Yes, I still own and still shoot a 44 mag Ruger Super Blackhawk single action revolver every great once in a while, but ... the older I get, the more shooting a 44 mag revolver gets to be more an endurance session than a shooting session. Still, I'll never be without a Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 mag. It's in a class of its own.
A 357, though, is still a magnum in my book and a more versatile and fun cartridge for my shooting and when it comes to 357 single action revolvers, my all time favorite is an Old Model Ruger Blackhawk. New Model Blackhawks in 357 work, too, but the later NM Blackhawks in 357 are just not the same. Why?
Frame size, for one thing. The Old Model 357 Blackhawk is built on the early medium Blackhawk frame, a frame size Ruger used specifically for the 357. When Ruger switched to the New Model in the early 70s, though, they used the large frame size for the 357 to save production costs. For sure, that large frame on the New Model 357 Blackhawk makes for a tank of a 357 revolver, but handling greatly favors the Old Model with its medium frame.
For another, you get adjustable sights on the Old Model 357 Blackhawk. Yes, you can now get a medium frame 357 single action in the current Ruger New Vaquero, but the Vaquero is fixed sights, only. No four click Colt action on the Vaquero series, either.
The last Old Model Blackhawk in 357 was made in 1973, though. If you want one, you gotta go hunting for one and they can be tough to find. I go years without seeing one around these parts, but I always look. Finally, last year I found this basically new in the box Old Model 357 Blackhawk with the very desirable 4 5/8" barrel.
For sure, I paid a premium for it, but this Old Model Ruger Blackhawk is as close as you can get to buying a new in the box Old Model 357. If it has been fired, you'd have a hard time proving it. That 4 5/8" barrel is very hard to find, too. If I'm going to carry a single action 357, this is the one.
My OM Blackhawk 357 did not come with the extra 9mm cylinder, but some OM Blackhawk 357s did, so over the winter I found a 9mm cylinder. It took some fitting to get it to work, but now I can shoot the much cheaper 9mm ammo.
Now, for the latest.
There was another barrel length available in the Old Model Blackhawk and it was the 6 1/2". The 6 1/2" was the most popular barrel length, back in the day, and the better choice for hunting and/or target work. Odds are better for finding an OM Blackhawk in this barrel length, but most of them have been shot a lot and well used. Finding a 6 1/2" in pristine condition is a long shot.
Yup, you guessed it, I found one a week, ago. No box, but, again, not a single scratch, not a blemish, not an imperfection of any kind on the gun. Bluing is 100%.
And talk about coincidence, it is the same 1971 vintage as the shorter 4 5/8". In fact, it is only 92 units away from the 4 5/8" in serial number.
Could it get even better? Yes. That extra 9mm cylinder I bought for the 4 5/8" fits perfectly in the 6 1/2"
More to come. Stay tuned.
