I always wanted to wear the Green Beret. From the time that I was little, I thought about serving on the teams. I did a year of college right after high school but still needed to grow up a bit so I went and spoke to a recruiter. After some testing on top of the standard ASVAB, I entered the US Army an 18X which is or was an SF recruit. Right after 9/11 they wanted to increase the SF numbers significantly. Infantry basic and Airborne had their moments but were nothing compared to the time spent with the Special Warfare Training Group at Ft. Bragg. I injured my knee pretty bad and did not make it through selection. Who knows what my life would be like today had I made it. Anyway, of all the Rugers that I've seen this is one of the coolest that's come up in a while. Truly a treasure and thank you for sharing!
As an aside. About two years ago, I ran across a US stamped Mini-14 with the same green on all metal parts at a local gun show. Some things about that rifle just seemed a bit odd. The wood was so pretty and odd. I wasn't educated enough on it and the price was quite high so I had to walk. I should have noted the SN for more research but I did not. I still wonder about that rifle every time I see a Mini-14.
10/22 Green Beret
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Re: 10/22 Green Beret
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Charlie1022
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Re: 10/22 Green Beret
Jay you have a very rare 10/22 and is a Great addition to your growing collection. The paperwork proves that this is produced at the factory as a special project gun to help raise funds for special projects. Thanks for sharing the pictures of the gun, paperwork and the box. You just never know what you can find next. This part is what makes it so much fun for me to collect.
Charlie1022
Re: 10/22 Green Beret
Some more observations….
I am having to much fun with this. Thank you Charlie for telling me to get W.E Workmans book on the 10-22. All of the following time line information comes from this awesome book.
The serial number 110-63734 dates this to 1970.
The stock is a walnut 2 step hollowed with a raked forearm, made by Overton and only found on guns serial numbered into late 1969.
Barrel is 18.5 inch and can not be dated except that is pre warning & has a flat eared rear Lyman sight that saw use from 1968 to 1976.
The screw for the barrel band is concave & Workman says that was used only up to mid 1969.
The bolt is the 2 stepped version used up until 1972. The hammer is the early square cut type. Workman states that the bolt and hammer were changed to a single step bolt & angle cut hammer around about the time the manufacturing of the 10-22 moved from Southport to Newport. He lists the date of the move as November 1969.
So, using Workman's parts bin theory one could I would say this gun was made in 1970 just like the serial number indicates……
Except that the auction listing by Ruger that Terry posted above says it has a "roll mark date of May 31 1973" .
The 44 carbine box it was shipped in has a 103 prefix which dates it to 1984 or 1985 and of course Ruger threw in an instruction manual when they shipped it and it's copy righted 2012!
Cheers,
JAY
I am having to much fun with this. Thank you Charlie for telling me to get W.E Workmans book on the 10-22. All of the following time line information comes from this awesome book.
The serial number 110-63734 dates this to 1970.
The stock is a walnut 2 step hollowed with a raked forearm, made by Overton and only found on guns serial numbered into late 1969.
Barrel is 18.5 inch and can not be dated except that is pre warning & has a flat eared rear Lyman sight that saw use from 1968 to 1976.
The screw for the barrel band is concave & Workman says that was used only up to mid 1969.
The bolt is the 2 stepped version used up until 1972. The hammer is the early square cut type. Workman states that the bolt and hammer were changed to a single step bolt & angle cut hammer around about the time the manufacturing of the 10-22 moved from Southport to Newport. He lists the date of the move as November 1969.
So, using Workman's parts bin theory one could I would say this gun was made in 1970 just like the serial number indicates……
Except that the auction listing by Ruger that Terry posted above says it has a "roll mark date of May 31 1973" .
The 44 carbine box it was shipped in has a 103 prefix which dates it to 1984 or 1985 and of course Ruger threw in an instruction manual when they shipped it and it's copy righted 2012!
Cheers,
JAY
I do not "own" these guns, I am but the next caretaker
Re: 10/22 Green Beret
A few more pics.
