The advent of the transfer bar safety made carrying a fully loaded Ruger Single Six a reality.

The main difference between the ‘Old' and ‘New' model Ruger Single Six was only safe to carry the old with the hammer down on an empty chamber.

22 LR had a 5 1/2-inch barrel, and 4 5/8, 6½ and 9½-inch models were later added.

Given Colt discontinuing the SAA, the revolver gained a foothold.

The Ruger Single Six was inspired by the popularity of TV and movie Westerns in the 1950s.

How Did The Ruger Single Six Become An American Icon:

A gun inspired by the classic Western TV shows of the 1950s that were dominating the family room of nearly every home in America, the Ruger Single Six has gone on to become the stuff of legend. 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.For its first several years, the Single Six had what was known as a “flat loading gate” on the side of the receiver. 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.

Ruger single six serial number