Post Your .44 FLATTOP November shipped Blackhawks!!

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Joined
Mar 2, 2000
Messages
1,266
Location
Tennessee
ROCS is dedicating its fall 2016 issue of the Digest Magazine to celebrate the 60th birthday of the Ruger .44 Magnum "Flattop". It has been estimated that 790 guns were shipped in 1956. We would like to tie down a good estimate of how many were shipped during the first month of production, November 1956.

Please list the serial number of your .44 Flattop that was shipped in November 1956 that has been validated with a factory letter or factory email or phone call. Please do not submit a gun that has not been validated, do not guess, we want the information to be accurate as possible. Thanks in advance for your participation!!

FT44

I'll start with a couple that I know:

172
179
200
204
212
213
219
279
299
301
305
346
379
693
708
712
714
719
723
824
888
892
911
 

Hashknife Hartley

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
359
Location
Dewey, Arizona USA
Can't help you with a November, '56 gun but 512 was shipped in December, '56; shows how erratic Ruger was at shipping guns out, with both 732 and 911 being shipped in November.
HH
 

BRASS FRAME

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Messages
231
Location
OHIO
Bill, I have #219 and #712. Both have factory letters stating shipped in November, 1956. Brass Frame/Lee
 

chet15

Hawkeye
Joined
Jan 22, 2001
Messages
5,993
Location
Dawson, Iowa
Here's the ones I have in my notes that weren't covered...

200...reported to be the earliest commercially shipped .44 flattop. Never did hear if it left with a group of guns, or ?

305 mfg. 11/16/56 shp. 11/23/56
708
714
719

Also...serial number 14 may have been the first .44 flattop shipped...it went to the NRA for testing, so is pretty much a different animal from those first commercially shipped...because the Ruger people made sure it had a large button ejector rod and walnut grips....they didn't want anything bad appearing in print so they made sure it didn't have the small square button, and also made sure it had smooth walnut grips instead of the cheese grater checkered hard rubber.

Chet15
 

bigbore45colt

Hunter
Joined
Apr 9, 2005
Messages
3,532
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Bill,

Number 824 is listed in your article. Any idea where that serial number came from? I have a few other 824s and wouldn't mind adding that one to the pile.

Thanks!

BB45C
 

chet15

Hawkeye
Joined
Jan 22, 2001
Messages
5,993
Location
Dawson, Iowa
From a ROCS thread on the same subject.... This may very well be the complete list, although J.D. did say there is a possibility he missed a couple. So this is J.D.'s list of November 1956 shipped .44 Blackhawks.

67
72
102*
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
177
179
182
185
187
188
190
195
198
200
204
205
206
208
214
217
218
219
223
226
227
228
230
236
245
247
248
251
254
255
256
260
261
263
266
272
275
277
279
289
294
295
299
301
302
303
305
306
309
312
316
317
320
323
330
331
335
336
337
339
340
342
343
344
345
346
347
351
355
358
365
366
367
368
369
370
378
379
384
385
385
386
387
390
391
393
394
395
396
397
399
400
402
405
456
476
478
487
509
511
516
517
519
521
522
529
531
535
537
542
543
544
546
550
551
554
602
668
673
676
679
684
693
701
703
707
708
712
713
715
717
719
720
722
723
726
729
788
810
811
817
820
824
830
835
836
837
842
847
848
849
855
859
860
863
864
867
870
871
872
876
878
879
881
885
888
890
891
895
896
897
904
908
911
914

* Note that serial number 102 was shipped 8/14/56

J.D. also provided the number of guns shipped during each day of November 1956, as follows...

20th - Tuesday 1
21st - Wednesday 6
22nd -Thursday 0
Thanksgiving
23rd Friday 19
24th Saturday 26
25th - Sunday 0
26th - Monday 25
27th - Tuesday 8
28th - Wednesday 43
29th - Thursday 38
30th - Friday 2
BKH4 shipped during November 1956 = 168

P.S. serial #200 was made in 1956 and shipped in 1957
J.D. says that #102 went out on 8/14/56 and is not included in the November dates listed above.

There are a total of 185 serial numbers listed above as shipped in November 1956.

Also, Chet15 actually saw serial number 67 along with its .357 Blackhawk same serial numbered mate at a gun show in eastern Nebraska in the early to mid 1980's. At the show, the BKH4 was a true Type 2 with large round button ejector button and the BKH3 was a true Type 1 with small square serrated ejector button. The BKH4 also had its original two piece box with a "WITH WALNUT GRIPS" sticker on the end. At the next show where these two guns were seen, the owner had switched the ejector rods (maybe he only switched around the ejector buttons?) to make the BKH4 seem like a bigger rarity when it never left the factory that way.

Chet15
 
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