Ridiculous call to Ruger about 1958 Single Six

[Orion8472]

I have a 1958 Ruger Single Six that I was wanting to find a rear sight for...I figured it would be a long shot, but decided to give Ruger a call to see if they happened to have old stock. However, it didn't even get to that point [of whether or not they had one] because the lady said that they won't send ANY parts to a person who's revolver hasn't been sent in to have the Transfer Bar Safety installed!!

There is NO.....freakin'.....way......I would EVER send my revolver in to them! So, does anyone know where I might find one? Midway is out of stock....another supplier is out of stock....others didn't even have one on their site,...am I out of luck?

 

[RecoilRob]

https://www.brownells.com/handgun-p...12177.aspx?avs|Make~~Model_1=Ruger__Blackhawk

Will this work for you?

 

[George Dickel]

Brownells has it in stock, part # 780-012-049WB, for $15.99. Says it fits a number of Ruger revolvers including new and old model single six.

 

[edwardware]

There is NO way I would EVER send my revolver in to them!

As annoying as that is, it's really the only reasonable option for them to control their liability. If they knowingly support 'unsafe' revolvers, that could be spun as negligence by a plaintiff's attorney. Common sense doesn't hardly matter; corporate liability sets the rules.

Hopefully Brownells has you covered.

 

[jmr40]

There isn't a problem with returning the revolver. They return the original parts and it can always be returned to it's original condition. From Rugers website:

A
Free
Safety Offer From Ruger
Do you own an “Old Model” (pre-1973) Ruger Single-Six, Blackhawk,
Super Blackhawk, or Bearcat single action revolver like these?
The patented Ruger Conversion Kit is an
entirely new operating system for these
revolvers.
It can help prevent accidental
discharges caused by a drop or blow to the
hammer if the user has failed to take the
basic safety precaution of keeping the
hammer down on an empty chamber.
That’s very important!
This mechanism can be factory-installed
without any further alteration. The frame
and other major parts will not be affected
by this Conversion. The value of the gun
will not be impaired, and we will return
your original parts for collector’s purposes

 

[Orion8472]

https://www.brownells.com/handgun-p...12177.aspx?avs|Make~~Model_1=Ruger__Blackhawk

Will this work for you?

Mine is the small fixed blade rear sight. But thanks for the info!

 

[Varminterror]

Pull the lockwork, send it in, let them convert it, get the new sight for free, sell the new lock work, put it back the way it was, end up $50 ahead in the deal.

 

[CraigC]

I bought several of these from Brownells a few years ago, to keep as spares, for about five bucks apiece. I wouldn't send it in just for that. You could try telling them you have a New Model with the dovetail rear sight but they'll probably still ask for the serial number.

 

[Orion8472]

I bought several of these from Brownells a few years ago, to keep as spares, for about five bucks apiece. I wouldn't send it in just for that. You could try telling them you have a New Model with the dovetail rear sight but they'll probably still ask for the serial number.

Yeah,....I bet they would...and their records would show that it hadn't been done. I'll go another route. Thanks guys!

 

[doubleh]

I have one question about returning it to Ruger. I've never shipped a handgun anywhere so have no experience. What does it cost to ship it to Ruger and back to you? Even with shipping added to Brownell's price for the sight it might be a bargain and certainly less trouble than shipping a handgun even without removing and replacing it's orignial parts or changing out up graded parts from Ruger.

My old three screw single six is exactly as I want it and no one is messing with it's innards.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

They pay the shipping on a transfer bar safety installation. You will get a UPs label sent by email. All you do is box the gun up (hipefully with good padding), include return info, and drop it off at your local UPS location. Done.

 

[doubleh]

Thanks. I had no idea how it would work. I would still just purchase the sight and install it to avoid the transfer bar thing if it were my gun. Since it isn't I'll shut up.

 

[CraigC]

Shipping the gun to Ruger would be free, they send a prepaid shipping label.

Brownells doesn't have the proper rear sight. The one linked to above is the adjustable, he has the original dovetail. Like this:

 

[4v50 Gary]

Ruger records are for liability. They want their attorney to show that the gun has been upgraded and if reconfigured to original configuration, it's not on them anymore.

 

[Tirod]

Not being a revolver guy until recently, but having been on the internet for 15 years, it's known Ruger doesn't send any parts in the mail. Ever. They will install but don't retail them or sell them to others who do, if I understand correctly.

