(Yet to come to the Ruger line was the Bearcat, named for another Stutz auto.) Barrel lengths of the Blackhawk were 4.625, 6.5 and 10 inches. One of his favorites was the Stutz Blackhawk. In addition to his interest and affection for firearms, Bill Ruger was an admirer and collector of classic automobiles. In 1955, Ruger’s first single-action centerfire revolver was introduced with a suggested retail price of $87.50 and was called the Blackhawk.

357 Magnum, the most versatile choice because it would also fire the.

It was decided that the new revolver would be chambered in. Like the Single-Six, it would be patterned after the Colt but with several changes, including an adjustable rear sight and coil springs instead of leaf springs in the action. The success of the Single-Six encouraged Bill Ruger to take the next step in the development of his line of handguns, a larger centerfire model, with the overall size about the same as the Colt. 22 semi-auto pistol, the Single-Six was a big success and became very popular with plinkers, campers, hikers and small-game hunters. Work on the model was under way in 1951 and, by the end of 1953, Sturm, Ruger & Co. His idea was to make a rimfire six-shooter as a companion to his Standard to be known as the Single-Six. Bill Ruger saw that the time was right to create a new, up-to-date single-action for a waiting market. The Colt Single Action Army had been out of production since 1940, and the company had announced it was no longer going to be made. Western movies were very popular in the late ’40s and early ’50s, and virtually every cast member was armed with a single-action sixgun. He liked the simplicity and reliability of the old Colt design, along with its graceful shape and the way it felt in the hand. Ruger had always been a fan of single-action revolvers. was ready to take the next step and add another product to the line. 22 Standard Pistol that had been introduced the previous year. In 1950 Bill Ruger’s gun company was on its way to becoming a major player in the industry, thanks to the success of his. The Flattop models tend to command the highest values on the collector's market.There were a number of Blackhawk variants developed, including the Super Blackhawk, Flattop Blackhawk and the New Model series, along with a number of different caliber options.44 Magnum revolvers, Ruger with an updated Blackhawk and S&W with the. 44 Magnum was underway, both Ruger and S&W strove to introduce the first. Introduced in 1955, the Blackhawk was Ruger's first centerfire revolver, and it's still produced more than 70 years later.What makes the Ruger Blackhawk a popular revolver, both in terms of current production and as a collector's piece? In the 1950s, Ruger introduced the venerable Blackhawk revolver, which remains both a desirable collector piece and a popular current-production gun.

Ruger single six 3 screw serial numbers