Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum Revolver

Ever since the days of the Old West, cowboys, outlaws and yes, even a few American heroes have considered
themselves well armed with a single action revolver. Unfortunately, they weren't using the gun we're discussing today, or they would have been much better armed. Why? Let's take a look.

Colts and other single action revolvers from the Old West days used the leaf spring, otherwise known as a flat spring. While the flat spring delivered a good trigger pull that improved remarkably with age and use, the coil spring was a major improvement that allowed more predictable tuning of the revolver's trigger pull weight. More consistent trigger pull leads to better accuracy. The Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk uses coil springs exclusively.

The .44 magnum caliber of the Super Blackhawk is superior to the .45 Long Colt used in many of the Old West guns. Designed to contain the pressures developed by the mighty .44 magnum, the Ruger is considerably stronger than the guns favored by the cowboys.

The legendary six shooters from the days of Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid were often loaded in only five chambers, leaving one empty chamber under the hammer mounted firing pin to prevent accidental discharge. An innovative feature of the Super Blackhawk is the transfer bar. The hammer is designed so that it cannot touch the firing pin directly. When the trigger is pulled, the transfer bar moves over the frame mounted firing pin and delivers the energy from the falling hammer to the firing pin, firing the gun. When the trigger is released, the transfer bar is retracted below the firing pin, allowing safe carry with all six chambers loaded. More ammo for the modern cowpoke.

Undoubtedly, there were some pretty good pistol shots in those days. Even more remarkable is the good shooting that was done with little more than a narrow blade front sight and a groove for a rear sight. Thankfully the modern day cowboy can count on fully adjustable rear sights on their Super Blackhawks along with a substantial ramp front sight.

All in all, the Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 magnum revolver is a better gun for hunting or target shooting than the guns the old cowboys used.

Information for this article was obtained at this web site: http://www.ruger.com/products/newModelSuperBlackhawkStandard/models.html