Lightweight Single-Six (Tri-Color)

[DARE]

This gun belonged to my father. It was one of his fast-draw guns. In 1958 he belonged to a fast-draw club in Ft. Worth, Texas. He had a two-gun fast-draw rig he made himself. Ruger Lightweight Single-Six .22 Long Rifle #201101 shipped in May 1956 to Berns Wholesale Sporting Goods Company in Denver, Colorado.
Don't know if dad bought it new or used. I think the walnut grips were listed as an accessory by Ruger. Don't know if the gun could be ordered that way. The Blue Book of Gun Values says Tri-Color serial number range 200000 to 205250.
The grip frame says Alcoa. I understand the first guns came that way and later Ruger did their own casting.

 

[rugerguy]

welcome to the forum and for sharing a very nice looking LW,,,,a fine specimen.
Those grips appear to be of the vintage ,same year as your gun,and may have been for one of the Jarred engraved models ( RSSE) ala 1956-7, and I believe they were special ordered from a company called Sile , who had them made in Italy with really nice grain...the top rear of the panels is sculpted and were also offered but in a plainer grain, to be used on the 44 magnum flattops of 1956-57........again NICE gun , awesome grips

 

[rugerguy]

yessir that is correct ,and could have been gotten at any time subsequent even to the gun being shipped,,,only an invoice with the "special order" noted , as most of the time accessories were not listed...my wifes LW was shipped and only a note from the dealer, Jacquas , here in Ohio, that ivory grips were ordered afterwards ,so not part of the original invoice, oh well that was a long time ago....would be interesting to get a new factory letter they offer today, as they offer pretty good details, but she has no want or need to do so.........

 

[GasGuzzler]

Welcome. Nice piece.

My Mom and sister were born in Sherman and my Dad in a house near Ida. My parents live south of Luella now near the Holloway Cemetery.

 

[GasGuzzler]

...and what's funny is @DARE has his location listed as Sherman, TX where the high school mascot is the Bearcat and his member designation is Bearcat as well.

 

[contender]

Welcome to the Forum!!

Dan (rugerguy) has given you excellent info. I can only add that if that Lightweight was used in "fast draw" it doesn't show much wear that many would expect. Especially the cylinder notches,, that are notorious for chipping.

 

[contender]

Glad to have you here.

The notches in that Lightweight don't show the same amount of wear a lot of others do. It was common to see more chipping of the notches. Finding a cylinder without chipping is rare!

 

[Hondo44]

Nice heirloom from your dad, enjoy!
I couldn't help but notice the hammer pivot screw has worked its way loose.

 

[rugerguy]

...good eye Jim, I was more impressed with the grips and the lack of "CHIPPING" on the cylinder, as Ty noted, but it is because the timing was "very good/precise" and yes obviously "quick draw" holster wear,,on the barrel and housing ,BUT to me, that would clean up and 'TLC' to be made to look very nice and quite easily too, have done a LOT of them over the years...again NICE gun and a true "keeper"......

 

[hittman]

Completed auctions at places like GunBroker are your best guide on pricing.
There won’t be many there.
I think there’s only one now without the box and it landed in the $1000 range.
You may enjoy the info in RENE too.

Thread 'Subscribe to the Red Eagle News Exchange'

Jul 2, 2008

By popular demand, here is a sticky with info for subscribing to RENE.

What is RENE? The Red Eagle News Exchange (RENE) is a quarterly Ruger collector & enthusiast's newletter with the latest information on Ruger firearms, member articles, new Ruger variations & discoveries, selected recent auction results, classified ads & announcements, etc. New members also get a complimentary copy of the Reference of Ruger Firearms, which has a HUGE amount of detail on models, variations, production numbers, timelines, etc. Updates to the Reference are made every few years and...

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