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Post by Lee Martin on Jan 24, 2011 14:07:36 GMT -5
You're correct Ken....I couldn't be happier to see them in their 8th Super Bowl (though that 2nd half was hard to watch last night). -Lee www.singleactions.com
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Post by Ken O'Neill on Jan 24, 2011 17:26:11 GMT -5
It sure was. I guess a little tension is good, but that half offered more than a little.
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coogs
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,673
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Post by coogs on Feb 6, 2011 14:24:37 GMT -5
Sorry I've taken so long to post some pics.......you're still going to have to wait just a little longer...........just got back from 10 days in Jamaica!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, mon!!! Charge the camera back up, and after the Stilllers win the Bowl, in the next day or two I'll get some up there.............great to be home, Coogs.
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Post by keano44 on Feb 6, 2011 22:06:07 GMT -5
Coogs,
David Bradshaw is a member of the same private shooting range that I belong to. He is truly a wealth of information and a cool guy to know. PM me and I'll try to get you two in touch.
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coogs
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,673
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Post by coogs on Feb 15, 2011 7:23:05 GMT -5
BTT Still hoping someone arond here traded their Max back in.......would love to know about it! Also lookin' for Max serial #600-11588........anybody got it? And thanks again, keano44, Coogs.
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coogs
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,673
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Post by coogs on Sept 2, 2021 6:16:17 GMT -5
Old post......same question.......BTT
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Post by tdbarton on Sept 2, 2021 7:03:30 GMT -5
If anyone would know, It’d be Mr Bradshaw
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Post by bradshaw on Sept 2, 2021 9:36:08 GMT -5
If anyone would know, It’d be Mr Bradshaw ***** Production of the SRM .357 Maximum, introduced at the end of 1982 as the Blackhawk .357 Maximum, stopped in 1983. Killed not because the gun didn’t perform. Killed by professional jealousy. Bill Ruger, after all he’d done for so many, was cast as the Rodney Dangerfield of firearms manufacturing. His very judgement was challenged by, let’s face it, ballistics amateurs. Coogs strives to archive Maximum production and destruction----to discern which numbers were destroyed and which numbers continue in circulation. This includes the seven stretch-frame chromoly prototypes----SRM 1 through SRM 7. At my request, Bill, Jr., held two aside, unfired, for later comparison, should we detect stretching or other failure in the other five. Two of the seven prototypes were fitted with 7-1/2” tapered barrels with silver soldered ramp sights. Five were fitted with 10-1/2” untapped bull barrels with screw-on target blades. All seven had a long extractor to fully clear the 1.605” case, sometimes referred to by the Ruger’s as the “Bradshaw extractor.” SRM-4 was loaned to me in 1981 and I took it to a few IHMSA matches for others silhouetters to try. Its first public exposure came at blizzard match in northern Vermont. It could be said to have international exposure, as eastern Canada champion Bert Caron a couple other Quebec silhouetters were on hand (unfazed by blizzard visibility). SRM-4 was an exceptional shooter. I returned SRM-4 when Ruger sent me the very first production .357 Maximum, 600-00018. Ruger would fit #18 with 10-1/2” barrels with Bill, Jr.’s preferred 5-degree forcing cone and my preferred 11-degree forcing cone. Two cylinders, both tightly gapped. The one I shoot most will not accept a .0015” feeler and spins freely. Once the Maximum reached production, Bill Ruger, Jr., offered me the pick of any gun in Ruger production. I suggested SRM-4 instead of a catalog item. Bill declined and reiterated “any gun in production.” When Bill Ruger invited me to dinner and asked