1980 Ruger Stainless mark 1 confirmed by ruger ! Target

d_beckett · Apr 18, 2022

Bought this at a auction this last Saturday.
never seen one .told it’s plated . Coated .
call Ruger today. They confirmed.it is 1980 ,stainless ,target.Mark 1
wrong box .

NikA · Apr 19, 2022

The customer service line confirmed this for you? Surprised you didn't need to request a letter, the depth of CS knowledge is usually not great...

Highstandardguy · Apr 19, 2022

It has an AMT trigger so there have been some mods.

rugerguy · Apr 19, 2022

....not to doubt you ,BUT CS for all these years still think the RSTs of the 50s and 60s are Mark Is....get the letter....no, never say never with Ruger, and being they had 'stainless' in stock then and the Mark II's was coming out shortly back then and they did make up the RST BIll RUger Signature model " I of 5000" about that same era, it would NOT surprise me that maybe some were made up in the tool room " prototypes? whatever, if ONLY it could talk....heck about every gun company out there had pieces ,parts, and "lunch box "specials" come out of the factory by some workers.... we had a few REM. 1911s that had NO serial numbers over the years....so many came out that even ATF recognises them as such......hhhhhmmmm

and yes, from the pictures we've seen so far it does look like stainless, would have to test the metal to REALLY know for certain...ah now where is my stainless steel S&W Model 19.........

arcticruger · Apr 19, 2022

Very Interesting, nice MK I. Sure would like to see some more hi res pics. One of the right side with serial would be nice as well.

contender · Apr 20, 2022

Get the letter. Period!

d_beckett · Apr 20, 2022

Ordered letter today .
I’ll keep updated

arcticruger · Apr 20, 2022

Good luck! . You should be getting it back fairly quickly. I had a turnaround of 17 days on my last one. Sent request form on 3/23, LOA dated and postmarked 3/31, and I received it 4/9.

chet15 · Apr 24, 2022

Curious how Ruger confirmed a 1980 5-1/2" bull barrel as stainless.
There weren't any stainless models offered at that time, so if your letter doesn't come back as anything other than T512, how would you know?
I suspect it has been plated, because the rear sight base is also silver color. Factory KMK512's (a Mark II mind you) or any Mark II target gun for that matter, had blue anodized rear sight bases.
Maybe there's a way for you to do a cold blue test on it? Take the receiver off of the grip frame, do a deep scratch somewhere inside the frame and see if it takes a cold blue.
Chet15

Quick Draw · Apr 24, 2022

I too have a stainless standard from 1970 serial number 10-414XX. Maybe I should get a letter also. Well, OK it looks like stainless. Somebody did a great job plating or coating this pistol. I can't find any trace of bluing inside the frame or anywhere else. Polished up pretty nice with some Flitz. Here's a stainless MKIV for comparison in the picture.

rugerguy · Apr 25, 2022

.....Mahovskys Metalife SS finish the gun will look exactly like a stainless one...our shop did them for years......

d_beckett · Apr 30, 2022

Got the letter from ruger

rugerguy · Apr 30, 2022

well the letter say nothing about it being stainless, just a T-512 what we thought it should be....but still a NICE gun, we like it. and if its Metalife it will endure quite well .I still have ours from the mid 1970s.....

street · May 4, 2022

If it was stainless steel, then it would have a (K) in the model number. As it doesn't then it came from the factory as BLUE.

1980 Ruger Stainless mark 1 confirmed by ruger ! Target

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