Came Across an Odd One - 05/29/22
I headed into the city the day before yesterday to run a couple of errands and stopped at a large gun shop / indoor range to take a look. They typically have little in the way of used firearms but I thought I'd check as I have picked up a couple of well priced pieces on consignment there. I headed to the far left corner where the used firearms would be and found a case filled with bright Ruger Vaqueros, New Vaqueros, a couple of SS Old Army's and a few SS Blackhawk's. At least twenty or so and they all appeared "new". All were priced in the $750 - $950 range. All from the same owner. On the lower shelf I found the sole blued revolver, a 4 5/8" Single Six. Looking closer I noted that it was an Old Model. I asked to look at it and found that it appeared to be in mint condition. The action, trigger, cylinder lock-up, etc., felt as new. Looking closer I found that the barrel had the safety warning that came long after OM production stopped. It had factory rosewood grips. They were asking $400 for it. I agreed to buy it. Where does one find any Single Six for $400 these days?
Once home I removed the grips and confirmed that it had a NM grip frame (XR3-RED). It does not have the safety conversion so clearly Ruger did not swap the parts. Whoever did the work did it right as confirmed shooting it yesterday. I dug through my grip boxes and found a set of Lett's I bought many years ago swapping out the medallions for those from an OM. It needs some trigger work which I will do but all in all a pretty nice piece.
Once home I removed the grips and confirmed that it had a NM grip frame (XR3-RED). It does not have the safety conversion so clearly Ruger did not swap the parts. Whoever did the work did it right as confirmed shooting it yesterday. I dug through my grip boxes and found a set of Lett's I bought many years ago swapping out the medallions for those from an OM. It needs some trigger work which I will do but all in all a pretty nice piece.