Glad I took it apart. Even though it still has the factory cosmoline the trigger housing pins and bolt buffer were starting to rust.
JAY
Glad I took it apart. Even though it still has the factory cosmoline the trigger housing pins and bolt buffer were starting to rust.
JAY
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Charlie1022
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Re: 10/22 Green Beret
Ain't this fun Jay. I think you are on the right path. Ruger used up old parts to make this special run the way it looks to me. Good detail describing what you found!
Charlie1022
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Charlie1022
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Re: 10/22 Green Beret
Ain't this fun Jay. I think you are on the right path. Ruger used up old parts to make this special run the way it looks to me. Good detail describing what you found!
Charlie1022
Re: 10/22 Green Beret
Thanks Charlie,
That is a compliment coming from you.
There was more rust the further I got in, all the metal parts had surface rust. The v-block & bolts and everything in the trigger housing.
All cleaned up nicely except the barrel.
I ran a brass brush through 5-6 times then some cleaner. It has some pitting for sure. I want to stop the rusting process.
Anyone have any ideas???
Thanks,
JAY
That is a compliment coming from you.
There was more rust the further I got in, all the metal parts had surface rust. The v-block & bolts and everything in the trigger housing.
All cleaned up nicely except the barrel.
I ran a brass brush through 5-6 times then some cleaner. It has some pitting for sure. I want to stop the rusting process.
Anyone have any ideas???
Thanks,
JAY
I do not "own" these guns, I am but the next caretaker
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Re: 10/22 Green Beret
Jay as a army fan myself I also agree with others on the forum this is an amazing 10-22 dedicated to one of our many invaluable military units. The research and Ruger exhibits seem sound thus far in your search and validation. Jay if there is a little rust etc, I would want to know what type of colored finish Ruger was experimenting with at the time this is by far the most interesting question and answer for this novice.
Respectfully, Gene
My question for those who are more experienced on metal finishing and well read on 1973 Ruger factory capabilities. Were there other guns in this time period with Teflon, Colored Parkerizing or Cera-Cote type finishes?
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Gun Finishing . . . Then and Now
Kerry O’Day is duly recognized as one of a handful of world-renowned custom rifle makers. On the Match Grade Guide he shares information, stories, and his passion about the world of guns.
Seventy-five years ago the only type of gun refinishing we had was bluing and nickel plating. But a lot has changed since then. Gun bluing is not what most shooters think it is. Bluing is not a coating or even plating, bluing is a controlled rust process. Yep, that is right, a controlled rust metal finish process! In my opinion, nothing looks better than a bright blue finish job, but how can rust be so darn pretty. Bluing is all about the prep work. The cleaner and shinier you make the metal before it is goes into the hot tank to start the rust, the better the finished product will look. It takes many hours of polishing on the barrel and receiver to get a good quality blue job. About the time of World War I, the military needed a finish that was fast to put on and corrosion resistant to the elements. This is when phosphate was invented and used as a metal finish - better known as Parkerizing! Parkerizing is a heated chemical reaction between the metal and the chemical bath in the tank. The chemical will leave small deposits on the metal, which will protect it from the elements. Most Parkerizing is either Zinc (old school) or magnesium phosphate. The old gray color found on early WWI or WWII guns is Zinc Phosphate. Magnesium is a more modern chemical which protects better and gives a better looking black color found on newer guns like AR15’s or M1A’s. Parkerizing has been in use for a long time. It works well at stopping rust on your guns and it looks OK. Parkerizing is easy to install and takes little prep work to get a good finish on the metal. But there is a much better and more versatile looking finish on the market for shooters to try today.
