Old Stumpy
Member
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2019
- Messages
- 1,451
I had a thought about the inexpensive Rock Island .38 DA revolvers.
If these can be produced and sold cheaply, and .22 Wranglers can be produced and sold cheaply,
then perhaps Ruger could make an inexpensive six gun in .38 Special based on the Wrangler and the original small frame Blackhawks.
The frames would need to be investment cast steel, but they would not need to be anywhere near as beefy. In fact, because it would be in .38 Special only, the frame and cylinder could be scaled down even smaller than even the old model Blackhawk. You could use a ZAMAC grip frame I suppose, but an aluminum one finished the same way as the Wrangler probably would not be that much more expensive.
The rear sight could be the dovetailed one used on the fixed sight Single Six, adjustable for windage.
With the same black Cerakote finish and plastic grips (replaceable with Single Six grips) this would give shooters the cheaper alternative to a Blackhawk, just as the Wrangler gives shooters the cheaper alternative to the Single Six.
It certainly would be a far cry from a .357 magnum, but it would be a western style center-fire revolver in a popular and inexpensive cartridge.
Blued Blackhawks have an MSRP of $669.00. If these had an MSRP of around $360.00, maybe they would be popular. Not as popular as a Wrangler, but still profitable for Ruger.
On the other hand, perhaps I'm out to lunch on this one. What do you think?
If these can be produced and sold cheaply, and .22 Wranglers can be produced and sold cheaply,
then perhaps Ruger could make an inexpensive six gun in .38 Special based on the Wrangler and the original small frame Blackhawks.
The frames would need to be investment cast steel, but they would not need to be anywhere near as beefy. In fact, because it would be in .38 Special only, the frame and cylinder could be scaled down even smaller than even the old model Blackhawk. You could use a ZAMAC grip frame I suppose, but an aluminum one finished the same way as the Wrangler probably would not be that much more expensive.
The rear sight could be the dovetailed one used on the fixed sight Single Six, adjustable for windage.
With the same black Cerakote finish and plastic grips (replaceable with Single Six grips) this would give shooters the cheaper alternative to a Blackhawk, just as the Wrangler gives shooters the cheaper alternative to the Single Six.
It certainly would be a far cry from a .357 magnum, but it would be a western style center-fire revolver in a popular and inexpensive cartridge.
Blued Blackhawks have an MSRP of $669.00. If these had an MSRP of around $360.00, maybe they would be popular. Not as popular as a Wrangler, but still profitable for Ruger.
On the other hand, perhaps I'm out to lunch on this one. What do you think?
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