- Ruger Single Action Serial Numbers
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- Ruger Mark 1 Serial Numbers Year Produced
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- The first rifle “commercially shipped” was #935, 26″ barrel, beavertail forearm in .308 Winchester on September 15, 1966.*
- The last non-prefix shipped was #5290 in January, 1975.
- The highest number shipped was #8437 in May, 1972.
* Joe told me that the Factory had advised him that #935 was the first rifle shipped and that it was 1966. At one time, I owned #935, as new in the box. The box had the U.S. postage stamps and the Newport cancellation on September 15, 1967. There was a great effort to have the No. 1 announced and written up in all the major magazines for their October 1966 issue, but that is for another story. I believe the first No. 1’s were shipped in March of 1967. I would certainly like to hear from anyone who has a rifle with an earlier shipping date. Why did I ever sell it???
From this information, we know that approximately 7500 rifles were produced and shipped over a relatively long period of time-until 1975. Obviously, 130-prefix numbered rifles were manufactured and shipped simultaneously beginning in 1970. I believe the majority of the rarer configurations and calibers to have been assembled prior to 1970; after that time, the standard models and calibers are catalogued, with the information that “no specifications other than those listed will be offered” However, the General Megee rifle in .32 S&W Long is an exception.(Clayton Book page 37 and Shooting Times, April 1971 The General published an article in the American Rifleman, January 1970, which is probably what earned him the special consideration for a unique rifle. This article was very complimentary of the accuracy of No. 1 rifles in .270 Winchester and .222 Remington.
Calibers
Calibers that were published as being available or that are known to me in the non pre-fix rifle are: .222 Remington, .22-250 Remington, .243 Winchester, 6mm Remington, .25-06 Remington, .264 Winchester Magnum, 6.5 mm Remington Magnum, .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, 7×57, 7mm Remington Magnum, .308 Winchester, .30-06, .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 H&H Magnum, .338 Winchester Magnum, .375 H&H Magnum, .45-70, .458 Winchester Magnum. Those published as being available, but not known to me are the .264 Win. Mag., 6.5mm Rem. Mag., .300 H&H Mag., and .338 Win. Mag. The .25-06 was listed available as a 1V in in 1971 and as a 1B in 1973. The 7mm Rem. Mag. and .300 Win. Mag. were listed as available in the 1V in 1973. The.45-70 was listed as available in S24H in 1969 and as a 1S in 1970(with 22″ medium weight barrel). The .45-70 in 1H is only known in the prefix series and is a rare rifle.
Rarity Points
Many collectors have had difficulty understanding or interpreting the Ruger No. 1 Evaluation Table in the Clayton No. 1 book, especially as it relates to the non- prefix serial number configurations and calibers. I believe much of the problem lies with using these “Rarity Points” as an absolute, rather than a relative indicator. Also, at the rare end of the scale, my observations and experience are somewhat different; we all have the benefit of another 25 years collecting experience. In summary, the Rarity Points are based on Configuration, Caliber and Digits in the serial#; this applies to the non-prefix rifles.
Caliber points are:
- .22-250 Remington & .308 Winchester-3
- .243 Winchester, 6mm Remington & .30-06-4
- .270 Winchester, .375 H&H Magnum, .45-70 & .458 Winchester Magnum-5
- .222 Remington, 7mm Remington Magnum & .300 Winchester Magnum-6
- .25-06 Remington-7
- .280 Remington-8
- 7×57-10
- .264 Winchester Magnum-11
Configuration points are:
- S26M Beavertail no sights-2
- S22L Beavertail no sights, S22L AH no sights & S26M Beavertail Target Scope blocks-3
- S22L AH sights & S26M AH no sights-4
- S26M AH sights & S24H-5
- S26M Beavertail sights & S26M AH Target Scope Blocks-6
- S22M-7, and S22L Beavertail sights-8
Serial # points are: One digit-10, Two digit-8, Three digit-6 and Four digit-4.
The Scale is: Nice rifle 0-4, Collectable 5-7, Rare 8-10, and Very Rare 11+.
