44 flattop

Help Support Ruger Forum:

RPM Enterprises

Buckeye
Joined
Jan 14, 2002
Messages
1,118
Location
Rugerville,WA. U.S.A.
Just picked up this .44 flattop and noticed the rear sight is not marked with the MICRO stamping. Second serial number falls in the 7 1/2" barrel length but this one is clearly a 6 1/2". Also steel ejector rod housing 'strait' with collared cylinder pin. Upon looking further and sending pics of the rear sight it was noticed that the area the rear blade fits instead of being square front and rear the rear area is rounded. Two other collectors seem to think that this sight is a prototype sight orinally for the super blackhawk. I think a factory letter is due on this one.
 

Attachments

  • 20241023_162438.jpg
    20241023_162438.jpg
    68.2 KB · Views: 141
  • 20241023_162124.jpg
    20241023_162124.jpg
    241.7 KB · Views: 147
  • 20241023_162203.jpg
    20241023_162203.jpg
    44.8 KB · Views: 150
My 7 1/2" FT 44 Mag.(#20515) rear sight is "rounded". If I interpret your description correctly, it appears you feel it should be square?



IIRC my ejector rod housing is straight (the part where the spring is)....

Per Ruger it's date of manufacture is 1959.

Hope this is of some value.

J.
 
Johnnu2, not the front where it fits in the top strap. But look where the sight blade fits. See how yours looks square the block let's say. Look at mine the front is square like yours but the rear part on yours is square also mine is rounded.
 
Yes, I think I see what you're referring to now.
You have a good eye for detail..... I never would have seen that..!!!
But then again, my wife gets new furniture and I miss that too....
Let us know what you find out.
J.
 
Are you sure or have you checked to see if it's a new sight?
The tail-tail sign is there is a little notch in the body right in front of the blade.
The new manufactured sights have the notch, the old ones don't.
Micro missing, might also be a "Friday" I got to go…🙄 ooops.

Interesting that the NM Sight started out squared up in the rear,,, now they are rounded.
 
much like the old man, it may have simply been because of the cost of the extra step to round it off instead of the straight cut?? extra step. more cost.........rounded could pick up more glare?? and on and on ,....."so it goes....Wil Terry" , RIP :unsure: ;)

the picture does show the pivot pin was "punched" back in?? and badly, maybe it was out for a replacement of the sight........:unsure::cool:

...looked in the box, and grabbed a few and alas they are all square...... :rolleyes:
 

Attachments

  • Micosighttrio2-11.jpg
    Micosighttrio2-11.jpg
    52.2 KB · Views: 50
Last edited:
FWIW,,, and a little off topic,,, Micro Sight did make a Square Nose for the BLACKHAWK with the rounded rear end,,,
found mostly on early SBH.
They were sold directly by Micro Sight/ Belmont, CA as a aftermarket replacement, they were all Steel, considered a upgrade from the aluminum that Ruger eventually became OEM.

I have never seen a Micro Sight without the "Micro",,,
However,,, Gary Reeder used to have ALL STEEL rear sights made, I don't know if he offered the round nose/ flattop sight. When I saw the OP's, I wondered if it might be one of Reeder's. No longer made or available.

I changed out the aluminum OEM for this Square Nose/ Rounded Rear "Micro" on my 41 BH.
52316889777_76ab639d6c_c.jpg
 
RPM Enterprises,
I believe what you have is a replaced rear sight (the one that began when the rear sight ribs were added starting with the first 44 SBH) and that immediately followed the steel, rounded front Micro sight. Yours looks to be aluminum alloy and someone rounded the front end to fit the cut in the frame.

The next change in the rear sight came much later sometime before about 1975 when the rear blade had the bump added, and the blade slot had a notch added to accommodate the bump. Apparently added because the rear blade could pop out under heavy recoil on occasion.

Since about 2005 it's nice to see Ruger has returned to an all steel Micro sight albeit with square front end and rounded rear. That's what my NM Flattop Blackhawks have. I don't know about standard NM Blackhawks: I don't have any newer than 2005.
 
Last edited:
Hondo44,,, Good eye, I pulled this up on my big screen and yep it definitely looks like an aluminum that was modified to fit. Some aluminum color seems to be peaking.

1729949887489.jpeg
 
FWIW,,, and a little off topic,,, Micro Sight did make a Square Nose for the BLACKHAWK with the rounded rear end,,,
found mostly on early SBH.
They were sold directly by Micro Sight/ Belmont, CA as a aftermarket replacement, they were all Steel, considered a upgrade from the aluminum that Ruger eventually became OEM.
G2,
That sight is the original SBH factory sight from 1959 through 1963. The only difference between that one and the Ruger 2005 new all steel Micro sight is that it doesn't have the hole in front of the sight blade for the blade with the bump on it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: G2
This is Elmer Keith's prototype Super Blackhawk #15527.
15528 has the same rear sight.
The rear sight on 15527 and/or 15528 need to be compared with the rear sight on Rick's flattop...

 
If anybody is able to do so, check out the the inset drawing of the rear sight on the first Super Blackhawk advertisement in 1959.
Also the rear sight in the parts explosion of any Old Model Super Blackhawk instruction manual (the gun that is disassembled there is 15528).
Chet15
 
Pic of the site on that auction gun look just like the OPs to me …. "Rounded" back.
 
FWIW, RPM's gun is a Flattop, not a Super.

I thought the inquiry was about a missing "Micro" stamping on the sight. To the best of my knowledge Micro Sight Co, never made a aluminum body sight, I have never seen one.

IMO, this looks like a "newer" aluminum body square nose/ rounded rear sight has had the front rounded to fit the rounded nose of the flattop…. Like the Original went missing, damaged, lost, ???,, and this was a modified to be a replacement.

I hope RPM comes back and maybe reads the observations made,,,, if not,,, the puzzle was interesting in the least.
 
You can also see a ding in the top strap where the pin was "tapped" in, using a larger punch..along with the end of the pin being deformed.
Of my Flat Top .44's all 4 are Square & Marked Micro..'57 .357 is marked Micro and is Rounded and Plum Colored.
 
Last edited:
Top