Mark I, Tapered Bolt Ears Question

Includes .22 Standard, Mark I, Mark II, Mark III and all Centerfire Semi-Auto Pistols.
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BarkeyVA
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2021 2:30 pm
Location: Virginia

Mark I, Tapered Bolt Ears Question

Post by BarkeyVA »

I have this Mark I, T678, Serial No. 27203 with tapered bolt ears. The arbor flat is on top. I'm curious to know if that is the more common configuration, and if any member has one with the arbor flat on the bottom.
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rugerguy
Posts: 194
Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2014 1:57 pm
Location: NE OHio

Re: Mark I, Tapered Bolt Ears Question

Post by rugerguy »

they flipped the bolt over now and then so have seen them both ways as to "how many"??? have no clue....maybe Chad has counted ( noted ) enough of them to give an "estimate". not sure if it matters as to "holding power"?? just seen a few of them shoot off over the years and the factory back in the day would replace them if you sent one in and they kept the old ones we know of that folks returned years ago........we changed ,updated a few at the shop years ago, back in the 70's.............. 8-) :roll: ;)
BarkeyVA
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2021 2:30 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: Mark I, Tapered Bolt Ears Question

Post by BarkeyVA »

Thanks for your reply. Was just curious if one is more "rare" than the other.
chet15
Posts: 734
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 11:28 am

Re: Mark I, Tapered Bolt Ears Question

Post by chet15 »

I believe the "up" or "down" flat would be completely at random, and there really is no purpose to having it one way or the other.
Betting that one of the first operations to the bolt was the rear portion where the ears would go on. Then when machining the top or bottom of the bolt, the bolt could be jigged either direction, completely at random.... wouldn't matter.
I've never attempted counting one or the other. Believe they are completely random.
Nice score on the tapered ear. A funny story... back in the day when collecting was really starting to blossom (late 70's and early 80's) nobody ever thought about a tapered ear T678 even though tapered ear RST4's and T514's were known at the time. Of course the T514 stuck out like a sore thumb anyway, and the RST4 tapered ear was common.
But then a friend of ours ran a general ad in the Des Moines register wanting to buy Liberty marked Rugers. The first person that called didn't have any of those, but he did have a T678 he wanted to sell, serial number 26966. We all went to that person's house for the purchase and lo and behold... the tapered ear T678 seemingly made its first appearance to the collecting world. Not sure if Donnie knew about them or not at the time but I'm pretty sure Lueders and Munnell didn't.
Chet15
BarkeyVA
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2021 2:30 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: Mark I, Tapered Bolt Ears Question

Post by BarkeyVA »

Thanks, Chet. If I ever see one with the flat on the bottom, I'll consider buying it just because it is different from the one I have.
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