Return of the Ruger Hunter Model

Guns Magazine, Nov, 2002 by John Taffin

In the late 1920s, Elmer Keith collaborated with Harold Croft, J.D. O'Meara, and R.F. Sedgley to come up with what he considered the perfect sixgun. Since Croft had already been experimenting with custom gunsmithing of the Colt revolver in both Bisley and Single Action models, and had numbered his special sixguns No. 1, 2, 3, and 4, Keith labeled this new creation the No. 5 SA.

Using a Colt Single Action, perhaps a Bisley Model, as the basic platform, the top strap was welded up and flat-topped; adjustable sights were fitted; and the grip frame was arrived at by combining a Bisley Model backstrap with a Single Action trigger guard. The caliber selected was the best available at the time for developing heavy handloads, the .44 Special.

For the next 30 years, Keith would write about his experiments with this particular .44 Special, as well as experiments with several other Colt SA and Smith & Wessons DA revolvers. Finally, in the mid-1950s, Remington and S&W both listened and came up with the .44 Magnum cartridge and that beautiful, original .44 Magnum sixgun now known as the Model 29.

Ruger Steals The Show

Meanwhile, the relatively new company of Sturm, Ruger had issued their first semi-automatic .22 in 1949. This was followed by the tremendously popular .22 Single-Six in 1953, and their first centerfire sixgun, the .357 Blackhawk in 1955. In producing the Blackhawk, Bill Ruger had obviously looked at such custom Colt Single Actions as Keith's No. 5 .44 Special.

The .44 Magnum project was closely guarded by both Remington and S&W. However, Bill Ruger managed to hear about it. Several stories are told of this. One says a Ruger employee found a couple of .44 Magnum cartridges in the trash behind Remington; another says a Remington employee delivered a sack of cartridges to Bill Ruger secretly; and still another says a man stopped by Ruger's office with five empty and mysterious cartridges headstamped "44 MAG."

Whatever the true story may be, the genius of Bill Ruger came through, and he not only managed to build a .44 Magnum Blackhawk, he also had it on dealer's shelves before S&W could deliver their double action .44 Magnum sixgun.

King Of Sixgun Loads

The .44 Magnum is fast approaching its 50th anniversary. Although it has been outperformed by the .454 Casull, .445 Supermag, and the .475 Linebaugh, and even by several heavy .45 Colt factory loads, the .44 Magnum remains the King of Sixgun Cartridges for two reasons.

It is the most affordable and readily obtainable big-bore magnum, and may be had in a wide variety of single action and double action sixguns. Another reason for its success is the fact that it is really the upper threshold of recoil that is controllable By most shooters. Power is more than adequate, as has been proven by taking all manner of the biggest big-game with the .44, including Alaskan Brown Bear and Africa's Big Three of elephant, lion, and the ultimate handgun challenge from the Dark Continent, the Cape buffalo.

A Sucession Of Ruger Magnums

That first Ruger .44 Magnum Blackhawk is now known as the Flat-Top Model. It was offered in the original 6 .5 inch barrel length and also in the rare 10 inch and even less common 7.5 inch versions. It would stay in production from 1956 until 1963, when all Flat-Tops were "improved" to what is now known as the Old Model.

In 1959, the .44 Magnum Blackhawk was upgraded to the Super Blackhawk with a 7.5 inch barrel standard, a wide hammer and trigger, and a steel grip frame patterned after the Colt Dragoons of the 1850s.

With the arrival of this new Ruger, Keith said:

"This is just about what I have wanted and worked for for 40 years in a single action and by far the finest single action sixgun ever produced to my way of thinking. It embodies all my ideas of what such a gun should be for the cowpuncher,. hunter, guide, or old hillbilly. It's the culmination of a lifetime of dreams for me.... I tried to get Colt to bring out such a gun as this for over 30 years with no luck at all.... now we will show them what a single action should be and what they could have done years ago....

In 1973, Bill Ruger instituted a major change in single action production with the New Model Super Blackhawk. Until this time, from 1839 forward, a single action sixgun could only be carried safely with an empty chamber under the hammer. Ruger's New Model mechanism provided a transfer bar, which made it possible to safely carry a six-shot single action revolver fully loaded. All Ruger single actions became New Models in 1973.

Ten years later, the Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum would also be available in stainless steel. Then in 1985, Ruger completed the ideas of Elmer Keith for a perfect single action by changing the grip frame to a Bisley style and the Super Blackhawk was now available in a special version with a Bisley-style grip frame and hammer. For many sixgunners, this new grip frame was the best ever designed for handling heavy recoil. Both the New Model Super Blackhawk and the Bisley Model .44 Magnums remain in production to this day.