Elsewhere in this forum are lists of certain models of Old Model Blackhawks holding special interest to some of our more dedicated members as well as newbies learning about some of the unique Ruger revolvers. These listings have developed over the years with participation by those having the guns in question, and some extensive data bases have been generated. These can be quite fascinating to those collectors trying to get an overall picture of the distribution of these unique guns, and just plain interesting to those of us just enjoying the history of Rugerdom.
One area of special interest that has not received much exposure is the very short run of duplicate Old Model .41 Magnum Blackhawks. Perhaps this is not too surprising as the .41s are sort of the redheaded stepchildren of Rugerlore, along with the .30 Carbine versions. I’ll leave the .30s to someone else and direct this thread toward the .41 duplicates. Chet15 mentions these revolvers briefly in his extensive Reference of Ruger Firearms, and John Dougan includes a nice chart of the range of serial numbers involved in his Ruger Pistols and Revolvers, the Vintage Years, 1949-1973. That said, there is little else devoted to them. Sometime in 1967 Ruger managed to mess up their serial numbering in the .41s, producing a 500-gun run of duplicates between 10395 and 10895. It appears this was due to a maladjustment of the number stamping device. Whatever, these guns were of both barrel lengths, 4-5/8” and 6-1/2” with no record of which was what. Over the years since, there have been reports, some documented, some not, of some guns in this serial number range showing up with the letter “D” in their serial number, indicating “duplicate’. There has also been reported some confusion at Ruger when more than one person requested a documenting “letter” for the same serial number. A question arises when two guns show up with the same serial number without a “D” on either one . . . which one was the original and which was the duplicate? The guns could also share the same barrel length or not, as the case might be. The more one ponders this, the more things seem to add questions than answers. I’ll not attempt to throw all these out here right now.
So, for the sake of discussion as well as education, I encourage any/all comments y’all might have on the subject. Anyone with a gun in the serial number range mentioned above is encouraged to share it with us, in particular any bearing the “D” marking. It would be nice if these guns were “lettered” but since we are all upstanding citizens of the site, this is not necessarily a requirement. A photo of the serial number would be a huge help, even if the last couple of digits are obscured, as you wish. Hopefully, we can eventually develop a comprehensive list of these guns, both with and without the “D”, with ship date being of some importance in determining which one of a pair was “first”.
Let’s do it!
One area of special interest that has not received much exposure is the very short run of duplicate Old Model .41 Magnum Blackhawks. Perhaps this is not too surprising as the .41s are sort of the redheaded stepchildren of Rugerlore, along with the .30 Carbine versions. I’ll leave the .30s to someone else and direct this thread toward the .41 duplicates. Chet15 mentions these revolvers briefly in his extensive Reference of Ruger Firearms, and John Dougan includes a nice chart of the range of serial numbers involved in his Ruger Pistols and Revolvers, the Vintage Years, 1949-1973. That said, there is little else devoted to them. Sometime in 1967 Ruger managed to mess up their serial numbering in the .41s, producing a 500-gun run of duplicates between 10395 and 10895. It appears this was due to a maladjustment of the number stamping device. Whatever, these guns were of both barrel lengths, 4-5/8” and 6-1/2” with no record of which was what. Over the years since, there have been reports, some documented, some not, of some guns in this serial number range showing up with the letter “D” in their serial number, indicating “duplicate’. There has also been reported some confusion at Ruger when more than one person requested a documenting “letter” for the same serial number. A question arises when two guns show up with the same serial number without a “D” on either one . . . which one was the original and which was the duplicate? The guns could also share the same barrel length or not, as the case might be. The more one ponders this, the more things seem to add questions than answers. I’ll not attempt to throw all these out here right now.
So, for the sake of discussion as well as education, I encourage any/all comments y’all might have on the subject. Anyone with a gun in the serial number range mentioned above is encouraged to share it with us, in particular any bearing the “D” marking. It would be nice if these guns were “lettered” but since we are all upstanding citizens of the site, this is not necessarily a requirement. A photo of the serial number would be a huge help, even if the last couple of digits are obscured, as you wish. Hopefully, we can eventually develop a comprehensive list of these guns, both with and without the “D”, with ship date being of some importance in determining which one of a pair was “first”.
Let’s do it!
