New Member & First Post - Help?

[BryanJ]

I’m a Colt and military collector, but have always had great affinity for Rugers since owning a Single Six as a kid and an SR1911 up until a few years ago. So today, a buddy and I were in a local pawn shop and saw two Blackhawk .357’s. Both were 4 digits, one was 16?? The other was 29?? (? because I don’t recall the last two digits). The first reportedly being 1957, the other must have been a year or so later, Both were mechanically fine, good lockup, with absolutely no powder marks at the end of the cylinder and neither had excessive turn lines, with very little evidence either had been fired much. Both were three screws flat tops, and both had maybe 40% finish remaining, with minor pitting, very little screw wear reflecting careless disassembly. The pawn shop wanted $850 for one $799 for the other, and they would not budge from the price. A quick AI search indicated that with 40% finish remaining and minor pitting, the value may have been $500+ or -. My buddy and I discussed him buying one and me the other. But, I just don’t like over paying for firearms. I did not take photos, but they would just confirm my description above. So, what do you all think of these prices, fair or over priced? Thanks in advance.

 

[s4s4u]

$800ish for 40% finish, including pitting? I would not just walk away, I would run.....

 

[Threespears]

Good advice from s3s4u

And welcome to the forum

 

[hittman]

Not sure I’d pay $1000 for the pair.

But in fairness would also like to see them first. Still ….. asking $$ way too high.

Welcome to the forum

 

[TDF]

Recent sold prices on gunbroker will show they are asking way too much for 40% and any pitting.

TDF

 

[BryanJ]

Thanks for the heads up, because I debated going back after the 16?? I remember seeing those in the pawnshop probably a year or so ago. You’d think that after they sat around for that long they’d figure out that they needed to get real on the price.

 

[Johnnu2]

Thanks for the heads up, because I debated going back after the 16?? I remember seeing those in the pawnshop probably a year or so ago. You’d think that after they sat around for that long they’d figure out that they needed to get real on the price.

Ya can't fix "stupid"........... the shop that is.
p.s. BUY YOU RUGERS HERE IN OUR CLASSIFIEDS SECTION
WELCOME,
J.

 

[contender]

First off,,, "Welcome to the Forum!"

Now,, a little education here.
Serial number 16?? is a 1955 built Type 1 first year production gun. Serial number 29?? is also a Type 1, and built in 1956. In 95% or better condition,, those are valued at about $1175.00 by collectors per the RENE (Red Eagle News Exchange) 2025-2026 price guide.

By the condition you described,, neither one will come close to 95%. As such,,, the value is less for sure.
I think the shop has them over priced. But to get a pair of "shooter grade" Type 1's would be more like $500-$600. They are very good guns,, and also known as "FlatTops!"

One thing on the finish,, if the grip frame shows the majority of the wear,, that's NOT uncommon as the alloy g/f was known to wear & give a graying appearance.
The pitting,, would depend upon just how bad it is.

Pictures would be a good help. Grading of the Rugers may be a little different than grading Colts.

 

[ds55]

That’s a bit high for 40% finish and some pitting. Clean early flattops bring good money, but at that condition I’d be closer to $500–$600 tops. Still, if they’re tight and all original, they’re solid shooters and will only go up in value.

 

[BryanJ]

Contender. Your comments are interesting. The pitting is not that bad and I didn’t see any active rust on either. It was interesting that there is hardly any obvious signs of having been fired much (no cylinder burn marks and just light turn lines) with that much finish loss. Not knowing how old Ruger finishes age, maybe I’ve over stated the wear. I’ll swing back by there tomorrow and take some photos and let you guys advise. The 29?? may have been slightly better, I’ll let you guys be the judge. Also, when I go back, is there anything else I need to inspect closer? My friend is a former “Cowboy” shooter, he removed the cylinders and all seemed good. So, remaining issue to me is condition vs. value. I’ll post photos tomorrow. Thanks

 

[hittman]

They may have spent their entire lives in a leather holster.
I have an old Flatgate Single Six that went to Alaska when new ….. lived in leather for decades on end and came to me about 15 years ago with about 70% of the finish GONE.

No rust, no signs of abuse, no freckling or scratches or frosting in the barrel. Shoots great too just has lots of character

 

[XUSNORDIE]

My friend is a former “Cowboy” shooter, he removed the cylinders and all seemed good.

I'm a former Yamaha "Motocross" rider (late 70's very early 1980's)........I have no on hand experience of the mechanics or former YZ's......I could pop a gas cap and say "it' seems good".

 

[jimbo1096]

Check to see if they have been converted with the new transfer bar system installed. You can easily tell by looking at the hammer if it’s flat faced it old model original, if it’s got a step in it it’s been converted to the transfer bar “safety” and not as collectible.

 

[GasGuzzler]

I am very picky on condition ... more than on price. I would not have asked to hold either at 40% with pitting.

