44 Mag/44-40 Convertible No 44-40 Cylinder

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444Aggie

Bearcat
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Jun 18, 2022
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College Station, TX
Newbie here looking for wisdom. I have what appears to be one of the 50 44 mag/44-40 convertibles so marked but without the 44-40 cylinder. Box is marked S47 and serial number is 87-0122X. Can someone elaborate? Reference of Ruger Firearms says only two of these have surfaced. What do I have? Thanks in advance for the help.

444Aggie
 

weaselmeatgravy

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Ruger rollmarked more frames as convertibles (model S4440) than they made 44-40 cylinders for, so the rest of the frames were used for single cylinder S47N Super Blackhawks. While only two are known to RENE, there are likely a few more out there, including yours. I had not heard a quantity of 50 quoted before.

RENE states:

S47N with two-line "RUGER .44 CAL. CONVERTIBLE NEW MODEL BLACKHAWK" rollmark on the left side of the cylinder frame. Known s/n's 87-01231 and 87-01245. Two known. Extremely rare. This variety was produced when the stock of .44-40 cylinders for the model S4440 convertible was depleted, so the gun was fitted with a .44 Magnum cylinder to complete the production run. They were fitted with the .44 Magnum cylinder only and shipped out as the regular model S47N.

The highest known convertible S4440 is 87-01219 and the 87 prefix was only used for the S4440 until they were done making those, then they opened it up for other Supers. So there are roughly 1200 convertibles.

Neat collectible gun, having the box sets it apart from a S4440 that is missing the 44-40 cylinder. Do you have the shipper? That would be the real prize since it has the serial number as well as catalog number.
 

weaselmeatgravy

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Ah, OK, now I see the 50 you mentioned in the actual S4440 section of the Ref.

S-4440 Special distributor model. Only one variety of this model was made. Known s/n range 87-00010 to 87-01219. A total of 1,198 were shipped to Jerry's Sport Center (PA) from 1990 to 1991. Original retail $395.25. Note: Apparently, the factory ran out of .44-40 cylinders for the remaining cylinder frames (which already had the two-line "RUGER .44 CAL. CONVERTIBLE NEW MODEL BLACKHAWK" rollmark on them), so as many as 50 cylinder frames were assembled with normal .44 Magnum cylinders and then shipped out as the model S47N (two known, s/n's 87-01231 and 87-01245, see the chapter on New Model Super Blackhawks). Note that after the S4440 series was produced, Ruger began serial numbering again at s/n 87-02000 (s/n example 87-02109 – KS458N).
 

444Aggie

Bearcat
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College Station, TX
I don't have the shipper. Box is not excellent but pretty good with a piece of tape on it. Original owner's manual. Cylinder turn ring but really nice overall. Thanks much for the reply and information.
 

contender

Ruger Guru
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Welcome & great find!

As noted,, send for the letter,, spend the $10,, and wait a few weeks. The letter will confirm exactly what you have.
 

chet15

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Dawson, Iowa
The suspense is killing me!!
Just plug your serial number into Ruger's serial number lookup page and it will tell you what model your gun was shipped as. The S47N is Ruger model number 0802 while the S4440 convertible is Ruger model 0812. I suspect since your box says S47N that it is one of the rare "overrun" guns with unfluted cylinder and .44 Mag. only (Let us know if the cylinder is rollmarked).
Guns marked with the ".44 Cal. Convertible" rollmark on the left side of the frame are serial numbered as high as 87-01249.
Pictures??

here is the link...

Chet15
 

444Aggie

Bearcat
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Location
College Station, TX
I just checked and Ruger serial number check says 0812 but the box says S47N. I have attached a couple of photos. What the heck do I have?
 

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