the handwritten records to a searchable computerized database, a lot of the original information was missed or left out. A call to Ruger might solve the question.
Convertibles, like brass frames, had an extra character in the catalog number to denote that feature. For convertibles, it was an "X" instead of the "B" for the brass frame guns. None of the regular gun boxes had the B or X printed, instead, that information was only found on the brown corrugated shipping sleeve, which was an outer box that surrounded the gun box when shipped from the factor to the distributor. This is a Single Six box for a convertible, but the same scheme applies to the Blackhawks except the Blackhawk boxes were yellow and black like you showed above. The model of this one is RSS9X but the "X" only appears on the shipping sleeve (often just called the shipper or "book wrap") and the gun box only says RSS9. Since the gun boxes were printed elsewhere, it was cheaper for Ruger to just print one version with the base model and then use a rubber stamp with any extra info when needed. A single cylinder RSS9 would use the same inner box, just as a standard frame Blackhawk would use the same inner box used for a brassie, or a .357 Blackhawk would use the same inner box as the .357/9mm. If you don't have the shipper, that is very common since it was thrown away more often than the inner gun box was. Having the gun box is a bonus, and also having the shipper would be a double bonus. Without the shipper, you would need to confirm with Ruger that a gun left the factory with a second cylinder or a brass grip frame. Serial numbers were generally handwritten on both the inner box (with a grease pen or crayon) and on the shipper (in pencil). By the mid-1960s and into the 70s when the brass frame guns were made, the location of the serial number was on the side (long edge) of the box in a contrasting color and the penciled number also the side of the shipper.
Off topic but discussed here and related......I suggest that a brass MR3DB frame and accessories(trigger and grip panels in the small white factory box,) are worth more than the noted $300 figure......that is an old number in my Ruger world...just sayin'
contender
Ruger Guru
I was trying to give an idea of value. I know sometimes they sell for more and didn't add in the grip panels in my average pricing of $300 for the grip frame & trigger. A box, as well as the grips would add more for sure.
All good!
All good!
I think you will find the "package" a box, grips trigger and frame will fetch at least $375 to $450, maybe MORE in an "auction" and when we had the shop in the 1970s we paid $7.50 for the "package" and we went through MANY, MANY of them......
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NitroAcres
Single-Sixer
I'd gladly pay $375 for one...and put it on one of my 6-1/2"Supers...just to add some brass to that shelf..
Did anyone ever explain the Date discrepancy on this "1955" ?
Did anyone ever explain the Date discrepancy on this "1955" ?
