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Early RSS4

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 9:24 pm
by Ruger8r
Just brought this 1959 beauty (134195) home and was pleasantly surprised to find that it appears to be unfired. The listing information indicated that it has been stored in a safe for many years and the internals were coated in old grease that made the action feel stiff (thanks to Bill Hamm for the tip on using a blow dryer to heat the area around the base pin to loosen it). The base pin is in-the-white from the notch back, which I hadn't seen before.
It is like new except for a small nick on the left rear of the trigger guard but was wearing vintage aftermarket walnut grips in excellent condition but it now wears factory stags that came via Mr. Hamm. The bad news is that I had not noticed the large aftermarket ejector rod button and assembly, which is apparently a Premier item for a Colt that was nicely fitted. It looks great and for what I paid I can't complain.
Here are some photos.
Resizer_16129245154490.jpg
Resizer_16129245154491.jpg
Resizer_16129245154492.jpg

Re: Early RSS4

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 4:22 am
by gunman42782
She's a beauty!

Re: Early RSS4

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 9:55 am
by flattop44
That's a great looking RSS4, I really like it, you did good!!
Bill

Re: Early RSS4

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 2:26 pm
by 67stingray
Very nice specimen, always nice to run across on in such great shape. Now to put a box with it, stags look great and Bill IMO is a true hero to the Ruger collecting community for his knowledge and willingness to help anyone.
Bennett

Re: Early RSS4

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 5:31 pm
by JAYDAWG
Very nice Owen!
Good for you & I love the stags.

Cheers,
JAY

Re: Early RSS4

Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:21 pm
by Watertender
Bill Hamm is one of the most knowledgeable and nicest Ruger people among a great group of fantastic members. I admire Bill so much that I gifted him a double red velvet carrying case for a pair of 38's... I tried to find one in 44 but 38 was the best I could do. He really seemed to enjoy it when I presented it to him!

Re: Early RSS4

Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 2:05 pm
by Ruger8r
Ditto re admiration for Bill Hamm. His integrity in our dealings has been beyond outstanding and he's always generous with advice. Just a great guy and probably embarrassed by all the praise.

After re-checking RENE on the ejector assembly it seems that only the rod/button we're replaced. I thought the straight slot going all the way to the frame was not factory but it is. Was the Colt button a common Ruger modification? Did Premier publish a catalogue of all their parts?

Re: Early RSS4

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 1:00 pm
by chet15
A very nice example!!
The first group of 1,000 or so RSS4's in that 134xxx range also all seem to have been shipped in a "non-catalog number" box, presumably because the RSS4 printed boxes hadn't been prepared yet.
Chet15

Re: Early RSS4

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:28 pm
by Mike722
Awesome gun!

Re: Early RSS4

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 2:21 pm
by Ruger8r
This must be the aftermarket ejector rod installed on the gun:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/294266510246?h ... Swn4Jg6GPQ