NCLEO89

Back in the late 1990s, I bought a NIB 7.5 barrel Redhawk .44 Magnum. It came with the factory-applied high gloss stainless finish. As I understand it, this super-shiny finish was not offered for long on the RH; however you can still get Vaqueros with that finish. I still have it, and it still looks and shoots great. The thing is, I have never seen another RH for sale with the aforementioned gloss stainless finish. I've never encountered one at any gun show, nor have I ever found one on any of the gun auction web sites. I'm sure that someone out there has, but not me. Now, I know that I don't exactly have a super-rare gun worth big bucks here, but my questions for you Ruger historians out there: How long did Ruger offer that finish on the RH, and exactly how rare are those particular RH revolvers today? Thanks, all.

Waveform

Those really have no value whatsoever. In fact if you send it to me I'll see that it is disposed of properly.

Seriously, I've never seen one either but it sure sounds like pretty piece. Hopefully someone will come along with a valid opinion on value. Any pics of it you care to share?

Wave

NCLEO89

Waveform: Oh, trust me...I'll never sell it! Regrettably, posting pics is far beyond my rudimentary computer skills. Frankly, I'm doing good just to figure out how to turn one on.

NCLEO89

P.S. : My lovely bride, who is far more computer-savvy that I, says she will try to help me post pics. We'll give it a whirl this weekend, unless anyone else on this forum also has one and wouldn't mind posting their own photos.

Tellico

NCLEO89

Thanks, Tellico!

exlogger

Tellico-- Thanks for the pic. Never seen one till now... very nice!

Hornet

Take a look on gunbroker.com. There's a .45 Colt, SS with that type of finish listed. The current bid is $736 and there's 1 day of bidding left. Go to gunbroker.com and enter item number 305406398 in the search engine.

NCLEO89

Thanks, Hornet. I checked out the one on GB, and that's pretty much what mine looks like, except mine doesn't have the cut-outs for the scope rings. Also, over the years that I've owned mine, I've been unable to resist temptation: I've gotten kinda Flitz-happy, and have polished the living #*?! out of it. So, I took a great revolver that came from the factory looking like it was nickel plated...and I now have it to where it looks as mirrored as the chrome on a firetruck!

NCLEO89

So....anyone have any answers on this one?

NCLEO89

Hmm....judging from the lack of responses, I guess not. Oh, well.

Waveform

NCLEO89, since you haven't had a lot of helpful info yet perhaps a call to Ruger would answer your question about how long the bright finish was offered and how many were produced and when. That should give you some idea of the rarity of what you have. You didn't actually ask for opinions on dollar value and you said you have no plans to sell it so I guess dollar value isn't really what you're looking for. I'm sure it's worth more than you paid for it 15 years ago and is VERY valuable to you. And that is all that matters.

I like nickel and highly polished SS revolvers and that's a beautiful piece you have there.

NCLEO89

Waveform: Good idea, and obviously, one that hadn't occurred to me. Thanks [for both the suggestion & the compliment]!