Hello, I'm new to the forum, but not to guns in general. That said, I'm trying to get information on my Single Six. According to Ruger my revolver was manufactured in 2001. It has a 4 5/8" barrel like the Colorado Centennial model (which it isn't). My question is, how unusual are Single Sixes with this barrel length? I haven't seen any others in my searches. Thanks!
Curious
- Thread starter Ric
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Welcome to the best gun forum on the infernal net! You might want to edit your title to be more specific and also post it or another in the revolver section. I'd bet dollars to donuts there are a number of folks here that can help you with your question.
Edit; I also noticed your location... you might want to consider the Annual East Coast Ruger Gathering we have every October near Lake Lure.
Edit; I also noticed your location... you might want to consider the Annual East Coast Ruger Gathering we have every October near Lake Lure.
Welcome to the forum!
Welcome to the forum. In my humble opinion, the 4 5/8" (shorter bbl) guns are a lot more rare than the longer bbl guns. I've only seen one or two in all my years at the range(s). We'll know more once the more experienced collectors show up and weigh in.
J.
J.
Here in Iowa I haven't seen all that many Single-sixes in 4 5/8 in bbl. That's why when I saw one in blued steel in my local pawn shop in LNIB condition for about $200 below retail I was all over it.
Oh, and welcome to The Ruger forum!
Oh, and welcome to The Ruger forum!
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I hardly ever see the shorter barreled revolvers. It seems like they are all 5 1/2" or 6 1/2". Around here at least. I've got a 4 5/8" 357, but not a Single Six. Would love to have one though.
And welcome to the forum by the way!
I have had a couple of the 4 5/8" The Old Model with the XR-3 grip frame is really hard to find.
XR-3 bottom right.
A New Model 4 5/8" with it's Old Model Big Brother
Oh that damn Bottom Feeder snuck in
XR-3 bottom right.
A New Model 4 5/8" with it's Old Model Big Brother
Oh that damn Bottom Feeder snuck intimnc
Single-Sixer
The 4 5/8" version is not "rare"-it's just hard to find. I suspect Ruger made fewer of that model than the 5 1/2 & 6 1/2" mainly due to sales figures. I have owned several over the years both blue and stainless in all 3 barrel lengths and for me the 4 5/8" version is the best for me simply because of the way it feels. All are equally accurate and the slight difference in barrel length has minimal effect on velocity. It all comes down to what feels good to you.
Welcome to the forum. What these folks don't know about Rugers isn't worth knowing and they are generous to a fault in sharing their knowledge.
P.S. I lived in the Triad for 21 yrs. from 1995 -2016,went to 2-4 gun shows a year (Greensboro especially) and saw a bare handful of 4 5/8" Single Sixes but many, many of the others.
Welcome to the forum. What these folks don't know about Rugers isn't worth knowing and they are generous to a fault in sharing their knowledge.
P.S. I lived in the Triad for 21 yrs. from 1995 -2016,went to 2-4 gun shows a year (Greensboro especially) and saw a bare handful of 4 5/8" Single Sixes but many, many of the others.
Here's mine.
Hi, Ric- welcome to the Forum!
Around here, the 4-5/8" guns are likely the most seldom-seen of the four standard barrel lengths, but I wouldn't exactly call them rare.
Point of interest, regarding your original post- the "Colorado Centennial" Single-Six that I'm familiar with actually came with a 6.5" barrel installed, like the one in this Classified ad, from the Forum:
SOLD - Ruger Single-Six Colorado Centennial 22-22 Mag
Ruger Colorado Centennial 1876-1976 Commemorative. New Model Single-Six revolver in 22LR & 22 Magnum with both cylinders, which are engraved. 6 1/2" barrel with Centennial engraving on left side. Grip frame appears to be stainless and grips are nice grained walnut. Revolver appears unfired in...
www.rugerforum.com
contender
Ruger Guru
Welcome Ric!
Lost of good info above.
As for rarity,, it's one of those questions that has different answers.
The "Old Models" which are the 3-screw action types built prior to 1973,, are one direction to consider. The earliest ones,, also known as models "RSS4" are among the harder ones to get. (There are sub-variations within even those.) Then there are the OM Lightweights,, which also have a 4-5/8" barrel. Those are also rarer to find to buy, and desirable to many. And you get into the later convertible OM's as well. (RSSM4X). And later on,, the Super Single-Six models SC4 came along.
So in just the OM's you can have a certain rarity factor,, especially due to the actual production numbers being lower than the more common 5-1/2" & the 6-1/2" were.
But you compared the Colorado Centennial model, which as noted above has a 6-1/2" barrel to a 4-5/8" model. Your info on that comparison is incorrect.
But after 1973,,, with the New Model design,, over the decades,, there have been different models & such that have been produced with a 4-5/8" barrel.
To many,, that barrel length is desirable,, and has occasionally been made in a variation of lower production numbers. As such,, they can be either "Kinda rare, to uncommon, to occasionally more common" depending upon the actual variation.
The best way to get good solid info on your gun is to spend $10 & get the factory letter. You can find a link to this on the Ruger factory site. the letter will give you the actual model designation, it's month & year of production, when it was shipped, and where it was shipped to. Ruger doesn't release production numbers,, but we collectors around here use a resource known as "The Red Eagle News Exchange" as a bible to our hobby. We can sometimes get a fairly good idea of actual production numbers because many of us report stuff to the publisher of the RENE. (Chad Hiddleson,, and he's known as "chet15" around here.)
But in general,, the 4-5/8" barrel length variations are most often produced in fewer numbers than other guns just like it.
Lost of good info above.
As for rarity,, it's one of those questions that has different answers.
The "Old Models" which are the 3-screw action types built prior to 1973,, are one direction to consider. The earliest ones,, also known as models "RSS4" are among the harder ones to get. (There are sub-variations within even those.) Then there are the OM Lightweights,, which also have a 4-5/8" barrel. Those are also rarer to find to buy, and desirable to many. And you get into the later convertible OM's as well. (RSSM4X). And later on,, the Super Single-Six models SC4 came along.
So in just the OM's you can have a certain rarity factor,, especially due to the actual production numbers being lower than the more common 5-1/2" & the 6-1/2" were.
But you compared the Colorado Centennial model, which as noted above has a 6-1/2" barrel to a 4-5/8" model. Your info on that comparison is incorrect.
But after 1973,,, with the New Model design,, over the decades,, there have been different models & such that have been produced with a 4-5/8" barrel.
To many,, that barrel length is desirable,, and has occasionally been made in a variation of lower production numbers. As such,, they can be either "Kinda rare, to uncommon, to occasionally more common" depending upon the actual variation.
The best way to get good solid info on your gun is to spend $10 & get the factory letter. You can find a link to this on the Ruger factory site. the letter will give you the actual model designation, it's month & year of production, when it was shipped, and where it was shipped to. Ruger doesn't release production numbers,, but we collectors around here use a resource known as "The Red Eagle News Exchange" as a bible to our hobby. We can sometimes get a fairly good idea of actual production numbers because many of us report stuff to the publisher of the RENE. (Chad Hiddleson,, and he's known as "chet15" around here.)
But in general,, the 4-5/8" barrel length variations are most often produced in fewer numbers than other guns just like it.
