Received 6 Ruger Letters, Interesting and Curious

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Walter Rego

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Messages
128
Location
Occupied California
I received six Ruger letters. lead time was about five weeks. A Single Six shipped in May 1964 to Arthur Cook Supply Co, Laurel MD. Arthur Cook was an Olympic Shooting Champion and Gold Medal Winner in the 1948 games, won numerous other events and went on to help establish the USAF Marksmanship Program. He formed the wholesale sporting goods supply company in 1955. A Blackhawk .357/9mm convertible shipped in November 1970 to Western Hoegee in Glendale, CA. That one is interesting as I have a Savage M1917 pistol that shipped in 1923 to the original William F. Hoegee Co.

A Flat Top .357 Blackhawk shipped in Feb. 1959 to American Wholesale Hardware Company, Long Beach CA, a 9.5" Single Six shipped to them in February 1965 and a .30 Carbine Blackhawk also shipped to them in February 1969. I thought it was somewhat coincidental that those three models shipped to the same company in Long Beach.

A .41 Magnum Blackhawk shipped in July 1967 to Yakima Hardware, Yakima WA. This one is curious for a couple of reasons.
It is a 6.5" barrel BKH42 but lettered as a BKH41. The barrel roll marking is correct for the period and I see no signs that it was removed or replaced. However if sent back to the factory I'm sure they could have done it without a trace of a change.
The factory letter listed the caliber as .41 Magnum/9mm. What ?

Now I'm starting to think; did the person who wrote up the letters keep using the same template since they were all for the same customer (me) and typed up the BKH41 letter right after the letter for the .357/9mm Convertible Blackhawk ? Did three of the six guns all go to California Wholesale Hardware in Long Beach or did they repeat some info from the previous letter ?

At any rate I sent the letter for the .41 BH back and asked them to double check the records for the configuration and reissue the letter with the correct caliber. If it still letters as a BKH41 then that's what the day books show.

I guess for $10 a letter I shouldn't expect the services of an archivist/historian like Paul at Colt or Roy Jinks at S&W so I'm not really complaining.
 

chet15

Hawkeye
Joined
Jan 22, 2001
Messages
5,993
Location
Dawson, Iowa
Walter Rego said:
I received six Ruger letters. lead time was about five weeks. A Single Six shipped in May 1964 to Arthur Cook Supply Co, Laurel MD. Arthur Cook was an Olympic Shooting Champion and Gold Medal Winner in the 1948 games, won numerous other events and went on to help establish the USAF Marksmanship Program. He formed the wholesale sporting goods supply company in 1955. A Blackhawk .357/9mm convertible shipped in November 1970 to Western Hoegee in Glendale, CA. That one is interesting as I have a Savage M1917 pistol that shipped in 1923 to the original William F. Hoegee Co.

A Flat Top .357 Blackhawk shipped in Feb. 1959 to American Wholesale Hardware Company, Long Beach CA, a 9.5" Single Six shipped to them in February 1965 and a .30 Carbine Blackhawk also shipped to them in February 1969. I thought it was somewhat coincidental that those three models shipped to the same company in Long Beach.

A .41 Magnum Blackhawk shipped in July 1967 to Yakima Hardware, Yakima WA. This one is curious for a couple of reasons.
It is a 6.5" barrel BKH42 but lettered as a BKH41. The barrel roll marking is correct for the period and I see no signs that it was removed or replaced. However if sent back to the factory I'm sure they could have done it without a trace of a change.
The factory letter listed the caliber as .41 Magnum/9mm. What ?

Now I'm starting to think; did the person who wrote up the letters keep using the same template since they were all for the same customer (me) and typed up the BKH41 letter right after the letter for the .357/9mm Convertible Blackhawk ? Did three of the six guns all go to California Wholesale Hardware in Long Beach or did they repeat some info from the previous letter ?

At any rate I sent the letter for the .41 BH back and asked them to double check the records for the configuration and reissue the letter with the correct caliber. If it still letters as a BKH41 then that's what the day books show.

I guess for $10 a letter I shouldn't expect the services of an archivist/historian like Paul at Colt or Roy Jinks at S&W so I'm not really complaining.

There were some Old Model .41 Blackhawks in the 15xxx range (about 500) that had duplicated serial numbers so perhaps you have one of those. We are confident that some of the serial numbers in that group will letter as 4-5/8" and 6-1/2" because there are two guns with the very same serial number and the duplicate got out without ever having a "D" stamped near the serial number. 1967 would be about right for that one, so let us know what the serial number is....maybe somebody here on the forum has the matching number?
Chet15
 
Joined
Oct 24, 2007
Messages
11,654
Location
Kentucky
Walter Rego said:
I guess for $10 a letter I shouldn't expect the services of an archivist/historian like Paul at Colt or Roy Jinks at S&W so I'm not really complaining.

IMHO, no more information than they provide I think we should expect that data to be correct.

Recent reports indicate that the "letter department" is nowhere near what it used to be.

:roll:
 

RSIno1

Hunter
Joined
Sep 17, 2013
Messages
2,858
Location
Southern California
California Wholesale Hardware was in downtown Los Angeles. It's gone now but was started in the early 1800s. They were distributors for most of the gun companies.
 
Joined
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Messages
8,966
Location
Ohio , U.S.A.
Like Kim P. and others in the records department told us years ago, when it came to the 41 mag Blackhawks, "D" it could have gone either way 4 5/8 or the 6 1/2 and she said whoever requested the letter first and if their gun was whatever the length of the barrel, thats what was recorded or answered to, and the "duplicate" gun could be the other length barrel,,,,NOW which was made first , we ,they , no-one will ever know the definitive answer to that one.... 8) :wink:
someone at the factory failed to do their job, both in stamping the numbers and later updating and restamping or adding the "D".......... :roll:
 

chet15

Hawkeye
Joined
Jan 22, 2001
Messages
5,993
Location
Dawson, Iowa
Walter Rego said:
Chet, my .41 Blackhawk is in the mid-10,000 serial number range so a little early to be one of the duplicates.

I apologize, I misspoke... the duplicate serial numbers actually ran from 10395 to 10895.
Chet15
 
Joined
Oct 24, 2007
Messages
11,654
Location
Kentucky
Rather than further pollute this thread, I encourage everyone to check out this one . . .

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=276884&p=2767245#p2767245

. . . an invitation to thrash out the "duplicate .41 Magnum Blackhawks".

:)
 
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