me to participate in development of the revolver, there were no SRM prototypes. A Blackhawk had been fitted with full window cylinder to chamber the .357 Magnum lengthened from 1.285” to 1.490”. My job was to shoot and see where it went. It quickly became apparent we could use more boiler room: Bill & Bill, Jr., served on 1.605”. Bill, Jr., wanted to try 1.660-inch, which would necessitate lengthening the frame further. I worried the tapered bottom strap would be too thin. Bill and Bill, Jr., were confident there would not be a strength issue. None of contempt ruining the essential Peacemaker aesthetic by straightening the bottom strap ahead of the trigger guard (Magnum Research BFR style). Bill suggested the longer than SRM frame would work fine with the 1.605” case as well. Remington was the ammunition collaborator in the plan to submit cartridge and gun to SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute) for standardization. One morning, as I tuned triggers and hammers for the SRM’s, Bill, Jr., called Remington to check on experimental ammo, which we burned through faster than the 1,000 round cases arrived. The engineer on the other end asked Bill, “You are firing this ammunition from a box, aren’t you. Not hand-held?” “David Bradshaw, who’s right here, and I are shooting in revolvers,” says Bill, Jr. You could almost hear the Remington----Lonoke, Arkansas----man’s eyebrows hit the ceiling. Bill, Jr., offered to send a revolver for Remington testing. The gentleman on the other end had no interest in shooting their experimental ammo in a revolver! This call started out to urge Remington to stop dragging it feet, to ship us more ammunition. No SRM prototype was shipped to Remington during the gun’s development. Remington did not produce a 180 grain load until I got Federal on board with a 180 JHP in the 1.605” case. The only prototypes to leave Southport----were they were made----or Newport, were guns I took to Vermont, or Bill, Jr., brought to Vermont. These include a stainless steel prototype with production serial number, which I included in my Guns & Ammo article. Early in SRM development, Bill, Jr., took SRM-2 to Southport, where it was drilled & tapped for a Leupold Dual Dovetail base, with Leupold LER (Long Eye Relief) 4x28mm scope. Also fitting ten 10-1/2" barrels, twists ranging from 1:10” to 1:60”. Jack Coogan, a.k.a. Coogs, knows more about which Maximums are out there. As Jack hasn’t all the answers, he continues his search. We compare notes on a regular basis, each of us with questions. David Bradshaw
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Post by silcott on Sept 2, 2021 17:27:17 GMT -5
Why did Ruger use two different methods to mount the front sights on the maximum?
Justin
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Post by bradshaw on Sept 2, 2021 19:50:06 GMT -5
Why did Ruger use two different methods to mount the front sights on the maximum? Justin ***** Justin.... my interest in the .357 Maximum centered on the 10-1/2” barrel. I wanted an untapered barrel----Ruger called the configuration Bull Barrel----with removable, target blade front sight. At my request, Ruger cut front sights with .100” blade and with .125” blade. Built on the Ruger base, which fits apropos Ruger .22 target autos, the KS411N stainless Super Blackhawk ("Silver Hornpipe”) .44 Mag 10-1/2”, S411N blued 10-1/2” silhouette model, and various Single-Sixes with screw-on ramp front sight. Ruger knew there would be a market for the traditional 7-1/2” Peacemaker length, and rolled it out witht tapered barrel and silver-soldered ramp sight. Ruger introduced the stainless KS411N Super Blackhawk in 1983, featuring 10-1/2” bull barrel, with screw-on .125" target blade, and the Maximum ejector assembly in stainless steel. Blued version appears shortly, with long aluminum borrowed from the Maximum. David Bradshaw
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Post by Encore64 on Sept 2, 2021 19:51:04 GMT -5
I've got a 10 1/2" overhauled by Gallagher. Has the screw on silhouette front sight. Very decent gun that I should break out and shoot.
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Post by contender on Sept 2, 2021 20:46:42 GMT -5
It's fun to see this old thread reappear.
