Are There Many People That Collect Ruger Revolvers?

J

Joe_Pike

New member
I know there are a lot of people that buy Ruger revolvers, but is there a large group of people that collect Ruger revolvers?

The Number of Smith & Wesson and Colt collectors is vast and you hear and read about these guns as collectables regularly. I don't hear as much about Ruger collectors and I don't hear about huge sums of money paid for Ruger revolvers. Is it because Rugers are built more utilitarian?

The only reason I have thought about this is I just brought home my dad's Ruger Single Six from 1955.
 
Well, I like Rugers in .45 Colt SA. I have two New Vaquero's in this caliber and they are fun to shoot. Used to have a two .45 Colt Blackhawks and ever so stupidly traded them away:mad:

But I think I like the New Vaquero's better as they are more trim and faster handling.

edit: I didn't answer your question, I have a "collection" of two:D
 
I know of one gentleman who actually collects them.

I know of one gentleman who actually collects them.

Friend of mine in Tulsa decided to collect Ruger SA/DA revolvers,,,
His reasoning was that no one else was collecting them,,,
That means he can still buy and collect on the cheap.

I think he's got over 40 revolvers,,,
It's actually a fairly impressive wall of guns.

Aarond

.
 
Don't know if you'd call it a collection, but I have an "Old" Model Vaquero in 45LC, a New Vaquero in 45LC and one of the limited edition stainless Flattop Blackhawks in 45LC/45ACP with the ivory polymer grips.

Does having 3 Ruger revolvers in 45LC count as a collection? :)

Regards,
Mike
 
I've known quite a few Ruger collectors, but none of the primary players. The Ruger Collectors Association was formed in 1975.

www.rugercollectorsassociation.com/rca/whatisRCA


In 2010, someone bought a former Ruger employee's collection. All serial numbers ended in 0038. The ad explains the mixup that led to Bill Ruger giving the man the claim on number 38 - because Mr. Ruger claimed all the numbers from 1 to 40 for himself.

www.icollector.com/An-Impressive-Co...ng-of-Pistols-Revolvers-Rifles-and-S_i9751790

The selling price was $29,500 plus fees, etc. The buyer's premium alone was almost $6k.
 
There are Ruger collectors just like there are Hi-Standard collectors. Virtually every manufacturer has a fan club. As a Colt guy I have little interest in Rugers, but there are plenty of people who DO.
 
There are a LOT of people that collect Rugers.

Go look around and try to buy a NIB Hawkeye pistol. Why would anybody want one of those single shot funny looking things anyway, right? Wait until you see what people are paying for them!

And unconverted Old Models are worth quite a bit today. As are original Flat Tops. And Speed Sixes. Especially the 9mms. And people spend truly vast amounts of money on custom Ruger single actions. Bowen and Clements and others have a waiting list and make their living satisfying those people.

Gregg
 
My first wife collected Gone With the Wind plates. People will collect anything!
Click to expand...

Oh, I know all about that. I used to be one of those "collector" guys. I didn't buy anything too expensive, but I sure did have a lot of it. Then I deciced "stuff" wasn't for me.

I just rarely hear about people collecting this NIB Ruger or that NIB NOS Ruger. The S&W & Colt mystique just doesn't seem to be there. I guess it may be because of the pre-war history of those other companies.
 
Yes they are collectible. You have to understand though that Ruger is the new boy on the block. Founder Bill Ruger passed not that long ago. Not sure when Samuel Colt died without researching it , but it wasn't in my lifetime. (And I am not young.) Ruger only has about 60 years of history to offer. Alot of the original Rugers are stiil in service. With the original purchaser even. Smith has been around a long time , thus the more colorful history. At least that's the way I see it.
 
Can't say I"m a collector. However, I do have some. Rarest is a factory lettered brass frame .45LC. IIRC they made less than 50 of them back in the 70's. LNIB. I can afford such things a lot better than I can Colts of similar rarity.
 
There are plenty, just not as many as Smith and Colt. Look at prices on the rare Ruger variations and you will see strong collector interest.
 
I'm not a collector but I do like Ruger revolvers. I do think there are plenty of Ruger collectors out there. As mentioned earlier on, as Ruger continues to grow older, I think there will be more and more collectors of the Ruger firearms.
 
Yes, some Rugers are highly collectable. Some discontinued models are selling for big bucks. IE: Hawkeye, 357 Max Blackhawks, Old SBH flattops, and many more.
One handgun that seems to be attracting attention now is the discontinued SRH in 480. I have noticed prices going up on this model.

I know this is a handgun forum,;) but notice discontinued 9622s & 22Mag have nearly doubled.
 
Sure, there is a pretty big group of Ruger collectors in my area...

Personally, I collect ( and shoot ) S&W revolvers...but everyone should collect and shoot whatever they like....and Ruger has a strong following.
 
Some years ago a friend of mine decided to get into collecting, and picked Ruger Bisley models as his specialty. He was handy at cabinet making, and built a prize winning display in fairly short order.

About the time he had bought a specimen of each Bisley Model, some new variations showed up.

They make 'em faster than one can collect 'em. Well, at least some of them.

Bob Wright
 
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