1967 Catalogue
The 1967 Catalogue spread on the No. 1 contains a wealth of information. If you, as a collector have not read it thoroughly, I would certainly recommend it. The Catalogue describes how these different rifles could be ordered; the customer picked the barrel weight and length, the caliber, the forearm style and the sighting equipment-rib and sights or no sights or target scope blocks. I suggested several years ago a shorthand system for identifying the various configurations that I believe is much more convenient. It uses two or three letters to describe the barrel weight, forearm style and sighting equipment. It works well for the 10 configurations that are the most difficult to describe. These are:
- BB- 26″ barrel, Beavertail forearm, no sights(the present 1B)
- BBS- 26″ barrel, Beavertail forearm, Sights
- BBB-26″ barrel, Beavertail forearm, target scope Blocks
- BH- 26″ barrel, Alex Henry forearm, no sights
- BHS- 26″ barrel, Alex Henry forearm, Sights(what was the 1S)
- BHB-26″ barrel, Alex Henry forearm, target scope Blocks
- AB- 22″ barrel, Beavertail forearm, no sights(the present 1AB)
- ABS-22″ barrel, Beavertail forearm, Sights
- AH- 22″ barrel, Alex Henry forearm, no sights
- AHS- 22″ barrel, Alex Henry forearm, Sights(the present 1A)
On the above, I will note that the 26″ barrels are the “B” or medium weight and the 22″ barrels are the “A” or light weight. The other 3 configurations are the 1V, 1H and 1S in .45-70
With this new Configuration terminology, I will provide some examples of the failure of the rarity points! A 4 digit in BB and .22-250 racks up 9 points(4+2+3: Rare) and a 4 digit AB and .308 totals 10 points(4+3+3; Rare). A 3 digit of any caliber and configuration becomes Very Rare by this Evaluation Scale. Therein lies the problem!
What is Rare and Very Rare as compared to what?
My Caliber rarity:
- Common-.22-250 Remington, .308 Winchester, .243 Winchester
- Fairly Common- .222 Remington, 6mm Remington, 7mm Remington Magnum, .30-06
- Rare: .25-06, .270 Winchester, 7×57, .280 Remington, .300 Winchester Magnum
- Very Rare: .375 H&H Magnum, .45-70, .458 Winchester Magnum
My Configuration scale: ( % is of 7500 rifles)
- Common————BB (60%)
- Fairly Common—-AB (15%)
- Somewhat Common- AH (8%)
- Rare—————– BH (6%)
- Very Rare———–BHS, AHS, BBB, BBS ( 2% each)
- Very, Very Rare- –BHB, 1V (less than 1% each)
- Not Often Found– ABS, 1H, 1S(.45-70) (less than .5% each)
Now, down to the nitty-gritty!! There are 127 possible combinations of Caliber and Configuration. This is derived from the 12 calibers in the 10 configurations (10×12=120) adding the 4 calibers of the 1V, the 2 calibers of the 1H and the 1S in .45-70 (120+4+2+1=127) A statement from the No. 1 book that the BB in .22-250 and the AB in .308 accounted for over 20% of the production and three assumptions is the basis for these estimates.
- The BB is the most common configuration-estimate 60%
- The AB is the second most common configuration-estimate 15%
- The common rifles are the BB in .222, .22-250, .243, 6mm, 7mm RM and .30-06 and the AB in .308, which account for 60% of the production (The converse is true; these common calibers in any configuration other than the ones listed makes for an uncommon rifle!)
| Caliber | BB | BBS | BBB | BH | BHS | BHB | AB | ABS | AH | AHS | 1H | 1V | 1S |
| .222 Rem. | 675 | <25 | <50 | <50 | <25 | <25 | 150 | <8 | 150 | <50 | – | 1* | – |
| .22-250 | 1050 | <50 | 75 | 75 | <50 | <8 | 75 | <8 | 75 | <50 | – | <25 | – |
| .243 Win. | 825 | 75 | <50 | 75 | <50 | <25 | 150 | <25 | 75 | <50 | – | – | – |
| 6mm | 460 | <50 | <50 | <50 | <50 | <8 | <50 | <8 | <50 | <25 | – | – | – |
| .25-06 | 75 | NM | NM | NM | NM | NM | NM | NM | NM | NM | – | <50 | – |
| .270 Win. | 150 | <8 | NM | <25 | <8 | NM | <8 | NM | <8 | <8 | – | – | – |
| .280 Rem. | 75 | <8 | <8 | <25 | <25 | <8 | <25 | <8 | <25 | <8 | – | – | – |
| 7×57 | 75 | <8 | <8 | <25 | <25 | <8 | <25 | <8 | <8 | <8 | – | – | – |
| 7mm RM | 460 | <50 | <25 | 75 | <50 | <25 | <75 | <25 | <50 | <50 | – | <25 | – |
| .308 Win. | 150 | <8 | <50 | <50 | <25 | <8 | 675 | <25 | 75 | 75 | – | – | – |
| .30-06 | 375 | <50 | <50 | 75 | <50 | <25 | 75 | <25 | 75 | <50 | – | – | – |
| .300 WM | 75 | <8 | <8 | <25 | <50 | <8 | NM | NM | NM | NM | – | <8 | – |
| .375 H&H | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | <25 | – | – |
| .458 WM | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | <25 | – | – |
| .45-70 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | <25 |
NM=Probably Not Made
Ruger Single Action Serial Numbers
* In the development of the 1V Configuration at least one .222 Remington rifle was produced. It is serial# 6580 and was made in February, 1970. It was never shipped; it was sold on the Ruger Auction in September, 2007. No other 1V’s in .222 are known, either with a non-prefix receiver or in the early 130-prefix. Another previously unknown non-prefix 1V, this one in .243 Winchester, has been auctioned on the Ruger Auction Website in May of 2008. It is #7233. This caliber was produced in the 1V configuration in later years, but no other non-prefix or 130- prefix rifles are known.
