Ruger KMK-512 tapered bolt ears?

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scootergmc

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
Messages
13
Location
Sunny CA
Hello all...

Did Ruger ever make the Stainless Mark II 5 1/2" Target Bull with tapered bolt ears? Saw one at the shop this weekend, decent condition, but the ears were tapered, pretty much coming to a point on each side. Looked like someone's home job, but I didn't know for sure. Needless to say, I passed, unsure of things. I picked up another clean RST6, and a Thompson Omega BP, so I didn't leave empty-handed.

I flipped through my RENE Ruger Reference, didn't find anything (unless I flipped too quickly :shock:)

Thanks all...
 

chet15

Hawkeye
Joined
Jan 22, 2001
Messages
5,993
Location
Dawson, Iowa
Yes, Ruger did do quite a few stainless Mark II's (all models) with tapered bolt ears.
During the Korean War when steel was in short supply Ruger began making their bolts from two major pieces, the bolt body and the bolt ears. Previously the bolts had been spun from a single piece of bar stock.
During the Korean War, they'd discovered that making the bolts from two separate pieces really didn't same them much $ anyway, so they went back to the one piece bolt as soon as the steel supplies were back to normal.
When the Mark II series came out, all the stainless models had tapered ears. The reason the ears look like a "home" job is that the ears are cast with the grooves in them, and only minor machining takes a little of that out.
With metal prices the way they are, Ruger must have decided that it was finally cheaper to make their bolts and bolt ears as two separate components.
Chet15
 

chet15

Hawkeye
Joined
Jan 22, 2001
Messages
5,993
Location
Dawson, Iowa
Yes there is. I put out a publication called Red Eagle News Exchange which is a collector type quarterly paper.
With your subscription you get for free the Reference of Ruger firearms, a two-volume set of everything known to have been done by Ruger...prototype information, dates of manufacture, the key to breaking down Ruger's catalog numbers, and the known variations of everything that Ruger has ever done, with rarity information. Info on the tapered ear stainless Mark II's is in there.
If interested, send me a PM and I can give you more details.
Chet15
 

scootergmc

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
Messages
13
Location
Sunny CA
Thanks. I am a member and that was the reference I was referring to. I somehow missed the info.... I'll look through it again.
 
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