Teflon and Ceramic coatings are two of the most interesting metal finishes on the market today. About 25 years ago, I saw Teflon being used on oil field pipe to keep it from rusting and galling. Within a year I was applying Teflon on guns. Teflon is high-grade paint with PTFE (polyterafluoroethylene) added and in some cases Moly is also added. PTFE is one of the slickest and most corrosion resistant chemicals known to man. If PTFE will hold up to the high pressure and salt water of offshore drilling, then it will hold up to nearly all types of abuse that shooters can do to a firearm. Teflon is a spray on, baked on finish. The gun will need to have all the old finish removed, which is done by sandblasting or polishing. Then the metal is cleaned, heated and sprayed with the Teflon in the color you desire. The final step in coating guns with Teflon is the baking process. All metal parts need to be baked at approximately 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. This baking process will bond the suspended PTFE and moly to the metal. The baking process makes the paint dry and become slick. One of the great things about a Teflon coating is that it is high-grade paint and you can pick most any color you want. The only thing that could keep a customer from having a yellow slide with a pink frame and orange parts on his favorite .45 would be the cost. Teflon is not cheap; a gallon of Teflon in black will cost about $450. It also takes someone who knows a lot about spraying metal coatings to be able to do a quality job. Last, you need a good vented oven to cure the product in; without the curing, the paint never dries. Most gunsmiths who do this type of finishing will have 3 to 5 different colors to choose from. My company keeps about 10 different colors in Teflon, and for the discriminating customer who has to have the orange and black .45, we will custom order colors for them. Another good thing about Teflon that it is so slick, parts will not gall. You can’t make it rust or corrode either! But Teflon will scratch or can be blown off parts like the rifle muzzle or a revolver cylinder. With a little care most shooters never have a problem with Teflon coatings. The usual cost of having a gun Teflon coated will run from two hundred dollars up to four hundred dollars.
For the shooter or hunter who likes to drag his gun on the ground and over rocks there is Cera-Coat or better known as ceramic coating. Cera-Coat is another super paint, which has Moly PTFE and ceramic particles embedded in the paint. Ceramic coatings are applied to guns similar to Teflon but require a much longer heating and curing time. Once ceramic coating is applied to a gun, it is almost impossible to scratch the surface. For a Police Officer who has his handgun in a holster for 20 hours a day, ceramic coating is for you. If you are real hard on you firearms or use them in a professional way, you should take a look at having them ceramic coated. Cera-Coat comes in several colors, but the product price is very expensive. Cera-Coat like Teflon is slick, corrosion resistant and tough as nails. To have a gun ceramic coated will cost from $250 to over $500 depending on the type of firearm and how fancy you want the print job to be.
In the future you may see finishes using Silver Phosphate or even Titanium Nitrate, it would be cool to have a golden gun. For now, with all the new finishes on the market, you have to decide whether to have your gun blued in the traditional way or to have one of the new paint type coatings applied to the gun. Then of course, you have to decide do I paint my gun pink or not?
Respectfully, Gene
My question for those who are more experienced on metal finishing and well read on 1973 Ruger factory capabilities. Were there other guns in this time period with Teflon, Colored Parkerizing or Cera-Cote type finishes?
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Gun Finishing . . . Then and Now
Kerry O’Day is duly recognized as one of a handful of world-renowned custom rifle makers. On the Match Grade Guide he shares information, stories, and his passion about the world of guns.
Seventy-five years ago the only type of gun refinishing we had was bluing and nickel plating. But a lot has changed since then. Gun bluing is not what most shooters think it is. Bluing is not a coating or even plating, bluing is a controlled rust process. Yep, that is right, a controlled rust metal finish process! In my opinion, nothing looks better than a bright blue finish job, but how can rust be so darn pretty. Bluing is all about the prep work. The cleaner and shinier you make the metal before it is goes into the hot tank to start the rust, the better the finished product will look. It takes many hours of polishing on the barrel and receiver to get a good quality blue job. About the time of World War I, the military needed a finish that was fast to put on and corrosion resistant to the elements. This is when phosphate was invented and used as a metal finish - better known as Parkerizing! Parkerizing is a heated chemical reaction between the metal and the chemical bath in the tank. The chemical will leave small deposits on the metal, which will protect it from the elements. Most Parkerizing is either Zinc (old school) or magnesium phosphate. The old gray color found on early WWI or WWII guns is Zinc Phosphate. Magnesium is a more modern chemical which protects better and gives a better looking black color found on newer guns like AR15’s or M1A’s. Parkerizing has been in use for a long time. It works well at stopping rust on your guns and it looks OK. Parkerizing is easy to install and takes little prep work to get a good finish on the metal. But there is a much better and more versatile looking finish on the market for shooters to try today.
