Plum No.1s

[robertkirksey]

I have seen few plum No.1s. Is this because there are fewer No.1s compared to other Ruger models or because I just don't get out enough? Are the early ones more likely to turn plum? I just bought a pretty little 1977 manufactured 1A with plum receiver, lever and trigger guard of an even color. Is it unusual for all three to be evenly colored? I had read somewhere that a re-blue enhances the plum coloring. Is this true? I know, a lot of questions, but I just love that color and am very interested. Thanks, Robert

 

[picketpin]

I just took a quick look at 37 #1s from non prefix three digit guns up to 133 serial guns. Out of all of them I could find exactly ONE that had a plummed or slightly plummed receiver.

I have far fewer tang safety 77s than #1s but a real quicxk look showed several with plummed recievers..

More model specific than I thought??

Ross

 

[four70nitro]

The plum color that you refer to is the result of silicon in the steel alloy - it was added to improve castability.

Apparently Ruger didn't like the plum color and paid Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus to figure out why it was happening (just a quick plug for my company) - anyway they figured it out fairly quickly and Ruger told the folks in the casting facility to quit using it.

So the short answer is - yes - you are more likely to find the color in older guns. Some seem to plum fairly quickly and others seem to change more slowly over time.

Dave

 

[four70nitro]

BTW - if you look at Weatherby rifles sometimes you'll see that they have a nice plum color as well -- a good indication that their receivers are also cast.........though I doubt they would ever advertise that fact.

 

[Mike Armstrong]

I have a Finnish Valmet "Lion" 12 guage O/U made in 1965, whose reciever is very clearly a forging. And it is plum enough to eat! The later Savage-imported ones don't seem to plum up, tho.

I recently bought an nice Service Six for a VERY decent price because the owner HATED that plum colored frame.... His loss.

('Course, I was raised in what was then one of the prune-growing capitals of the world. Bought my first gun, a Winchester .410 single, with my prune pickin' money, or what was left after I bought my new school clothes.)

four70nitro, I'm going to visit Weatherbys in Paso Robles in a couple of weeks and I'll be on the lookout for "plum rifles." I assume they will be in the trade-in rack. I'll ask about the casting. Doubt if I'll get a straight answer, tho.

So you are stuck out in the Tr-Cities, huh? I used to work with College of the Desert, back in the '70s. Good gun area, shooting AND buying!

 

[four70nitro]

Mike,

The Tri-Cities has grown a lot since the 70's -- you'd hardly recognize it.....

Dave

 

[car]

I have some non-Ruger (Beretta, HK) guns that have had the blueing turn plum with age.

From what I understand, high nickle content steel can also do this if the temperature of the blueing bath was not high enough.

 

[Mike Armstrong]

Dave, I trolled thru there last year on the way to a bird hunt in Asotin area. Tri City area HAS grown, but looked like it was suffering from the...."downturn" some. We hit all the gunshops and saw some decent stuff, but couldn't find anything I wanted at a gunshop that would ship to CA. Did find some odd (really odd) ammo I wanted and a HUGE stack of 1970s "Handloader" magazines at a yard sale, tho. And had a good jaw with some of the gunshop people. Did better gunwise in Lewiston, ID.

I was struck by the fact that Yakima is turning into "Ciudad Yaquima" and that Walla Walla is now "Wine Snob City"! Where do the COs drink now that "Concrete Mama" isn't the main industry?

I have a great fondness for central and eastern Washington, and very much enjoyed the trip! But chukars STILL suck--next time the nerve gas!

 

[Chief 101]

Without pics this thread is useless!

We love plumb guns but would rather look at them the talk about them...show me!

 

[toysoldier]

I came across a couple of Beretta 1934's on gunbroker that had very plum slides. These were WWII guns.

 

[KurtC]

Prior to the advent of stainless steel. Nickel or Chrome were added to carbon steel to make certain parts more rust resistant. These parts look plum when blued. Just look at Antinit steel barrels. This Mannlicher Schoenauer has a special order Anitinit barrel. The receiver and sight bosses are a deep blue, the barrel is almost purple.

 

[robertkirksey]

I'll give you my car for that rifle. :shock:

 

[KurtC]

Here is more of it. You can see the barrel doesn't blue the same as the sights, etc.

Actually, I'm only posting the above pic so that you can see that it is a full stock, with a 23.5" rifle barrel. About as rare as they come. :)

 

[chet15]

The plum color that you refer to is the result of silicon in the steel alloy - it was added to improve castability.

Apparently Ruger didn't like the plum color and paid Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus to figure out why it was happening (just a quick plug for my company) - anyway they figured it out fairly quickly and Ruger told the folks in the casting facility to quit using it.

So the short answer is - yes - you are more likely to find the color in older guns. Some seem to plum fairly quickly and others seem to change more slowly over time.

Dave

Yes...I've often wondered if all those plumb colored Old Model SA loading gates were the remnants of melted down chrome-moly cylinder frames that Ruger knew would come out purple.
Chet15

 

[tacotime]

I've seem more than one #1 with plum receivers and levers but not barrels. I have not seen any #3 guns with plum. I've also seen several Rem 700 and Model 7 with plum bolts. And, a number of Leupold scopes with plum color.