What is my Ruger Single-Six worth?
Ruger's single-action rimfire, and one of the few modern guns where a mechanical change in the 1970s cleanly divides the collectible from the ordinary.
Made 1953–present.
No page can price your gun, and one that offers to is guessing. What this does is show you which one you have — because that is where the money is.
How to tell which one you have
- Look at the side of the frame behind the cylinder. Three screws in a row indicates the earlier design; two pins indicates later production.
- Check whether the barrel carries a warning legend, which indicates later manufacture.
- Establish whether a second cylinder in .22 Magnum came with it.
- See whether the original box, papers and any factory parts are still present.
The versions that change the number
| Version | What it means for value |
|---|---|
| Old model three-screw 1953–1972 | Before the transfer-bar safety. Unconverted examples are what collectors pursue. |
| Converted old models 1973 onward | Factory-fitted with the new safety mechanism. Worth less than an unconverted gun, and the returned original parts matter. |
| New model 1973–present | The current design. Good revolvers and ordinary money. |
| Convertible sets various | Supplied with a second cylinder. Worth more complete than with one cylinder missing. |
What actually drives the price
- Three-screw versus new model.
- Whether an old model was converted, and whether the original parts came back with it.
- Original finish and grips.
- Box, papers and the second cylinder if it was a convertible.
And the two that apply to every gun on this site: do not clean it, and keep the box and papers. Removing original finish is permanent, and on the right gun the packaging is a real part of the total.
"Rugers are modern guns, nothing here is collectible"
Mostly true, and expensively wrong on the old-model single actions. Ruger offered to retrofit the new safety free of charge and a great many owners sent theirs in; the unconverted guns, and the little bag of original parts that came back with the converted ones, are what the market is looking for.
There is a bag of parts in the box. Should I throw it out?
Absolutely not. Those are almost certainly the original parts removed during the factory safety conversion, and to a collector they are a meaningful part of the value. Keep them with the gun.
Getting a number for yours
Send photographs and we will tell you what we will pay for it. We buy nationwide — a single firearm ships to us prepaid and insured, and for a collection we come to you. More on what separates one Ruger from another.