A fellow offered me a 10 inch bbl. Ruger Flattop 357, unconverted, for as he stated "around $500". He described it, condition wise, as a 3.5 to maybe a 4 out of "1 to 5". He said most of the wear was on the gripframe. I know it's a rare gun, but anyone have any idea how much, I know without good pictures it's hard to value something, it may be worth? I will get to see it either tonight or tomorrow night. He also has a 4" S&W .22 lr. "fixer-upper", his description, he offered me for $150.

I know a little about Smiths, but what do you say about the old Ruger?

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Big Fred

Probally a fair price as they've done nothing but go up in cost lately. I have a couple old flat tops and did better than that price but it's been a couple years too.
I'd want to look it over and see what condition it really is in and make an offer depending on that. If it was what I wanted I'd maybe offer 75% of his asking price and negotiate from there. Done properly you won't be insulting him and should be able to come up with a mutual price everyone will be happy with.

I'm not a Ruger collector, but I think an original Flat Top 357 in a 10" bbl is somewhat of a rarity.
Also within the 10" bbl's, there were a few with 8 groove rifling,,(very few,,maybe 50 or 60).

As always originality is the key. BBls can be changed and condition is king.

I do know that original Ruger black 'hard rubber' type grips from those early S/A's are worth around $150 to $200 if in excellent condition.
If they are worn, chipped or cracked on the gun in question, they are a tough find to replace and obviously expensive if you're going the restoration route.

You can still call the Ruger factory with the serial number and revolver description and they will tell you over the phone what it left the factory as if it's in their electronic records.
1-603-865-2442

If not they'll have you request it in writing.

Sounds like it's worth looking in to

A 357 Blackhawk 4 3/4 in shooter condition w/non original grips was sold at a recent show for $475. I don't know if that's market or not. Maybe the customer just wanted an original FT.
Do some scouting of the auctions and see what the originals are selling for. The recent issue Flat Tops are flooding the market but they have the new style action in them.
Good Luck with it!

If condition is good it is worth what he wants. If he said "around 500" and you like it but are not in love with it, I would offer 400 and go 425.

Skip the Ruger, get the S&W for a buck and a half, send it to S&W for repairs/refinish. You'll thank me later. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Being both a big fan of S&W and Ruger, the only choice I could make is get both, maybe....

An unconverted OM Blackhawk .357 is sought after in the Ruger world due to the smaller frame, making it popular for conversions to .44 SPL.

It's just about unheard of for a 10" bbl to pop up for sale... $500 is a reasonable price, but in this economy it should be a soft price too.

So the question that needs to be asked is, just how much of a Ruger fan are you, and what would it mean to you having one that's relatively rare, being unconverted and having the uncommon barrel?

What model is the 4" bbl .22LR S&W and how much fixing up does it need?

S&W has a cap on how old of a gun they will accept for repairs, if it is a model that has been out for print for a while, it could be really problematic and expensive turning that "fixer upper" into a shooter.

If it was me personally, I'd snap up the Blackhawk. There will be more opportunities down the road for finding another S&W 4" bbl .22 in better shape, and not have to worry about being able to have it repaired.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Thanks Guys for the replys. I'm going to get to look them over tomorrow. From what internet research I've done it seems that Ruger is pretty rare. I have a few Ruger 3 screws and this one would go nicely with them. I'm going to call Ruger and see if they can verify it shipped with the 10" barrel.

From what the seller told me the Smith is a 5 screw K frame. The serial is: K1619xx. He said the bolt is either missing or retracted into the frame and won't rise, and also the cylinder is missing most of its blue. I asked if I can pull the sideplate for inspection when I see the revolvers and he said yes, so once I see the inside I should know what the problem is.

Another question, are parts still available for this Smith? Would model marked, ie a mdl. 17 or 18, parts be the same? I'm thinking they should, but ???

Thanks for all help.

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Big Fred