9mm Blackhawk

[eveled]

My friend just got 2 convertible Blackhawks model 00318 off of Gunbroker. 38-xxxxx.

The serial number lookup indicates 2022 ship date.

I’m wondering if they made another run of them? Or if they just found a couple?

These have been unavailable for quite some time. Then 1 guy ends up with at least seven of them. They sold quick. As far as I can tell nobody else has them.

Is 38 the same prefix as the last run?

 

[weaselmeatgravy]

I can't say if 38- is the current prefix, but it is certainly the last one I knew about. RENE has 38- starting in 2009 and running into 2013 when the Ref was last updated. At that time, they were only into 38-22xxx and it looks like they were only making 5-6000 per year, so it is pretty likely that it is the current prefix. The prefix is not dedicated to .357 caliber, I have 10mm x .40 S&W Blackhawks from 2017 with the 38- prefix, the .327 Fed Blackhawks were 38- prefix, and I recently saw a .41 Mag with that prefix.

That goes to show how slow Blackhawk production has been lately. The 32- prefix was dedicated to .357 and didn't last 3 years, the 33- prefix barely made it 2 years, same with 34-. 35- lasted over 2 years. Then it slows down: 36- lasted over 5 years, and 37- lasted over 20 years! Now 38- is mixed in with other calibers and appears to have lasted at least 12 years. A single prefix is good for 100,000 guns from -00000 to -99999. So in the 1970's, they were making 50K Blackhawks per year, on average, just in .357 and .357/9mm. Now even with other calibers thrown in, they are only hitting about 5K per year.

Ruger used to occasionally skip small blocks of numbers for whatever reason. I'm not sure if they still do that. But if so, the recent figures are even more grim.

 

[bisleyfan41]

Ruger is making them again.

 

[Rocdoc]

I sure hope they can churn out more than 5K a year if they are running again.

 

[louiethelump]

They (4 5/8” blue 357/9mm) are currently (as of Sept 1) in stock at a TN retailer that sells lots of knives, at a great price by today’s standards and free shipping.

I just checked and they are still in stock as of 9/4/22 at 9:30 AM eastern time.