Of course, that makes them the one manufacturer who seems to do that, many others just drop them in the mail no questions asked. Ruger has always had a very paternalistic view over their firearms, and this is still one of those things they don't seem to revisit and change. I guess we are lucky enough to get hi cap mags etc out of them as it is, but this policy of no parts does have an impact on whether guys like me will purchase one.

Would any of us deliberately send in a collectible Ruger to see it modified and then lose it's value as a pristine example of it's manufacturing prowess in the day? Ok, take it this way - would you send in a Pre '64 Winchester for work knowing they would put in post '64 stamped parts, and modify it so only those work?

Hence the OP not being real happy about a transfer bar installation. Compromise is not an option in some cases.

 

[mjsdwash]

Not being a revolver guy until recently, but having been on the internet for 15 years, it's known Ruger doesn't send any parts in the mail. Ever. They will install but don't retail them or sell them to others who do, if I understand correctly.

Of course, that makes them the one manufacturer who seems to do that, many others just drop them in the mail no questions asked. Ruger has always had a very paternalistic view over their firearms, and this is still one of those things they don't seem to revisit and change. I guess we are lucky enough to get hi cap mags etc out of them as it is, but this policy of no parts does have an impact on whether guys like me will purchase one.

Would any of us deliberately send in a collectible Ruger to see it modified and then lose it's value as a pristine example of it's manufacturing prowess in the day? Ok, take it this way - would you send in a Pre '64 Winchester for work knowing they would put in post '64 stamped parts, and modify it so only those work?

Hence the OP not being real happy about a transfer bar installation. Compromise is not an option in some cases.

Ruger will send parts, just not parts that require fitting, can be installed in a way that makes them unsafe, or are difficult to install, or are part of a upgrade model. But I think you can get a recoil spring if you ask nicely I needed an ejector rod... no fitting, no safety issues, drop in part. Ruger said no, told me $190 for them to put it in. On the bright side, its how I found Brownells, when they were still a catalog company with a barely functioning website.

 

[CraigC]

Ruger sends parts all the time. They are certain restricted parts that can only be factory fitted, like barrels and cylinders but it is not true that they do not send parts. What they will not do, under any circumstances, is ship parts for an Old Model that has not been converted. This is how they cover their rears following the frivolous lawsuits they lost in the `60's and `70's. If the gun had already been converted, he'd have a rear sight in the mail.

To extrapolate on the post above, there are a good many parts that Ruger won't sell that are available through other means, such as Brownells.

The workaround here is to remove the factory lockwork and send in the gun without the parts that will be replaced by the factory conversion. Which can be easily re-installed when the gun comes back. Something I'm thinking about doing with my `58 Single Six because the cylinder doesn't fit right.

 

[beag_nut]

Not being a revolver guy until recently, but having been on the internet for 15 years, it's known Ruger doesn't send any parts in the mail. Ever. They will install but don't retail them or sell them to others who do, if I understand correctly.

Of course, that makes them the one manufacturer who seems to do that, many others just drop them in the mail no questions asked. Ruger has always had a very paternalistic view over their firearms, and this is still one of those things they don't seem to revisit and change. I guess we are lucky enough to get hi cap mags etc out of them as it is, but this policy of no parts does have an impact on whether guys like me will purchase one.

Would any of us deliberately send in a collectible Ruger to see it modified and then lose it's value as a pristine example of it's manufacturing prowess in the day? Ok, take it this way - would you send in a Pre '64 Winchester for work knowing they would put in post '64 stamped parts, and modify it so only those work?

Hence the OP not being real happy about a transfer bar installation. Compromise is not an option in some cases.

Not only does Ruger send parts through the mail, but they won't even charge for some of them! Not even for the shipping! Now, that is a consumer-driven company. I have gotten several parts I needed, because of my "silliness in losing them", and they said to just give them the serial number and my address, "No charge, Sir". When I initiated each phone query, I was not expecting anything more than courtesy, never mind free parts. Obviously, "Tirod" has not had any one-on-one with CS at Ruger.

