Need some info on Old Model Single Six

[dbarale]

One of the officers here at the Dept brought me a Single Six to clean it up. It's the gun he learned to shoot on.
The gun has been well used and is not in great condition. There is minor pitting all over and it is dirty. It's a 5 1/2" Old Model s/n 889xx.
Here's the interesting part: the gun has stag grips on it that appear to be real stag. They are fitted to the frame fairly well. They have black medallions on them. The medallions are ill-fitted and look like they may have been re-glued at some point.

The gun has not been converted.

Another interesting thing is that the trigger, hammer, and ejector rod button show signs of "gold" plating. It is mostly worn off and very little remains. The gun does not show signs of a re-blue.

I have not had a chance to take it apart as I do not have have the proper screwdriver with me.

So, what is it? Some kind of limited edition gun or just a fancy one-off requested by a flashy customer? How can I identify the grips as genuine Ruger stags? Lastly, any idea of value?

Here's some crappy pics, I'll try to take some better ones soon:

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Fox Mike]

The serial number would be a big help.

 

[rugerguy]

Daniel, well, he has a type 1 round gate, first model after the early, first model flatgates, and yes, those are most likely "factory" stag grips by the looks and yes, the medallions may have been glued to repair them, seen this over the years, they did and do come loose when shot.......... see them "turned" in their holes also..not a bad gun really, the grips are worth almost double of the gun , in that condition......I have one here ,much nicer for $300 and its still sitting here, but them stags alone could go for $500 plus..........still a GREAT "package" and very desireable.............
a "keeper" any way one looks at it...........good ,honest gun..I like it! :wink:

 

[SAJohn]

Daniel, I am also certain those are real stags. My non-Ruger XR-3 stags could be a cousin to those with identical yellowing.

With the grips removed, show us what the medallion staking looks like.

Ask us about proper cleaning if you are in doubt.

John

 

[rugerguy]

Forgot to add, that the hammer pivot screw may be from another gun or the wrong screw, as the head is sticking out too far and seems (appears) to be flush on the left side??? if not flush it just may need to be screwed in all the way..........did not "see" any signs of the "gold plating", never know BUT its NOT 'factory',some sort of psuedo customizing??
as for the surface rust, you vcan give it a going over with a brass/bronze wool pad and a bit of any sort of "rust" oil, and give it a gentle massage, most if not all of it will clean off, possibly just leaveing a bit of pitting?? won;t know till you try and clean it up...don;t get aggressive and do NOT use any rough steel wool or a wire wheel!!! yes, some '0000' wool and a LIGHT tough, gentle touch does work,but be careful.........

 

[lfpiii]

Very nice gun. The plating might not be factory but if I remember correctly there was or still is a plating company just down the road from Ruger. It could be one of those lunch box guns.

 

[contender]

Daniel, you are supposed to email me privately about such things. That way I can try & get those stags for myself!!!!

I can't add much to the above, but if you want me to look it over, PM or email me. I'm not far away.

 

[americal]

I will go out on a limb and say those are FACTORY RUGER GRIPS