Factory Brass Frame .30 Carbine

Happy to be here, thanks for having me and the members for the help.

Square back came only on a Super Blackhawks I think. Maybe a few oddball exceptions, I don't know.
On the s/n search, after you enter your 4 digits and it says not available, scroll down a little on that same page and see the dialogue/menu box and select your gun.

The Ruger brass grip frames are marked MR-3DB on the right side toward the bottom and have the square-back trigger guard.



Except for the markings and the material used they are essentially identical to the steel version used on the Super Blackhawks and use the same grip panels.

Welcome to the Forum.

hittman is mistaken. The Ruger factory brass grip frames do have the "square dragoon" shape. You can see it in the picture above. And yes,, they are marked with "MR-3DB" as shown.

Now,, your .30 Carbine Blackhawk with a 4 digit serial number is a first year production. 1968. In 1968 they made the guns with the number range of; 1-9304. In 1969, they added the 50 prefix due to the 1968 Gun Control Act.

Notice how rough the casting is in Ale-8(1) picture above. The MR-3DB is located on an angle just above the grip panel locator pin ,,, the casting can sometimes be so rough, it can be hard to see.

I have also seen where the casting is cleaned up (IMO post Ruger) by bubba and the MR-3DB has been partially or completely removed. The picture above is very typical of what is "normal".
It's brass, and some Bubbas just can't stop polishing the pig.

Here is an example of a MR-3DB that I wished I would have taken pictures before its massage, it was so wonky from Bubba and his Dremel, but it shined!
… it was basically given to me because it was so bad.



… Did we just destroy a vintage thread?

Well since this is a 30 Carbine thread and one of the questions was about Square Trigger Gaurd.
This is a New Model 30 carbine, with a NM Square Trigger Guard BGF, Super Hunter Grips, Super Hammer, customized by this Bubba.

Here is my 1968 four digit .30 cal. Carbine, I'm inclined to agree that the trigger guard and grip frame have been changed

Here is a pic I took many moons ago showing the MR-3DB in the frame casting on a factory brassie.



Ruger sold the frames and wide trigger as an accessory package for $20 back in the day, so they were added to many guns after leaving the factory.

This is quite an old thread that was resurrected from 2010.

G2 said:

Well since this is a 30 Carbine thread and one of the questions was about Square Trigger Gaurd.
This is a New Model 30 carbine, with a NM Square Trigger Guard BGF, Super Hunter Grips, Super Hammer, customized by this Bubba.

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G2 - you need this for a pair.

And here is #2090 30 carbine with brass grip frame on GB. Bidding like it's real--

"I'm inclined to agree that the trigger guard and grip frame have been changed"

The trigger guard & grip frame are all one piece. And yes,, the general consensus is that someone added the brass grip frame.

So I removed the panels and I don't see the "MR-3DB" or any other stamp anywhere on the frame. However upon closer inspection the screw heads look to be slightly stripped so that would be a good indication of some "at home work". It also looks as though some areas have been filed down and the trigger looks like its seated off to one side of the trigger slot. I did a bit more digging and found that the brass frames from the Super Blackhawks can be fitted to the OM Blackhawks with a bit of "fine tuning" which might account for the file marks. Also, if I'm not mistaken, the SBH has a wider trigger which might explain the offset look of the trigger in the slot. Again, I'm not and expert on the matter so these are all just assumptions on my part.

If frame is in fact off of a SBH the lack of the stamp has me perplexed. As far as I can tell any aftermarket brass frame aren't sold in the "Dragoon" style.

And yes I know it needs a cleaning.

There was an aftermarket outfit making dragoon style brass grip frames for old models at some point. I never saw one but I believe the company was called Power Custom.

weaselmeatgravy said:

There was an aftermarket outfit making dragoon style brass grip frames for old models at some point. I never saw one but I believe the company was called Power Custom.

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That might explain the lack of the stamp on the frame.

WMG is correct. There were some aftermarket brass grip frames offered. And I too can't recall exactly who did them. But Qualite comes to mind.

Looking at the pictures of the .30 Carbine,, I'd say it's definitely an aftermarket grip frame.

I have a Ruger brass grip frame and one marked BNR, I like the BNR because it is set up to work with the old and new models. Have the Ruger and the BNR on Ruger Old Armies

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I have had the Qualites and they are fine. Just sold one this weekend installed on a New Model Blackhawk (they were offered for Old Models and New Models). They appear to have a darker yellow tone and are more like bronze than brass. Brownell's used to sell them. They also seem to be denser castings without the internal flaws of an original. Ruger had problems with the perosity of the brass frames they sold and installed. They bought them from an outside vendor in New York. There is more info about the original frames in John Dougan's book on Rugers; a must for any Ruger collector. The 30 Carbine Blackhawk was never fitted with the MR-3DB frame save for one or two (litterally). Most brass frames were sold to consumers to upgrade their revolvers (they even fit a Single Six). The greatest number of factory installed brass frames were done in 1972 era with Old Armies and Super Blackhawks getting the most. Next were the 357 Blackhawks with the 41's and 45's being least common to rare; especially 41's. The one shown by Rhyno appears to be a Qualite. Hope this helps out.

mcgivern said:

In my 51 years of Ruger collecting, I have never seen a documented factory brass frame .30 carbine. It's been raining all day so I have been looking through old Gun Digest books. In the 1977 issue, there is an article on Ruger rarities and on page 75 there is a picture of a brass frame .30 carbine. What gives? Could there really be one (or more) out there?
Don

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When the 1972 Ruger press kit came out it included two brass frame Ruger revolvers... a .45 Blackhawk with brass grip frame (I think it was 4-5/8", don't remember right now) and a .30 Blackhawk with Brass frame. One of the Ruger collector books once stated that neither serial number would letter as factory brass. But lo and behold... a Rugerforum member posted a pic of the .45 Blackhawk he picked up (this has been 10-15 years ago probably). I thought the serial number looked familiar and looked it up, lo and behold it was the gun in Ruger's factory photograph!! And yes it had a factory brass frame on it, and yes it lettered as factory brass!
So maybe the .30 Old Model that is pictured will also letter as brass? I can see the gun in the factory photo lettering as brass, but perhaps the hiatus in .30 production makes it true that no other BKH-31B's were made.
Chet15