You don't see many ROA's at gun shows anymore but I came upon one last weekend that caught my attention (actually, a friend was at the show and saw it and knew enough to call me to come look at it). It was a stainless steel model and came with one of the Bianchi made Ruger flap holsters (a good enough find all on it's own). The gun was as dirty a gun as I've ever seen. The outside looked pretty good but the nipples, cylinder and barrel were all horrible. I had the seller let me take it apart to look down the barrel as I was worried about the bore or cylinders actually being corroded. Inside both was a buildup of black crystals, fuzz, dirt and stuff that looked like it was grown in an uncleaned coffee pot for several months. I couldn't imagine there not being actual break down of metal underneath it all (there was no visible metal, the "crud" was about 3/32" thick all the way around). I also figured the nipples would be a lost cause, either locked in, corroded or both.
After considering it for a while, I finally got the seller to come down a bit and took both the gun and holster (he had offered pricing with or without the holster and it was a no brainer for me). I figured if it was that bad I could probably still get back what I was paying for it. Once I got it home, I filled the sink with hot soapy water and went to scrubbing. As I cleaned, I found black crystal chunks that came out along with tan waxy material that seemed to keep some of the dirt soft and easy to clean. While cleaning it, I discovered something I hadn't even noticed at the gun show as I was so focused on the dirt. The gun is a pre warning unit made in 1977. Nice!
After cleaning it, I was incredibly happy to find that all dirt came out clean, no corrosion was present anywhere, the nipples came out with normal force and cleaned up to brand new looking. Aside from some minor dings on the wood and one of the medallions having lost a lot of it's silver (probably from the holster) the gun ended up have better looking metal throughout than even my unfired SS ROA (tiny dings/imperfections).
I did a quick polish job on it (has a long way to go) and ended up with a beauty of a gun. Finally lucked out on a deal for a change
mntns2oceans, you were asking about holsters in the ROA Club thread. This is the model people were referring to that was made for the ROA. They are kinda hard to come by these days so grab one if you come across it. The Hunter holsters people mentioned also work well. I had one of those and came across another one at this same show that was in mint shape and I was able to pick it up for $12. Sorry I didn't include a pic of that.
After considering it for a while, I finally got the seller to come down a bit and took both the gun and holster (he had offered pricing with or without the holster and it was a no brainer for me). I figured if it was that bad I could probably still get back what I was paying for it. Once I got it home, I filled the sink with hot soapy water and went to scrubbing. As I cleaned, I found black crystal chunks that came out along with tan waxy material that seemed to keep some of the dirt soft and easy to clean. While cleaning it, I discovered something I hadn't even noticed at the gun show as I was so focused on the dirt. The gun is a pre warning unit made in 1977. Nice!
After cleaning it, I was incredibly happy to find that all dirt came out clean, no corrosion was present anywhere, the nipples came out with normal force and cleaned up to brand new looking. Aside from some minor dings on the wood and one of the medallions having lost a lot of it's silver (probably from the holster) the gun ended up have better looking metal throughout than even my unfired SS ROA (tiny dings/imperfections).
I did a quick polish job on it (has a long way to go) and ended up with a beauty of a gun. Finally lucked out on a deal for a change
mntns2oceans, you were asking about holsters in the ROA Club thread. This is the model people were referring to that was made for the ROA. They are kinda hard to come by these days so grab one if you come across it. The Hunter holsters people mentioned also work well. I had one of those and came across another one at this same show that was in mint shape and I was able to pick it up for $12. Sorry I didn't include a pic of that.
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