Note that 16 Caliber/Configurations are projected as not produced; that leaves 111 likely different rifles to look for! The numbers estimated as production for each Caliber/Configuration are based upon a percentage of the 7500 non prefix rifles produced. The percents that were estimated are:
14% =1050, 11%=825, 9%=675, 6%=460, 5%=375, 2%=150, 1%=75, <1%=<50, <.5%=<25, <.1%=<8.
Ruger Mark 1 Serial Numbers
I believe that the percents from 14% to5% are accurate within +/-1%; the percents from 2% to <.1% are accurate to within +/-.5%. That is an out for me in that some of these rifles which I list as <25 and <8 just may not have ever been made! One other very interesting calculation can be made from the percents-that is that the 12 most common rifles make up 70% of the production, and that the next 19 Caliber/Configurations are 19% of the production, AND the rarest 80 Caliber/Configurations are only 11% of the rifles. For a long time, I have stated to interested or beginning collectors that any non prefix rifle other than a BB or a .308 Winchester AB is a very rare rifle! And there are some very rare rifles that are BB depending on the caliber. A low or unique serial number or prior ownership by a prominent individual could add a “special” rarity on its own. Even the quality of the wood can affect the desirability. Every collector knows that the buttstock can range from “pine board plain” to the finest of figured walnut.
Special Rifles
One very rare type of rifle I have not mentioned yet is the “one of a kind” that does not fit the regular Caliber/Configuration charts. One example is the S24M beavertail in .222 Remington, serial# 2103 pictured on page 120 of the Ruger No.1 book. These rifles do exist; they are very special and were made for special people. There better be a story behind the rifle that makes sense; they weren’t made for just anyone! I doubt the factory could or would verify them, so it’s the history and story and your experience that you have to rely on.
Sturm Ruger Mark 1 Serial Numbers
Last Comments
Ruger Mark 1 Target Serial Numbers
I do not consider the grooved front sight to be anything other than a variation; it is a result of whether a rifle was made earlier or made later. Likewise, with the checkering pattern on the Alex Henry forearm, it is simply an indication of the time frame the rifle was finished. As a different example, all of the non-prefix 1V’s I am familiar with do not have the diamond checkering pattern on the bottom of the beavertail forearm, which is proper for the time frame in which they were completed and shipped. The .45-70’s also have the later Alex Henry forearm and checkering pattern. The “S” safety stamp is another variation that results from the time frame of marking. Many of the 1V models of the 1970-1972 period have this safety marking, as do other early 130- prefix rifles. These last comments, grooved sights, checkering patterns and safety markings are what I consider to be manufacturing variations, not differences in configuration. In closing, I want to stress again that these are my estimates based on the stated assumptions, observed ratios, and calculations to achieve the correct percentages. Any No. 1 owners having one of these scarcer Caliber/Configurations(<25) are solicited to report to me that these rifles do exist!
Ruger Mark 1 Serial Number Dating
This is intended to be a complete caliber list of all Ruger No. 1’s that were commercially produced. It does not include the “one of a kind” chamberings that have been made.
