Agreed. only asked because when I researched the forum on the Single-Six Magnum, 1964 kept coming up as the final year of production? I must be missing something lol
The RENE Guide says 1959 to 1964 but the data in the Guide is largely anecdotal, meaning its based largely on what people discover and report back to Chad. It's a great resource but not infallible. Likewise Ruger's own record keeping is known to be a little sloppy and they're capable of errors as well. They're also fairly tight-lipped about production numbers in general. So in all anything is possible and with Ruger you can never say never.
jkorny, Ruger's records are not always accurate and in this case, they are misleading because 22 Mag only Single-Sixes went out of production in 1964 with 394740 being the highest S/N. Serial numbers higher than 394740 were actually 22 Convertibles or 22 LR only that were lumped in the same serial number sequence.
Let's make sure you have a magnum model, not a convertible with just a magnum cylinder. 22 Magnum Single-Sixes have a roll mark on the left side of the gun that says: "RUGER SINGLE-SIX WIN. .22 RF MAG. CAL.
22 LR Only and 22 Convertibles have a roll mark on the left side that says: "RUGER .22 CAL. SINGLE-SIX". It is quite common for one of the cylinders to get lost, making the owner think they have a 22 Mag only or a 22 LR only.
So Ruger would put Convertibles into the Magnum serial number list I posted above? mine is not marked as a Magnum, hence my confusion. I can't link to Rugers production tables,but they show serial # "blocks" for the separate "old" models? thanks Joe
jkorny, Ruger had a terrible track record for serial number management until the Gun Control Act of 1968 went into effect on Jan 1, 1969. Prior to 1969, Ruger skipped blocks of serial numbers and used exactly the same serial number sequence for all models in production. This means you could have about 15 different models, all with the same serial number. Ruger was also notorious for stamping duplicate numbers on guns and if they caught the mistake, they would hand stamp a "D" with the serial number. Sometimes they lumped different models in the same serial number sequence, such is the case with your Single-Six.
The remedy that was approved by BATFE was to issue a specific serial number prefix for each model in production. Single-Sixes started with a 60 prefix with guns made after Jan 1,1969. Each prefix is married to a caliber specific model. As an example, if you see a prefix of 33, it will research to a 357 Mag Blackhawk.
To answer your question, Ruger quit making Single-Six 22 Mags at S/N 394740, however they continued production in the same serial number sequence with 22 Convertibles and 22 LRs. No confusion …. either it's marked as a 22 Mag or it's not so assuming your mag cylinder is the original, your gun was shipped as a 22 Convertible and the 22 LR cylinder is missing.
The best source of serial number history is the Red Eagle News Exchange (RENE) where Chad Hiddleson (the CEO) got very accurate information from people within the Ruger factory and even more details from actual owners. Another good source is Ruger & His Guns: A History of the Man, the Company and Their Firearms, by E.L. Wilson and another series of books written by John C. Dougan, Know Your Ruger Single Actions. These books contain information that has been lost in the shuffle at the Ruger factories, especially with any gun made before Jan 1, 1969.
yes the above is correct, one has to remember, it is the actual "marking" of the Magnum on the left side of the cylinder frame, , as Iowegan and RENE state ,the 394,xxx range was the LAST of these "
Magnum" marked Single Sixes, and the numbering continued on for the Singlee Six and they were "convertibles" and the numbering continued on as their chart denotes.........
and if you think this is confusing how about the end labels of the boxes being marked "RSSM"........and so it goes
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