Teflon and Ceramic coatings are two of the most interesting metal finishes on the market today. About 25 years ago, I saw Teflon being used on oil field pipe to keep it from rusting and galling. Within a year I was applying Teflon on guns. Teflon is high-grade paint with PTFE (polyterafluoroethylene) added and in some cases Moly is also added. PTFE is one of the slickest and most corrosion resistant chemicals known to man. If PTFE will hold up to the high pressure and salt water of offshore drilling, then it will hold up to nearly all types of abuse that shooters can do to a firearm. Teflon is a spray on, baked on finish. The gun will need to have all the old finish removed, which is done by sandblasting or polishing. Then the metal is cleaned, heated and sprayed with the Teflon in the color you desire. The final step in coating guns with Teflon is the baking process. All metal parts need to be baked at approximately 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. This baking process will bond the suspended PTFE and moly to the metal. The baking process makes the paint dry and become slick. One of the great things about a Teflon coating is that it is high-grade paint and you can pick most any color you want. The only thing that could keep a customer from having a yellow slide with a pink frame and orange parts on his favorite .45 would be the cost. Teflon is not cheap; a gallon of Teflon in black will cost about $450. It also takes someone who knows a lot about spraying metal coatings to be able to do a quality job. Last, you need a good vented oven to cure the product in; without the curing, the paint never dries. Most gunsmiths who do this type of finishing will have 3 to 5 different colors to choose from. My company keeps about 10 different colors in Teflon, and for the discriminating customer who has to have the orange and black .45, we will custom order colors for them. Another good thing about Teflon that it is so slick, parts will not gall. You can’t make it rust or corrode either! But Teflon will scratch or can be blown off parts like the rifle muzzle or a revolver cylinder. With a little care most shooters never have a problem with Teflon coatings. The usual cost of having a gun Teflon coated will run from two hundred dollars up to four hundred dollars.
For the shooter or hunter who likes to drag his gun on the ground and over rocks there is Cera-Coat or better known as ceramic coating. Cera-Coat is another super paint, which has Moly PTFE and ceramic particles embedded in the paint. Ceramic coatings are applied to guns similar to Teflon but require a much longer heating and curing time. Once ceramic coating is applied to a gun, it is almost impossible to scratch the surface. For a Police Officer who has his handgun in a holster for 20 hours a day, ceramic coating is for you. If you are real hard on you firearms or use them in a professional way, you should take a look at having them ceramic coated. Cera-Coat comes in several colors, but the product price is very expensive. Cera-Coat like Teflon is slick, corrosion resistant and tough as nails. To have a gun ceramic coated will cost from $250 to over $500 depending on the type of firearm and how fancy you want the print job to be.
In the future you may see finishes using Silver Phosphate or even Titanium Nitrate, it would be cool to have a golden gun. For now, with all the new finishes on the market, you have to decide whether to have your gun blued in the traditional way or to have one of the new paint type coatings applied to the gun. Then of course, you have to decide do I paint my gun pink or not?
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Re: 10/22 Green Beret
Jay, I found the fifth of the sixth auction online while researching the Teflon material.
I also found the sixth of six auction, I posted a link of it at the bottom of this post.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2012
Ruger's Project Valour-IT Auction For December 5
Ruger announced another gun auction to benefit Project Valour-IT on November 21. This is the fifth of six consecutively numbered Green Beret 10/22's made by Ruger in 1973.
