"CHP" No. 1 on GB plus the real story

[Ruger8r]

Have prices hit a ceiling?
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/979621907

[zebra55]

asking prices on no 1s have been ridiculous of late. however no one has bid on this one though.. on the last amoskeag auction a chp overrun sold for 7000

[Ruger8r]

Wow! That must have been one spectacular gun.
I guess $3K is not out of the question for a used CHP.
And this one looks pretty good now.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/991752998

[zebra55]

the gun at amoskeags had the box and everything. Mine was the same box and all traded it for the non prefix AHS on this forum..

guy on Guns international has a chp overrun today asking 5000

[Ruger8r]

Here's that over-run:
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns- ... =102338939

And the same seller has a used CHP:
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns- ... =102338841

He seems to have incorrect information regarding the numbers. It will be interesting to see if these rifles bring the money or if, indeed, a ceiling has been reached. The CHP gun auction on GB ended and it was relisted at the same price.
I've read conflicting accounts of the disposition of the CHP guns from the factory. Were they all shipped to the CHP and sold or given away or were they sold through Ruger's distribution system? A Factory letter should reveal something about it, right?

[Ruger8r]

Well, I've done some research and am about half way to getting the full story. Turns out that nobody has been right about the numbers.

I'm on these because I recently acquired one from a very fancy gun shop in Scottsdale while on a trip to visit a friend. That's another story. It was the only Ruger in a room full of rare and bespoke shotguns and sporting arms.

Here Is a link to a 2021 Rock Island sale that correctly describes it:
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detai ... lmen-rifle

So, they are CAHP commemoratives, not CHP and the 2021 value, at that sale, was around $2400 with buyers premium. They may have been a fund raising enterprise for CAHP. Lots more soon.

[chet15]

I am also of the opinion that the majority of the 1A's in .357 Mag. are not rollmarked with the CHP logo.
Sure, none of the overrun guns may have had the logo - sold through another distributor, but I believe the main batch purchased by CHP may have also had a majority of guns not marked with the CHP logo.
For every ten 1A in .357 seen on somebody's auction, probably at least 70 percent are without the CHP logo.
Chet15

[Ruger8r]

You may be right, Chad, and I hope I can get a definitive answer soon. Here is what I have learned from my contact in the Company:

Ruger model 01359, No. 1-A in .357 magnum was a distributor exclusive for Davis Company in Hayward and West Sacramento, California. Ruger shipped 2170 units to Davis at both locations. They have no record of anything about CHP. So there is no such thing as "over-run" examples from the factory.

As noted earlier, some of them were engraved(?) with the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF HIGHWAY PATROLMEN logo, not CHP. That association was formed in the 1920s, when individual counties enforced traffic laws, to advocate for California patrolman and it still exists. I have reached out to them asking for any information they have on the rifles, especially regarding numbers, but after 40ish years it may be a challenge.

https://www.thecahp.org/history

I can't find any information about Davis Company. Perhaps it was set up only to facilitate the distributor exclusive purchase from Ruger and to arrange for the engraving for CAHP. I suspect that a whole bunch never got engraved and were wholesaled-out or sold off by Davis. I'd bet a case of Moon Pies and a six pack of RC Cola that CAHP ordered 357 rifles.

I wonder how the CHP moniker and legend got started. The seller in the GI ads has made some pretty wild assertions: CHP 50th?, one of 400? rarest caliber? I think I'll ask him how he got that information. The CHP was formed in 1929 so the 50th would have been 1979. But there is no reference to CHP or 50th anything in the engraving.

Fascinating stuff!

[Ruger8r]

I found this nine year old post (note the buyer):

https://www.rugerforum.com/threads/sold ... ia.204830/

It includes purported text from a Ruger auction that says they were offered for sale by APB Magazine, which is published by CAHP not CHP, as they assert. That would support my suspicion that they were used as a fund raiser for the CAHP Foundation. Turns out a neighbor is a member so I will try to check with him if I don't hear back from CAHP.

I wonder how Ruger wound up with one to auction. The hand checkering comment is interesting. Were all No. 1 rifles of that era hand checkered?

Hey, Bill! Stilll have yours?

[flattop44]

No, sure don't. I sold it a couple of years ago....before the prices went crazy.
Bill