204 Ruger, 218 Bee, 22 Hornet, 222 Rem, 223, 22 PPC, 22-250 Rem, 220 Swift, 6mm PPC, 6mm Rem, 243 Win, 250 Savage, 257 Roberts, 25/06, 257 Weatherby, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5×55, 6.5 Rem Mag, 6.5-284 Norma, 264 Win Mag, 270 Win, 270 Weatherby, .275 Rigby, 280 Rem, 280 Ackley Improved, 284 Win, 7×57, 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm STW, 7mm/08, 30-06, 30/30, 30-40 Krag, 300 RCM, 300 H&H, 300 Weatherby, 300 Win Mag, 308 Win, 7.62×39, 303 British, 338 RCM, 338 Federal, 338 Win Mag, 35 Whelen, 357 Mag, 9.3×62, 9.3x74R, 375 H&H, 375 Ruger, 38-55 Win, 404 Jeffrey, 405 Win, 450/400 Nitro Express 3”, 416 Ruger, 416 Rem Mag, 416 Rigby, .44 Rem. Mag., 460 S&W, 45-70 Govt, 450 Bushmaster, 450 Marlin. 450 Nitro Express 3 1/4”, 458 Win Mag, 458 Lott, 475 Linebaugh, 475 Turnbull
| Beginning Serial Number | Approximate Production | Years of Production | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | 1967 | #8437 was the highest serial number |
| 2231 | – | 1968 | non-prefix shipped May of 1972* |
| 5885 | 7500* | 1969 | #5290 was the last non-prefix rifle |
| 130-00001 | 1700 | 1970 | shipped January of 1975 |
| 130-01681 | 2200 | 1971 | |
| 130-03843 | 1000 | 1972 | From the J.D. Clayton Ruger No. 1 Book |
| 130-04859 | 300 | 1973 | From the J.D. Clayton Ruger No. 1 Book |
| 130-05203 | 7500 | 1974 | |
| 130-12779 | 4700 | 1975 | |
| 130-17490 | 23300 | 1976 | |
| 130-40795 | 28500 | 1977 | 130- prefix ended @ 130-49999 |
| 131-19270 | 27400 | 1978 | |
| 131-46676 | 8800 | 1979 | 131- prefix ended @ 131-54116 |
| 132-01360 | 5800 | 1980 | |
| 132-07159 | 18800 | 1981 | Ruger No.3's numbered in the No.1 series from 1980-1986 |
| 132-25986 | 8100 | 1982 | |
| 132-34077 | 4500 | 1983 | |
| 132-39043 | 15400 | 1984 | |
| 132-54434 | 18600 | 1985 | |
| 132-76167 | 3300 | 1987 | |
| 132-79519 | 3600 | 1988 | |
| 132-83110 | 3900 | 1989 | |
| 132-87029 | 6000 | 1990 | |
| 132-92985 | 2700 | 1991 | |
| 132-95719 | 3400 | 1992 | |
| 132-99165 | 13800 | 1993 | |
| 133-13007 | 9100 | 1994 | |
| 133-22067 | 7000 | 1995 | |
| 133-29051 | 7300 | 1996 | |
| 133-36393 | 10600 | 1997 | |
| 133-47014 | 7100 | 1998 | |
| 133-54089 | 15200 | 1999 | |
| 133-69291 | 8500 | 2000 | |
| 133-77839 | 11100 | 2001 | |
| 133-88974 | 3300 | 2002 | |
| 133-92276 | 7700 | 2003 | |
| 134-00011 | 7100 | 2004 | |
| 134-07100 | 8300 | 2005 | |
| 134-15411 | 3800 | 2006 | |
| 134-19170 | 3800 | 2007 | |
| 134-22930 | 2000 | 2008 | |
| 134-24861 | 2900 | 2009 | |
| 134-27798 | 4800 | 2010 | |
| 134-32639 | 3900 | 2011 | |
| 134-36488 | 600 | 2012 | |
| 134-37131 | 1200 | 2013 | |
| 134-38440 | 2900 | 2014 | |
| 134-41326 | 3700 | 2015 | |
| 134-45XXX | 3000 | 2016 | |
| 134-48XXX | – | 2017 |
The above chart shows the approximate first serial number shipped for the indicated year. This number should be used as a point of reference only. It is not necessarily the very first serial number shipped, but it can be used to determine the approximate year your Ruger firearm was shipped.
Ruger Mark 1 Serial Numbers Year Produced
Ruger does not produce firearms in serial number order. There are occasions when blocks of serial numbers have been manufactured out of sequence, sometimes years later. Also, within a model family the same serial number prefix may be used to produce a variety of different models, all in the same block of serial numbers. And in some cases, models may be stored for a length of time before they are shipped.