There are occasions when blocks of serial numbers have been manufactured out of sequence, sometimes years later. Ruger does not necessarily produce firearms in serial number order. It can be used to determine the approximate year your Ruger firearm was It is not necessarily the very first serial number shipped, but

This number should be used as a point of reference The above chart shows the approximate first serial number shipped for Blackhawk serial numbers rollmarked with. (Includes Bisley Models) Caliber: 45 Colt/45 ACP It really doesn't matter, since The Factory didn't record all the individual bits used on any particular gun anyway, so there is no documentation for most of those with the possible exception of some particular grip frames or panels, and these only occasionally.Īll this only serves to keep us on our toes and remember that with Ruger, never say never.Ruger New Model Blackhawk Serial Number History There is no real way to sort these aberrations out, but in most cases they can be identified as 'suspicious' if that matters to someone. And of course there is always the potential for the 'screwdriver variations' arising from easily-swapped parts that muddy the gun's actual date of origin, either 'early' or 'late'. There will always be the occasional 'late shipped' gun having bits and pieces that were released considerably after the gun's serial number might indicate, or the occasional gun wearing some older bits from way earlier production that just floated to the top of the 'parts bin' at final assembly. He can, for instance, occasionally come pretty close to revealing within a month's time when certain features/parts were changed in a run of a particular model. His serial number breakouts are considerably more precise than anything Ruger has put out, and his discussion of which parts were used when is further informative. Knowing the month as well as the year certainly helps since the various 'type' configurations of many of the Old Models are pretty well known and documented in Chet15's Red Eagle News Exchange Reference of Ruger Firearms.

They could be widely different particularly in the early pre-90s era when large runs of parts were stock-piled and assembled in no particular time order. The shipping date is good to have a s a base line but it tells you nothing for sure about the manufacturing date of the receiver or any of the parts.

Ruger serial number lookup blackhawk