Type 1 RSS serial #'s availability.....

[JAYDAWG]

I have not been collecting Rugers as long as most here on the forum, only about 10 years. About 5 years ago the Type 1 RSS bug bit me in the ass and I have bought all I have come across, except one and I'm still kicking myself!!!
I am now at 16 Type 1's in my collection. I have one 2 digit and one 4 digit. The other 14 are all 3 digit. I understand the scarcity of the 2 digit guns, and most folks who have them are not likely to move them, BUT, there were supposedly 1000 4 digit guns made. Where are they? I've only come across the one I have. Why do I see more 3 digit than 4??
It just seems odd to me.
Any thoughts or theories out there???
Or is it all in my head

Cheers,
JAYDAWG

 

[hittman]

This is long term help, not an immediate answer …..

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[JAYDAWG]

Yes,
Subscriber for 5-6 years and LOVE RENE.
Tons if info.........

 

[chet15]

They are out there.
Back when we first started collecting, Jeff Munnell had written a book and in the Bearcat chapter he speculated that there was no way that all of the Alpha Cats were produced, 999 in each letter except for the letter 0. And he attributed that because of the thought that Ruger was trying to fool the competition, Colt namely because of their highly successful Scout model.
As time went by, yearly production figures from Ruger came out for the Bearcat, and yes.... 999 guns for each letter was pretty accurate. So the lesson is, just because you don't see them doesn't mean they don't exist.
An analogy... A 112- prefix 10/22. There's 100,000 of them out there, but you just don't see them very often.
For ourselves, we've never had a 3 digit Type 1 flatgate. But we did have 1419, 1519 and 1619.
Morphy auctions has an 11xx range gun coming up for auction shortly, in about 90%.
Chet15

 

[rugerguy]

think about it, that was back in 1953-54 and I know of no one who was collecting them at that time,,, I recall shooting my first 22 revolver, in 1957 at a Boy Scout camp in New York , and it was a tri color lightweight, and we shot the crap out of it,,,,,,traded for another one years later, it is a 3 digit tri color lightweight , and it hung in a barn for its whole life, used to shoot hogs and critters on the farm, they were bought to use, and after all these years most of them are in family buildings, storage, scrapped, gone, whatever, as you often see when you come across any they are well worn....bottom line the old timers that had them kept them, gave them to family and bet MANY even forgot about them,,,so again never know what you may come across at any given gun show, or better yet garage or estate sales........