WTB- OM 357 flattop

[steve]

I asked over on the rugerforum also. I figured maybe one of you guys may have one stashed away. I'm looking for a shooter grade old model flattop 357 4 5/8" barrel unconverted

[bushog]

Sounds like trouble brewing!

[steve]

...not this time, just a keeper...until, 😆😆😆

[contender]

".not this time, just a keeper...until,"


OM Flattops are getting more & more scarce. Unless you find a beater & then do custom work,, most folks on the Ruger Forum frown upon chopping up old Flattops. That little word "until" causes collectors to cringe a little.

If you are just looking for an actual shooter,, & plan on leaving it "as is" then you might scare one up a little easier. But you'll pay for one usually.

I know many here love to build custom guns,, and do so out of the occasional rare OM Ruger. Their guns,, their choice. I NEVER give someone real grief for that. But if a gun has been well used & needs some TLC,, and then goes custom,, I actually appreciate that.

Did ya hear about the guy who had a Long Frame Super,, with the wood box,, who had it chopped & poor engraving done to it? He also threw away the box. When I heard about it long ago,, I nearly cried. Long frames are very rare, and heck, the boxes bring big bucks too! Many collectors would have paid a very fair price for the package, AND thrown in a Super to be customized for a Long Frame.

[kings6]

Poor Contender just cringes inside when he sees some of the projects many of us do!🤣 I admit to being one of the worse offenders of Ruger collector types sensibilities. Type 1 first year flat tops, old model pristine 3 screw shorties, long frame maximums, they have all been sacrificed at the alter of the custom revolver in this house. I always figured that if a collector wanted the same gun I was buying, they should have bought it before I did. Besides, if I use one for a project, it simply increased the value of the other guys collector guns since it is now one gun rarer!

Actually I am not as heartless as I sound. I have let others have a number of collectible Rugers I’ve owned. Ross variation flat top, 256 Hawkeye, NIB fluted bisleys and a few others have gone to purists homes rather than under the knife.

[steve]

Tyrone and Robb .....just a humble sixguner asking a question 😄😄

PS Robb pm your address again....if you're in the grip making business I'll send you a chunk to practice on......might just make SDH or Rowen proud!!

[kings6]

Not selling grips but trying to learn first just for
grin and giggles.

[contender]

Actually,, I don't cringe as bad as Robb says. I just shake my head & sigh the sigh of a collector who wishes he had found the guns before someone built a custom one.

And yes,, I know, I know,, every one of them that gets irreversibly customized, causes the value of the unmolested ones go up a bit.

I NEVER begrudge a person for their own personal tastes and wants of a custom. I may "rib" a friend who does it occasionally,, but it's all in good fun. And yes,, certain guns should be left "as shipped" (such as a .256 Hawkeye, with only 3300 of them made, or a "Ross" of which only about 800 exist(ed), because many collectors would gladly buy them, and allow the purchase of a different gun as a donor for customizing.

Robb,, grip making isn't as hard as it may seem. I do it as a hobby FOR MYSELF,, and enjoy it. Certain steps in a specific order makes it very easy. The biggest things are; "getting the shape to fit your hands, and making sure the transition edges are smooth." Careful, & slow with a lot of double checking makes it happen.

I'm currently making a set of grips for the RW Bradshaw Bisley g/f for my Maxi. I'm documenting it & all over on the Ruger Forum!