When the Maxi came out,, I wanted one BAD. Yet,, my pocketbook didn't allow one right away. Then the production was halted. I saw the prices jump even higher,, and my heart sank. It would be many years before I got my first one. Yet, even before I got one,, I was able to visit with Russ & Forrest at El Dorado often, and enjoyed fondling & occasionally shooting some of their fine revolvers. Again, at that time,, I wasn't able to afford one,, but always lusted after one in either .357 Maxi or .45 Colt. Well, now,, I'm fortunate enough to own a couple of El Dorado's & a few .357 Maxi's. And I even own a couple of T/C barrels in .357 Maxi.
While I do enjoy a lot of calibers,, the Maxi is truly one of my favorites. Reading the history,, is ALWAYS very enjoyable!
Keep it coming Jack, David & ANYBODY else who can add to the knowledge.
And especially anything about Hawkeye's in odd calibers.
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Post by bradshaw on Sept 2, 2021 21:35:05 GMT -5
It's fun to see this old thread reappear. When the Maxi came out,, I wanted one BAD. Yet,, my pocketbook didn't allow one right away. Then the production was halted. I saw the prices jump even higher,, and my heart sank. It would be many years before I got my first one. Yet, even before I got one,, I was able to visit with Russ & Forrest at El Dorado often, and enjoyed fondling & occasionally shooting some of their fine revolvers. Again, at that time,, I wasn't able to afford one,, but always lusted after one in either .357 Maxi or .45 Colt. Well, now,, I'm fortunate enough to own a couple of El Dorado's & a few .357 Maxi's. And I even own a couple of T/C barrels in .357 Maxi. While I do enjoy a lot of calibers,, the Maxi is truly one of my favorites. Reading the history,, is ALWAYS very enjoyable! Keep it coming Jack, David & ANYBODY else who can add to the knowledge. And especially anything about Hawkeye's in odd calibers. ***** Tyrone.... you know more about Ruger detail in your sleep than I’ll know at the height of my glory. If I wasn’t so focussed on trying to put bullets on target and seeing this gun reach production, might have done a better job collecting things like serial numbers. Had I known beforehand, the pressure of some experimental ammo I dropped into SRM cylinders, I might have not squeezed the trigger. Whiskey in hand, many a target of painted cardboard got tossed into Ruger’s fireplace. Annotations and dates going up in flames. I saved a few. Bill Ruger had plenty on his mind----a 9mm auto pistol, the Red Label, the Redhawk, hammer forging his own barrels, and a thousand manufacturing adjustments----yet this hot rod .357 really brought a smile to his face. David Bradshaw
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Post by contender on Sept 3, 2021 7:37:14 GMT -5
David,, I'm just one of many who studies the Ruger history & tries to salvage as much fact as I can. But I do appreciate the kind words.
So much detail, history & fact has been lost because at the time,, it didn't seem relevant to those involved. Like the things you mentioned,, when I spent time at El Dorado,, I had no clue,, and WISH I'd asked more questions, retained more knowledge, and in general, documented as much as I could have. Many years after they closed & I got my first El Dorado, I went to visit Russ. (Forrest had passed long before,) and we were enjoying a nice visit. When I shared the fact I'd gotten my first one,, he wanted to see it of course. Once he laid hands on, one of his first comments was; "You always wanted one in .45 Colt. You know,, we didn't make many in that caliber. Maybe a dozen or so." I replied how I'd wanted on in either .45 or .357 Max,, and he smiled & said,, "Yep!" I know where at least ONE of their Maxi's lives,, but the owner refuses to even discuss parting with it. I've gotten close,, sorta,, in that I now own the gun Forrest built to use at shows to display what they could do in building guns for folks. I have his personal .357 Mag, in blue, with a bit of brass work as well. If it had just been a Maxi,,,,!
I've read all you've shared over the time here on the Maxi's, and I know you & Jack now converse a lot. Jack has a WEALTH of knowledge on these guns,, and for that,, I'm truly happy to see it being documented & preserved.
Keep it all coming!
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Post by tdbarton on Sept 3, 2021 8:02:59 GMT -5
I’d love an entire Ruger/other revolver history thread where you gents just spill all the beans you’ve acquired.
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