 

[expat_alaska]

I had a Ruger SBH 3-screw .44 Mag for a few decades, and it was/is a very good gun (I am 65 and my son owns it now). I also owned a Ruger New Model SBH .44 Mag simultaneously and the trigger on the NM was junk in comparison to the 3-screw. Sold it a few months later. I was always hesitant to send it to Ruger to have the "safety" trigger block, et al, installed, even if they returned the original parts with it, because there has to be some factory machining changes. To this day it is still original and worth a bunch to someone who knows about SA pistols. I realize that litigation against Ruger played a major role in their decision to not sell crucial parts to a non-converted gun owner, and Ruger keeps good records by serial number.

I used it for years while I lived in Alaska in a Bianchi S&W 29 shoulder holster (and it fit like a glove) as bear protection while fishing for salmon, but I only loaded 5 rounds with the hammer down on an empty chamber. If you can't down a charging brown/grizzly with 5 shots, you won't have time for #6. I used a Speer (book) max load of H110 under a Speer 240 gr jacketed semi-wadcutter with magnum primers. Very hard hitting round.

One cannot expect to kill a grizzly/brown with a head shot or two. They have a very thick pan-shaped skull and it won't penetrate with a handgun round. The object is to aim for the front of the shoulder area and hope you break a shoulder bone to stop the charge. Not easy to do, especially with your adrenalin flowing.

Been there with a small boar grizzly. Fish and Game (DNR) took it away in a couple of hours and I did not have a problem with that at all as Alaska has a law that it was legal to do so insofar as protecting life and property.

Had to go back to camp and have shot of whiskey to settle down. The most scared I have ever been outdoors.

Long time ago in a far away place...

Regards,

Jim

 

[rpenmanparker]

I had a Ruger SBH 3-screw .44 Mag for a few decades, and it was/is a very good gun (I am 65 and my son owns it now). I also owned a Ruger New Model SBH .44 Mag simultaneously and the trigger on the NM was junk in comparison to the 3-screw. Sold it a few months later. I was always hesitant to send it to Ruger to have the "safety" trigger block, et al, installed, even if they returned the original parts with it, because there has to be some factory machining changes. To this day it is still original and worth a bunch to someone who knows about SA pistols. I realize that litigation against Ruger played a major role in their decision to not sell crucial parts to a non-converted gun owner, and Ruger keeps good records by serial number.

I used it for years while I lived in Alaska in a Bianchi S&W 29 shoulder holster (and it fit like a glove) as bear protection while fishing for salmon, but I only loaded 5 rounds with the hammer down on an empty chamber. If you can't down a charging brown/grizzly with 5 shots, you won't have time for #6. I used a Speer (book) max load of H110 under a Speer 240 gr jacketed semi-wadcutter with magnum primers. Very hard hitting round.

One cannot expect to kill a grizzly/brown with a head shot or two. They have a very thick pan-shaped skull and it won't penetrate with a handgun round. The object is to aim for the front of the shoulder area and hope you break a shoulder bone to stop the charge. Not easy to do, especially with your adrenalin flowing.

Been there with a small boar grizzly. Fish and Game (DNR) took it away in a couple of hours and I did not have a problem with that at all as Alaska has a law that it was legal to do so insofar as protecting life and property.

Had to go back to camp and have shot of whiskey to settle down. The most scared I have ever been outdoors.

Long time ago in a far away place...

Regards,

Jim

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You lived in Alaska in a Bianchi shoulder holster? I know there is a tiny house trend, but that must be a record.

 

[CraigC]

One cannot expect to kill a grizzly/brown with a head shot or two. They have a very thick pan-shaped skull and it won't penetrate with a handgun round.

I beg to differ but one has to use the right bullet. A 240gr JHP is not the right bullet.

 

[expat_alaska]

I beg to differ but one has to use the right bullet. A 240gr JHP is not the right bullet.

Did I say it was a hollow point? No. It was a JSP semiwadcutter. Reading and comprehension, sir.

 

[expat_alaska]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You lived in Alaska in a Bianchi shoulder holster? I know there is a tiny house trend, but that must be a record.

I guess I should have phrased it differently in my post. My apologies.

 

[CraigC]

Did I say it was a hollow point? No. It was a JSP semiwadcutter. Reading and comprehension, sir.

Sorry, you lost me at "240gr". That's even worse, the half jacket Speer bullets have a soft nose/core. No 240gr is the "right bullet" for bear.

I'll ignore the needless jab about reading comprehension.

 

[Monac]

I am confused about what is ridiculous here. Is it asking Ruger for parts for a gun they made 60 years ago, or is it Ruger's response to the question?