Bought this one from the same good friend who sold us the other unfired Rugers and we both knew this was a rare OM Blackhawk with its short 4 5/8" barrel and convertible configuration. Got it at a bit of a discount, since we bought a couple of the other vintage Rugers he was selling. Paid about $100 more than a brand new New Model in the same gun and I figured the extra cash was worth it, since I was getting an old Ruger, made in a way that Ruger doesn't make them anymore.
Got home and cleaned it, getting it ready to shoot it, but decided to do some research, first. Turns out the BKH44, unfired with the box is something of a grail gun to Ruger collectors. No one knows for sure how many were made with the short 4 5/8" barrel, but estimates run to less than two thousand. That kind of production number would be typical of a special edition or a commemorative gun, but almost unheard of for a standard production gun. More research indicated that the collector price for an unfired with box (the only guns serious Ruger collectors, collect) would start at $1350 and go up from there.
Uh, oh.
Complicating things even more, Ruger cylinder throats on all their 45 Colts are sized to shoot jacketed bullets. If you want to shoot standard 45 Colt lead bullets, you should ream out the cylinder throats to a larger diameter or deal with a lot of leading and mediocre accuracy when shooting lead. Basic rule of thumb on a collectible gun, though, is that if you change anything on a gun that wasn't done by the factory, you may as well go ahead and shoot it, because it's lost its collectibility. For me, that would be even be more foolish, given that my Uberti 45 Colts are set up, perfectly, to shoot lead bullets, as any 45 colt should should be. They came that way, right out of the box.
For now, then, this Old Model Ruger Blackhawk 45 will sit in the safe. Oh, I will pull it out and marvel and the excellent fit and finish, better polishing and better trigger than you get with current production Blackhawks. And, for sure, I'll smile when I hear that four click Colt style action.
Have to say, too, that it fits my custom made Blackhawk holster very nicely. Maybe I'll just carry this rare Ruger on my hip for a few minutes, every now and then, kind of like taking a trip backing time to the year 1971, when this Blackhawk was made, back when Ruger was making guns the old way.
But shoot this one? Honestly don't think I can.