 

[contender]

jimbo has made an excellent point. Check to see if they have the "safety transfer bar" installed. If they do,, the hammer will have "steps" like he mentions. That deducts from the value by about $150 or so.
If not,, great!

I wondered about the description of the condition. You mentioned the cylinders & overall appeared to be unfired or at least very little. The turn lines are because someone didn't know to always go to full cock before lowering the hammer.
I felt that a 40% condition didn't correspond with the way you described the cylinders.

Pictures,, and especially close-up ones would help a lot.

 

[BryanJ]

Here are the two Blackhawk’s discussed above. SN 1672 - $800; SN 2928 - $850. Photos leave a lot to be desired, but I can’t really see a nickel’s worth of difference in terms of condition between the two. Bore on each about the same. I would only be interested in 1672, if it’s first year production, not interested in the other. And if you guys recommend I pass, I’ll pass. Thoughts?

 

[hittman]

Those aren’t real bad. Changed my mind and I would likely pay $1000 for the pair.
Still over priced for what they’d bring around here though.

Perfect barrel length and caliber. Heck the grips alone in some places would bring $75 each.
The more I look at the pics …. The more I like them

 

[Johnnu2]

Unless I missed it, we still don't know if they've been converted to the infamous "safety transfer bar". That alone is a $150 "deduction" each (in order to bring it back to original lock-work.

J.

 

[BryanJ]

Per Jimbo’s comment above, the hammers were flat faced, appeared to be original. So, SN 1672, worth $800? Still on high side? Good news Florida is having a Second Amendment tax free period on firearms and ammo, so wouldn’t have to pay tax. But the shop is firm on the price, won’t budge.

 

[hittman]

Too rich for me

 

[Hondo44]

I KNOW that both barrels are the same 4 5/8" length but in the photo that shows the left side of both together they look like different lengths. So I measured them in the photo; sure enough the top gun barrel is shorter! Just goes to show you how photos can distort things based on the camera angle.

I'd rate both guns better than 40% but still priced too high!

 

[GasGuzzler]

I would pay $850 for the pair and rate them as near 70%. Both could be made to present better without damage or alteration.

 

[contender]

As noted above,, these guns will grade better than 40%. Still rough enough to where they are to be considered "shooter grade." And from what I can tell, the 1672 does look to be a better gun finish wise.
And they do appear to have all their original Type 1 parts.

I would rate them in the $500-$550 range. BUT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, If I didn't have one,, and really liked one,, I'd defer back to what an old timer gun trader once taught me; "You never pay too much,, but sometimes a little too soon!" With that,, I can recall guns I let slip by me,, that I wish I had gone ahead & paid a bit more than I wanted,, instead of missing out on something I wanted.

With the tax free thing,, it helps a lot. But only you can decide if you really want one. There were only about 6300 made in that configuration,, even though the serial number range goes to 7309. Some were shipped later on, and have a different ER button.

 

[Johnnu2]

That pawn shop thinks it has you "on the hook" now. They'll play the waiting game since they have nothing to lose.

J.

 

[contender]

"They'll play the waiting game since they have nothing to lose."

Post #6,, by the OP; They've had them over a year.

They are losing. Stock of any product not selling is costing them money. They have been sitting on these guns for a long time now & should realize they need to adjust their pricing.

 

[TDF]

To my eye, after zooming in on the pics, I would run away from those 2 guns. I see rust all over the place on those 2 guns. The lower digit one even has some sort of a weird ding in the mainframe where the gripframe meets it, halfway between the screws and the serial number.

A quick look at sold prices on Gunbrokers shows me that I could get a nice flattop with zero rust, and 90+ percent of original bluing left, unconverted for under 800 dollars. It would likely exceed 800 by the time I had it shipped to me, and FFL fee etc., but that's twice the gun of either of those.

There's a reason those have sat for so long at that price. Do some shopping around. There are better deals out there.

My 2 cents.

TDF

 

[Cholo]

I never buy guns in that condition, especially at those prices. If the outside looks that bad, imaging what the inside looks like.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

They are both Type 1 guns and should have 4-5/8" barrels.

What do they actually measure, cylinder face to muzzle?

Welcome to our site.

 

[BryanJ]

Thanks guys, you helped me make my decision. Knowing nothing about Rugers, the 4 digit serial numbers made me wonder if those were sleepers I should buy. The fact that 1672 is a first year of production reinforced that idea. But, it seems from comments above those are $500 handguns. The condition I could probably live with, paying $300 over that is not in my future. There are way too many collectible handguns that I run across, to get up-side-down on either of these.

 

[Johnnu2]

"They'll play the waiting game since they have nothing to lose."

Post #6,, by the OP; They've had them over a year.

They are losing. Stock of any product not selling is costing them money. They have been sitting on these guns for a long time now & should realize they need to adjust their pricing.

The shops that I used to frequent move so much hardware that they could sit on these two guns for a decade and not know the difference. Just sayin'.

J.