Even Ruger gets it wrong!

[Slamfire]

I decided to look up the manufacturing date of my stainless Ruger MKII 22lr.

Ruger has a Ruger MKII serial number by manufacturing year date chart: Mark II Pistol

My serial number is 212-92XXX. Which according to the chart was made in 1987. However, my records, I purchased the pistol new, from a local gunshop 8 Oct 1986. Price was $225.00!

The pictured pistol did not come from the factory drilled and tapped for an optical sight, that was something I had done later.

Anyway, I suppose all these databases have a little plus or minus. Maybe the error is due to the ancient technologies in use at the time: in 1989 the Motorola made the first flip phone (MicroTAC). Before then, we communicated with drums and smoke signals and wrote on clay tablets.

 

[tubeshooter]

Straight from the Ruger serial number lookup website:




Enter your Ruger® serial number above to view its model number, product line, caliber, production status, ship date and instruction manual.

Note: This service is provided as reference only, and accuracy is not guaranteed. For specific questions or additional information, please contact Customer Service.



For Letters of Authenticity, please download and mail in the Request for Letter of Authenticity form. The Letter of Authenticity lists the serial number, ship date, model and caliber. We are unable to provide any information beyond that.

 

[tubeshooter]

Maybe they should just not even offer the courtesy if it could possibly be off at all. Maybe they should just make you buy a book or beg someone who has it to answer you for a simple DOM question.

Then they can't be accused of getting it wrong (!).


The Smith book isn't even on a clay tablet or anything, neither...

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Maybe, Ruger is using an Oct-Oct fiscal year calendar?

 

[silicosys4]

Colts serial # search function is notoriously bad.

The most commonly used Winchester rifle database is to this day still wrong about the cutoff date for antique 1894's by about 50k rifles if I remember correctly. I have seen many 1894's being sold as antique that are in fact, not antiques.

S&W doesn't even bother offering any kind of serial number archive or search function.

Try ordering a factory letter from each of the above, you'll appreciate Ruger more! $25 vs $100-$300.

 

[Boom Vang]

Ha! I had my MkII drilled and tapped as well for an UltraDot.

 

[Armybrat]

Whose calendar?

 

[Charlie98]

However, my records, I purchased the pistol new, from a local gunshop 8 Oct 1986

8OCT86 was the day I entered active duty... got on the Greyhound, and headed for Fort Leonard Wood.

I celebrated by buying a Buckmark when I finally got to Fort Carson...

 

[dogtown tom]

Colts serial # search function is notoriously bad.

The most commonly used Winchester rifle database is to this day still wrong about the cutoff date for antique 1894's by about 50k rifles if I remember correctly. I have seen many 1894's being sold as antique that are in fact, not antiques.

S&W doesn't even bother offering any kind of serial number archive or search function.

Try ordering a factory letter from each of the above, you'll appreciate Ruger more! $25 vs $100-$300.

Add FN/Browning to that list of guestimation.

 

[Hookeye]

Had Ruger do two factory letters.
One they messed up, the other may be correct.
I have not tried to redo for verification LOL

 

[marvin02]

I've gotten positive responses from S&W when using the contact form on their Web site. The firearms in question were fairly recent vintage that I had purchased used. They replied with the manufacture date and the exact model number of the guns.

 

[CraigC]

The cart is just a guideline using serial ranges. Not a guarantee that your specific gun shipped during that time. The factory letter is what gives specifics.

 

[Slamfire]

Maybe they should just not even offer the courtesy if it could possibly be off at all. Maybe they should just make you buy a book or beg someone who has it to answer you for a simple DOM question.

Then they can't be accused of getting it wrong (!).


The Smith book isn't even on a clay tablet or anything, neither...

The cart is just a guideline using serial ranges. Not a guarantee that your specific gun shipped during that time. The factory letter is what gives specifics.

I did call Ruger Customer Service yesterday, and asked about the date of production of a recent MKII acquisition. Customer Service told me: "1988". After hanging up, I wondered about the production date for the one I purchased in 1986. You can imagine I was surprised to find that I had purchased the pistol, before it was made. Maybe it fell through a worm hole.

Overall I am grateful Ruger can give me any date for free. But I think maybe what they desire is $100 to tell me the real date. None of my MKII's are collectable, so the manufacturing date is just for curiosity.

Dates are hugely important to buyers of Military Collectables, you see this on the CMP forums. Also makes a difference to sword buyers. I was told by a British Antique Collector that the Wilkinson sword I purchased from him was post Crimean War (1853) and had it been a Crimean War sword, it would be worth a lot more. And then, US swords, same model made before 1865 brings more.

 

[Piranha451]

Ruger will have a lot of frames and receivers made and does not use them in order. For example, I have a Deerstalker Carbine whose serial number squarely puts it in 1962, but my letter states it was shipped in 1961. It could be that your Mk II was numbered for what ended up being the series shipped in 1987, but your frame was used for one assembled and shipped in 1986.

 

[jmr40]

It's not uncommon for parts to be made and placed in storage to be used as spares. Then assembled into finished guns much later. As in years later. I know Ruger made a bunch of uncatalogued 77 MK-II rifles from parts they had laying around when they started making the Hawkeye. But in this case the SN would indicate that the rifle was made long before being assembled into a rifle instead of the opposite.

They may do it like the auto industry. My F150 is a 2014 truck, but it was assembled in October of 2013. Sometimes new vehicle models are introduced mid-year.

 

[Slamfire]

It's not uncommon for parts to be made and placed in storage to be used as spares. Then assembled into finished guns much later. As in years later. I know Ruger made a bunch of uncatalogued 77 MK-II rifles from parts they had laying around when they started making the Hawkeye. But in this case the SN would indicate that the rifle was made long before being assembled into a rifle instead of the opposite.

They may do it like the auto industry. My F150 is a 2014 truck, but it was assembled in October of 2013. Sometimes new vehicle models are introduced mid-year

How long inventory stays on the shelf, or held by middlemen, is a mystery to me.

Rural King had a sale on this Memorial Day 2024 and I had to have it.

Per SA, this was made July 2023. And it shoots great

Rural King again had a Memorial Day sale on these 1911's, for even less than I paid in 2024. This is similar to offering a shot of bourbon to an alcoholic, and I had to have another.

SA told me this one was made in Oct 2023. So where has it been sitting for 18 months? How many 2023 1911's are sitting in warehouses, and how long are they going to stay boxed up in storage?

 

[Frulk]

“My serial number is 212-92XXX. Which according to the chart was made in 1987. However, my records, I purchased the pistol new, from a local gunshop 8 Oct 1986. Price was $225.00!”

I don’t believe Ruger made a mistake. This was probably a 1987 model but they released it late 86. Just like car manufacturers do. I don’t know of any product manufacturer that holds new model releases until January 1st.

Everybody’s trying to get a jump on the competition.