Hawkeye Finish Question

[Walter Rego]

I am looking at a late Hawkeye in the 2700 S/N range. The entire breechblock appears to have faded to a gray color. The rest of the gun has a high percentage of dark bluing. Has anyone seen this condition before with Hawkeyes, or could this be a sign of a refinish ? I only have less than high quality photos to go by at the moment. Thanks

 

[rugerguy]

NOT a very good 'scenario' but without actually "seeing" just what the gun actually looks like, and any and all tell tale things to look for, sounds like a case of over cleaning or improper cleaning.As often the case, a redo of the BAD 'parts', in this case the breech block, if the rest of the gun looks or appears to be good, proper (correct) finish....much like an abused, misusedn badly handled cylinder can be gone over, redone, so can the breech-block, and hopefully "matched up" to the rest of the gun...bottom line is 'price' and as to it being of the "original" finish....I've seen Hawkeyes for anywhere from $850 to well over $3000 if "as new" and boxed,,,,,,,,,,,,,
and I have seen breech blocks, blued, black, reddish ( plum) and one even nickled ,BUT never "grey"...... 8) :roll: :wink:

 

[Walter Rego]

The breech block looks almost like all the bluing was removed chemically but it is not polished bright. The ejector rod housing has been polished bright and the stocks are 1970's silver eagles with the SR logo. My gut feeling, without a hands-on inspection is that it was a well used varmint gun. I know there are a lot of Rugers out there that had worn ejector rod housings and/or grip frames that the owner's had polished out to bare aluminum, but the gray breech block gives me pause. If it was plum, I wouldn't worry. The asking price is in the collector price range and not the sub $1000 refinished or worn shooter range.

 

[HAWKEYE#28]

SUGGEST YOU PASS ON THE SUBJECT HAWKEYE. WHY? AT BEST, IT IS A TYPE GUN AND NOT COLLECTABLE, BASED ON THE ISSUES OF FINISH AND OTHER COMPONENT/FINISH COMMENTS. SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR A TOP CONDITION HAWKEYE, PREFERABLY WITH BOX AND PAPERS. PM IF YOU WISH TO DISCUSS......... :wink:

 

[BlackEye]

NOT a very good 'scenario' but without actually "seeing" just what the gun actually looks like, and any and all tell tale things to look for, sounds like a case of over cleaning or improper cleaning.As often the case, a redo of the BAD 'parts', in this case the breech block, if the rest of the gun looks or appears to be good, proper (correct) finish....much like an abused, misusedn badly handled cylinder can be gone over, redone, so can the breech-block, and hopefully "matched up" to the rest of the gun...bottom line is 'price' and as to it being of the "original" finish....I've seen Hawkeyes for anywhere from $850 to well over $3000 if "as new" and boxed,,,,,,,,,,,,,
and I have seen breech blocks, blued, black, reddish ( plum) and one even nickled ,BUT never "grey"...... 8) :roll: :wink:

Dan, I would love to find a Hawkeye shooter at the lower price range. D&T is ok, almost anything as long as it is sound mechanically. I think I told you about the one I sold years ago, raising a family.