In the RENE November 2023 issue, Editor Chad Hiddleson wrote a stellar article entitled “The Mysterious “Pilorget” Sec-Series Revolvers". It contained the most detailed information written on these Holy Grail’s to date. His latest discovery was gun #4 a Ruger Speed-Six – model 1592 - #159-95813, N.I.B.
The gun also had a good bit of Provenance along with it also. Vogel's letter to Harry Sefried, Spec print copies some with hand notes, Pilorget hand sketch with precise dimensions on reaming & finishing the cylinder. (note in pictures below) Prototype Notice from Ruger Engineering Archives.
From Chad's article} A French inventor, Andre Pilorget filed for a US Patent for his new revolver ejection system on Feb.27,1975. He was granted his patent on Sept. 28, 1976.
Steve Vogel, WBR's son-in-law and head of Ruger's export business and worked with Pilorget on the project.
I read the article twice and then skimmed through the rest of the issue, when I was checking out the classifieds I about fell off my chair….there was the same gun #159-95813 for sale by the owner in NH.
Long story short, I called the owner and after a very nice chat I bought the gun from him. I was on cloud nine I never thought that I would I ever even see one let alone own one.
But the good luck was not to end there
. During our conversation the owner informed me he knew alocal man who owned another Pilorget who might be willing to sell
. I then contacted another D/A Collector and gave him the contact info and he managed to buy it making it the 5th known Pilorget. Both of these guns are a few numbers apart and both came out of Roddy’s Gun Shop and were with in 15 miles of the factory all this time. There is a post over on the RF where 4 of the five known guns are pictured on page’s 4 & 6.
https://www.rugerforum.com/threads/rare ... 441/page-4
Pilorget Speed-Six SS-92 & P/W,
Note the chamber shoulder & reamer finish in the Pilorget cylinder compared to that of a regular SS-92 factory cylinder.
There are 5 known revolvers in 3 different pre-fix blocks 150-28267 / 153-04443 & 153-20715 & 159-95813 & 159-95XXX.
After Chad had shipped the revolver out to me, but before I had received it he sent me the following email-
Terry:
Well, here's something I missed since the Pilorget has been here as long as it has. Just realized the recoil shield isn't scalloped. Yes, later frames are known to have been used, but I think this is the latest without the scallop. Then I realized the hammer and trigger are both blued chrome moly! The only way I can explain that is these guns were assembled long before they ever got the serial number and rollmarks.
At first I thought with such a high serial number, and being known in a couple different runs, these maybe aren't prototypes at all... at the very least, this high #159- gun was perhaps a cleanup of the Pilorget cylinder assemblies. Now it appears these may have all been made at the very same time, except this late batch obviously completed later.
Chad
When the gun arrived I compared it to my factory Speed-Six SS-92 serial #157-51761, with a scalloped recoil shield & SS trigger and hammer . My Pilorget is serial #159-95813, with a non-scalloped recoil shield and Blue steel trigger and hammer with polished sides. This proves to me that Chads theory is spot on.
Top- Pilorget SS-92 with old features & a 159-95813 - Lower Factory Speed-Six SS-92 with new features.
