Rugers Boxes

[RoninPA]

Trying to get some dates on when Ruger started/ended using certain color boxes for their revolvers - anyone done any research who could help me out? Particularly the black plastic (like the gray ones), black plastic with the handgrip and red lettering, and the newer white paper with the hard R logo and red lettering? And anything from the start to now to make sure I have the right info for part of a display (I hate giving out incorrect info).

Here's some of what I've found (it is from the revolvers I own):
White box (one w/red logo and printing on the inside of the top flap and one with red logo and printing on the outside of the top flap): 1970 to 1974

Red/White box: 1974 to 1975

Red/Black box: 1975 to 1979

Yellow/Black box: 1979 to 1995

Gray (plastic) box: 1995 to present

Black (plastic) box (the one I have the GP100 was 2008): 2005(?) - present

Black (plastic) w/red logo and carry handle (for a Super Redhawk .44 Mag dated 2021): 2018(?) - present

White (new) w/red logo (Wrangler dated 2021): 2020(?) - present

I doubt that Ruger kept any formal records of what they used for the revolvers so it might be a rabbit hole I'm entering.

Thanks for any help.

[chet15]

I kind of gave up on trying to keep up with Ruger's boxes. When they introduce a new type of packaging, some series' may not get that packaging for years later. As an example, when Cabela's had their 50th Anniversary, Ruger shipped their fixed sight Vaquero style Single-Six commemorative in obsolete red and black double action boxes.
Another example... Ruger's 50th anniversary boxes in 1999... those were used on some models quite a ways past 1999.
Chet15

[RoninPA]

Chad,
I agree, I have come to the conclusion that trying to track box usage to handguns is going down a rabbit hole. I guess I'll concentrate on just my double action revolvers first, that should keep me busy for a while (probably a good while )

[d findley]

I believe I have a pretty good handle on the boxes from 1949 to 1973. After that, much confusion (on my part).

[06dilly]

That would be awesome to see. I’ve been trying to piece things together as well from Chads notes in RENE and Bill Hamm’s articles, etc. Sounds like your next good book, Don!

TomD

[d findley]

I wish I was qualified. I don't have the boxes or the knowledge. I would help someone put it together if they had the box images & info to describe them.

[rugerguy]

Good luck Ron, and if anyone could have pulled it off it would have been Chad, I know from all these years and as many of the folks here and from others in the past I was one of the original buyers/sellers of boxes ,many years ago back in the late 60s I started and over the years at the OGCA I was known as the King of Cardboard, would dig out boxes from the gun shows all over starting at Chagrin Falls Ohio armory, get boxes folks bought , at the gun show and walk out the door and toss the box in the trash barrel and I would get them out wipe of the chewing tobacco, and whatever else, gather them up, sell them later on at the shows ,heck I even helped Jim Supica and Rich Nahas when they wrote their "Standard Catalog of S&W VOl 3" I wish I had a PENNY for every gun box that I sold over the years, and sadly did not take pictures of them this was long before ebay and such........ YES when we sold guns we made sure the boxes,packaging stayed together, yes back then we had and carried the Ruger Six series guns had a couple of the first 9mm revolvers and the others and I do recall there were many different color boxes, styles even just for these revolvers, back then I believe it was Sonny Johnson or such who collected double action revolvers and DK Hummel, but was any of this "recorded" ?? displayed?? only a couple from around the country , yes later on you and Terry out in California carried the flag for the double action revolvers, as I got out of them and into SA 22s mainly because of Laura and her wants and wishes........then of course you gotta figure out the usage by the factory of ,basic boxes and they putting LABELS to note differences of just what was in the box,it goes on and on and I can see why even Chad with his "awesome" notes and contacts find it so difficult to pulll it off let alone get PICTURES of any boxed gun and its serial number so you could at least come up with an "appropriate" date/time line.....good luck Sir in this endeavor

[Watertender]

There are a lot of Six Series boxes on Ebay right now. Most are in great shape and not badly priced for some of them.