http://truebluesam.blogspot.com/2012/11 ... n-for.html
Ruger's writeup from the GunBroker auction page: "There are only two of these rifles left! This is the fifth of six consecutive serial-numbered “Green Beret” 10/22 Carbine rifles Ruger is auctioning off. The serial number of this rifle is 110-63737 and the rollmark date is May 31, 1973. The Green Beret is worn only by qualifying United States Army Special Forces soldiers. These soldiers played a significant role during the Vietnam conflict, and because these rifles were rollmarked in 1973, it is possible they were prototype samples of Vietnam-era commemorative rifles. The barrel, receiver, trigger, trigger guard, barrel band, and butt plate are Teflon-coated olive drab green. “RUGER GREEN BERET” is stamped on the left side of the receiver. The Sturm, Ruger address is stamped on the top of the barrel, and there is no manual warning on this gun. Other features include: an American walnut stock; 18-1/2” barrel; folding-leaf rear sight (adjustable for windage and elevation); and gold bead front sight. The frame is drilled and tapped for scope mounts. It will be shipped with a 10-round rotary magazine."
This auction will end December 5 at 12:30 PM Eastern Time.
Six of Six 10-22 Ruger Special Forces Auction
This is the last of six Green Beret 10/22's made in 1973 and stored away in Ruger's vault for forty years. The others proved to be very popular with bidders, and this one is too. Take a deep breath and go to Gun Broker and make a bid. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =326171393 . Ruger http://www.ruger.com/index.html is donating all of the proceeds from these auctions to HAVA.http://www.honoredveterans.org/
Gene
I also found the sixth of six auction, I posted a link of it at the bottom of this post.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2012
Ruger's Project Valour-IT Auction For December 5
Ruger announced another gun auction to benefit Project Valour-IT on November 21. This is the fifth of six consecutively numbered Green Beret 10/22's made by Ruger in 1973.
http://truebluesam.blogspot.com/2012/11 ... n-for.html
Ruger's writeup from the GunBroker auction page: "There are only two of these rifles left! This is the fifth of six consecutive serial-numbered “Green Beret” 10/22 Carbine rifles Ruger is auctioning off. The serial number of this rifle is 110-63737 and the rollmark date is May 31, 1973. The Green Beret is worn only by qualifying United States Army Special Forces soldiers. These soldiers played a significant role during the Vietnam conflict, and because these rifles were rollmarked in 1973, it is possible they were prototype samples of Vietnam-era commemorative rifles. The barrel, receiver, trigger, trigger guard, barrel band, and butt plate are Teflon-coated olive drab green. “RUGER GREEN BERET” is stamped on the left side of the receiver. The Sturm, Ruger address is stamped on the top of the barrel, and there is no manual warning on this gun. Other features include: an American walnut stock; 18-1/2” barrel; folding-leaf rear sight (adjustable for windage and elevation); and gold bead front sight. The frame is drilled and tapped for scope mounts. It will be shipped with a 10-round rotary magazine."
This auction will end December 5 at 12:30 PM Eastern Time.
Six of Six 10-22 Ruger Special Forces Auction
This is the last of six Green Beret 10/22's made in 1973 and stored away in Ruger's vault for forty years. The others proved to be very popular with bidders, and this one is too. Take a deep breath and go to Gun Broker and make a bid. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =326171393 . Ruger http://www.ruger.com/index.html is donating all of the proceeds from these auctions to HAVA.http://www.honoredveterans.org/
Gene
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Re: 10/22 Green Beret
Gene,
Great minds think alike !!!
I also was "Googling" for info about this gun and I also found the auction for the 5th gun sold but I did not see the 6th that you did.THANKS.
I also found the first one sold and of course we already have proof of the 2nd which I eventually bought.
I sure wish those old GB auction links still worked, it would be fun to contact the buyers.
Who knows, maybe one of them will do some googling of their own and find this thread.
I will keep looking for guns 3 & 4...........
Cheers,
JAY
Great minds think alike !!!
I also was "Googling" for info about this gun and I also found the auction for the 5th gun sold but I did not see the 6th that you did.THANKS.
I also found the first one sold and of course we already have proof of the 2nd which I eventually bought.
I sure wish those old GB auction links still worked, it would be fun to contact the buyers.
Who knows, maybe one of them will do some googling of their own and find this thread.
I will keep looking for guns 3 & 4...........
Cheers,
JAY
I do not "own" these guns, I am but the next caretaker