Collectible???

[Lance0812]

Scored an OM Blackhawk three-screw .45 with 7.5 barrel.
Serial number check shows it was made in 1972.

May have a somewhat rare one because it has no adjustable sights and there's no sign it ever had any.

Finish is blue and shows a litte wear at the muzzle, otherwise I'd say it's 95%.

Grips do not have the Ruger medallion, so they may be aftermarket.

Lock-up is tight all around and you have to look hard to see the cylinder/forcing cone gap.

Any ideas as to scarcity and/or value?

 

[collectormzornes]

Can you post a picture? Also as far as no adjustable sights to my knowledge no blackhawk was made with drift adjustable sights but I am no expert by any means.

 

[Lance0812]

Not talking lack of drift adjustable.

These are the kind of sights you see on a Ruger Vaquero: just a rear channel and a blade front sight.
Pics later, and thanks.

 

[contender]

Pics please.
It sounds like a gunsmith may have re-configured this OM 45. A call to Ruger records is in order. But,, I bet it will not letter as a fixed sighted anything as NONE of the OM's I've ever heard of were done with fixed sights.
Take a close-up pic of the firing pin hole area and post that.

 

[lfpiii]

Never seen one but I would like to see pictures.

 

[flatgate]

A lot of gunsmiths recognized Ruger's inherent strength and modified the wonderful Blackhawk into something "different".

I'm positive that's what you are discussing......and, as a FYI, the Old Model .45 cal. Blackhawk has the smallest production numbers of ANY of the standard, cataloged Old Model centerfires........

Perhaps a "Movie Gun"? We gotta see pics........

flatgate

 

[bigbore45colt]

I'd love to see pics too. both front and rear sight. I would think that the factory front sight would be way too tall for a fixed rear sight so I'm assuming it has been modified, if only shortened.

Like Contender says, take a good pic of the side of the topstrap, where the sight pin would be.

BB45C

 

[rugerguy]

when one welds up, and rounds off the top strap the sight hole is eliminated, been a while since we have done one, my guy welded it up, and we contoured, reworked the top, and a machinist milled the grooved down the center.dave also soldered a new rounded sight like the Vaqueros but we used a Colt front sight, round, no base..............last one we did was a 357 mag OM BH, so there is one rinning around out there, as well as another we saw that was 'metalifed SS' by Ron Mahovsky back in the mid/late 70's so it will look like a stainless one,,, yessir, a "pre Vaquero", who'd a thunk...............at least Reeder and some of the other guys had names for their custom stuff .......would love to find or get my hands on some of that 'custom' stuff we did back then, like the 256 Win we converted in Dan Wessons, or the 22 hornet Hawkeyes,,,,,,oh my.....

 

[Robb Barnes]

Anything is possible with a good guy on a welder. Alan Harton took a Maximum I sent him and totally rebuilt it to replicate the topstrap of a Freedom Arms so I could use a FA Lovell scope mount on it once he converted it to a 5 shot 414 Supermag. You can NOT tell it didn't come from the factory as far as fit and finish goes. Liek Alan says, it is all just "blacksmithing" when doing stuff like topstrap work.

 

[chet15]

Yes, I think there were a few good Ruger Blackhawks turned into Colt clones...fast draw, exhibition, movies etc. Joe Bowman had several pair of guns he used and I remember a pair of Blackhawks that had just that treatment done to them.
Chet15