You didn’t need a crystal ball to predict what a new powerful .44 revolver cartridge would likely look like: someone with even a modicum of Sherlock Holmes’ deductive abilities could have told you what to expect before Remington’s release of the cartridge. (Picture courtesy icollector.com).The year after Ruger had introduced the Blackhawk was to be a momentous one in the annals of revolver cartridges, it was the year Remington introduced the .44 Remington Magnum. When the .357 Magnum was first put into production demand was soon heard for a revolver with adjustable sights to bring out the full potential of the cartridge and at that time Smith & Wesson had obligingly listened to consumer requests and fitted their revolver with excellent adjustable sights. The hammer is not involved.The New Model Ruger SA revolvers are probably the safest revolvers ever made, and they can be carried fully loaded with six cartridges.
It features a custom brass frame by Qualite’ Pistol & Revolver and a nine and a half inch half octagon barrel. If it has the “R” stamp its collector value is lower, although it will still be a great revolver to use and enjoy.Although the New Model Blackhawk was a great advance because of its mechanism there was one change that some did not like. Campfire Regular. This post will explore a little of the Ruger Blackhawk’s history and tease out why the 3-screw Blackhawk is such a desirable gun and why collectors and non-collectors alike should seek one out for themselves.
A tiny minority of these, who ignored over 100 years of established firearms protocol, managed to accidentally injure themselves by improper loading and handling of Ruger (and other) SA revolvers.
Vaqueros are available in .357 Magnum/.38 Special, .44-40 WCF, .44 Magnum/.44 Special, and .45 Colt. 5.5" barrels.
Very cool gun. With products made in America, Ruger offers consumers almost 700 variations of more than 40 product lines. Posts: 399.
This means there was a potential, albeit small, for the hammer to fall on a live cartridge during loading possibly resulting in an unintended discharge. I prefer a cross draw carry in the field and, since the Blackhawk is a hunting pistol, that is how I usually carry it.The specific gun used for this review is a blued steel .357 Magnum Blackhawk with a 6 1/2 inch barrel. The sights are the standard Ruger adjustable type and are adjusted to hit dead on at 75 yards.For those who like, and can safely control, a lighter than normal trigger it is a simple matter to slip one limb of the New Model trigger spring from its peg. As you probably know the & 44mag anniversary is on the Large flattop frame. (Picture courtesy honeybadgerfirearms.com).The New Model Blackhawk was a complete departure from the original Colt SAA design. A good pistol-smith is able to make the converted revolver much improved, but many who opted for the conversion decided to revert their revolver back to its original specification. Besides the caliber, what is the difference between a.44 Mag stainless Ruger Super Blackhawk with a 4 5/8 barrel and a stainless Blackhawk in.44 special with the same length barrel. With its micrometer adjustable sights and excellent single action trigger the Ruger Blackhawk in .357 Magnum became quite popular for the ISSF Center Fire pistol match, most competitors using .38 Special “Mid-range” wadcutter ammunition.The .44 Remington Magnum version of the Blackhawk was called the “Super Blackhawk”. This design change was quite probably inspired by Elmer Keith’s suggestion in his book Ruger Blackhawk .44 Remington Magnum with the revised frame top featuring the “ears” to protect the rear sight. This is fast enough to give a reasonably flat a trajectory, and kicks less than full house loads. Both are more compact than the huge Super Redhawk (and its sundry imitations from other manufacturers).
Grip shapes are "bird's head," Bisley, and traditional. Note also the lowered hammer spur and the “dragoon” style trigger guard.
Rapacious tort lawyers sprang to the attack and by the beginning of the 1970's the successful Sturm, Ruger & Company suddenly found itself the target of unfair but expensive lawsuits.The result was that Bill Ruger redesigned his single action revolvers in 1973 and created the "New Model" Blackhawk.
Well there is another exception ..., a new .45 BH convertible from Lipseys which is also on the medium frame.
Regardless, the differences are all superficial. So Sherlock Holmes would have told Doctor Watson that the new .44 cartridge would simply be the .44 Special lengthened by .125″ and loaded to the highest pressures that a new Smith & Wesson revolver could safely stand, “elementary my dear Watson”. Although this may seem like a good idea the resulting conversion did not perform as well as hoped, making the action feel somewhat awkward and similarly making the excellent Ruger trigger mediocre. Whether or not a three screw revolver has been converted, or converted back to original specification is important to collectors. Back in the mid-late 1950’s few shooters were familiar with the degree of bang and belt that a .44 Magnum deals out and so neither the Ruger Blackhawk in .44 Magnum nor the Smith & Wesson Model 29 sold like hotcakes. (Picture courtesy icollector.com).By 1972 Ruger had been re-considering the design of the Blackhawk and had decided to address the two glaring shortcomings of the original Colt SAA 1873 design. This nearly cuts the pull weight in half.
The Single Six proved the idea for a centerfire cowboy style revolver was viable and so the design team at Ruger got working on building a revolver that would be externally just like the Colt SAA of 1873, but with a frame mounted firing pin and modern coil spring internals, so that the revolver would have the same look, sounds and feel, but which would work better. No doubt this simplified the manufacturing process, but for those wanting a .357 Magnum or similar revolver in the smaller sized frame like the Original Colt SAA were disappointed, whereas the Old Model Blackhawk in .357 Magnum would fit a holster designed for the Colt SAA the New Model Blackhawk would not.