Ruger Blackhawk Loading Gate

[jaguarxk120]

I just came into a 1975 Blackhawk in 45 Colt. The gun is in great shape
but the loading gate has a purple cast to it. Just looks different.
Should this off color be of concern?

 

[Guggmeister]

Completely normal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[rodfac]

Many Rugers exhibit the "plum" coloring on parts, depending on the type of alloy steel in use. My 3-screw shows it on the gate like yours. As the gun ages, the "plum" color becomes evident. Best Regards, Rod

 

[jaguarxk120]

Thanks for the reply, I guess the plum color set's it
off from the later made guns.

 

[Pathfinder45]

Totally defective; you should sell the gun to me for a hundred bucks while you can.
Actually it makes your revolver look more interesting. Use it and enjoy.

 

[J.G. Terry]

Purple

Purple was not limited to handguns. This purple cast was on several of the 77 bolt actions. Handguns and rifles around here were good shooters regardless of the color scheme.

 

[arquebus357]

This Ruger GP100 is a 1989 vintage piece. You can see the "plum" coloring of the yoke/crane. I think it's kind of cool. This is a handy .357 that outshoots my Match Champion.

 

[44 AMP]

The "plum" color is a result of interaction between the alloy of the part and the specific chemical make up of the bluing compound used.

It's not something done intentionally. Its often not something you can even be aware of, until afterwards, sometimes long afterwards. Batch #A234 might produce parts that turn "plum" with age and bluing batch #A235 does not. When the stars (in this case all the chemical interactions) line up in just the right way, it happens.

Sometimes parts come out of the bluing looking plum and get used, sometimes they look normally blued and turn plum over decades.

it doesn't hurt anything, unless it upsets your personal sense of what looks good.

 

[357 Python]

I have seen this with Colt Pythons so don't worry about it. As others have said it can happen during the blueing process.