Liberty pistols

[Rickkling]

Just thought I’d share.
I’ve been “needing” a liberty gun for awhile, and found these two on GB
And the seller was local (sort of!)
So now I have a std RST6 and a T512!
The RST6 is new/unfired, and the T512 appears to have been fired, but well taken care of. Both have paperwork and original boxes.
May have paid too much for the 512, but half as much for the std.
Either way, I’m happy!
Thanks for listening and happy 4th!

[arcticruger]

Congratulations, those are beautiful! These use to be plentiful. But I’ve noticed this last year they seem to be getting harder to come by in new condition and prices have been going up across all the grades.

I have been on the lookout a NIB 1976 RST-6 pistol for quite awhile. Still holding out for a nice one. Once upon a time I had the Liberty RTS-4 and Mini-14. I should have kept them even though they were definitely “shooter” grade by the time I sold them.

[67stingray]

Rick, congrats on adding those two fine looking pistols to your collection, thanks for sharing.
Bennett

[flattop44]

You got two good ones!! The Liberty rollmark sure adds to them too. I love shooting my 5-1/2" bull, extremely accurate! Have fun with them.
FT44/Bill

[Watertender]

Very nice! The RST6 is my favorite Ruger pistol for many reasons, one being that it was my 1st brand new pistol. In the box examples are getting harder to find as others have said. With it being a 4-pistol offering in 1976 it is a collection niche perfect for a small, dedicated display.

[Rickkling]

O.k., so There are 4 liberty guns? Well, I guess I need To go
Back to hunting to satisfy the completist in me!
Early in my collecting I told my wife I wanted a sample of each
Model. Not long after, i realized that was impossible!

[67stingray]

Rick, the 4 that was offered in `76 were the RST4, RST6, T678 and T512. As you've noticed there is no end to collecting Rugers.
Bennett

[Watertender]

Rick, everything made in 1976 was marked specially to commemorate the 200th year of American Liberty. As per Chad Hiddleson the RST4 and RST6 had almost 20,000 of each made while the T512 had 8,500 made and the T678 had 6,500. There were also a few made with tapered bolt stop pins. They were about 2,000 RST4 and 1,000 to 1,500 T678 models made. The RST6 and T512 tapered bolt stop pin models are not known if there are any. Now this gives you even more grail items to seek.... Repeat after me.... "It followed me home, honest it did... Can I keep it? Huh Huh? Can I keep it?"

[Rickkling]

Ok, now we are getting somewhere.
But... can you educate me on “tapered bolt stop pin”?

[Watertender]

Ok, now we are getting somewhere.
But... can you educate me on “tapered bolt stop pin”?

Hi Rick, the tapered bolt stop pin was a left-over part from early Mark 1 production. Ruger's policy was to use every part possible to keep waste to a minimum, so the tapered bolt stop pins were used from late 1975 into early 1976 on the RST4, T512 and T678 production until they were used up. It's just another case of a sub variation in a particular model. Don Findley and Chad Hiddleson are probably the best source of information on all models of the Ruger .22 Pistol. They may chime in to make sure you have the true answers to your questions..