Ruger Vaquero 45LC
In 1953 Sturm, Ruger introduced the Single Six .22 revolver. The Single Six was quickly followed by the justly famous Blackhawk .357 Magnum revolver. This model became the mainstay of the Ruger line.
The versatile Blackhawk has also been adapted to fire the .30 Carbine, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt cartridges. Later, cylinders were made available to allow "Convertible" Blackhawks that could shoot .357 Magnum/.38 Special in one cylinder and 9mm Luger (9x19) in another. There are also .45 Long Colt Blackhawks that are convertible to .45 ACP by means of a second cylinder.
Blackhawks are so strong that they are the revolvers of choice for high-pressure handloads. This is particularly true in .45 Colt caliber, where the Blackhawk has achieved a sort of cult status. Many reloading manuals have special sections devoted to high pressure .45 Colt loads for Ruger Blackhawk revolvers and T/C Contender single shot hunting pistols only. This should not, however, be taken to mean that a Blackhawk cannot be blown-up. They can, and have been. But Blackhawks do have a greater safety margin than most revolvers.
All of the 3-screw (or "Old Model," as they later came to be called) Ruger SA revolvers are based on the same simple design. They were, and still are, perhaps the best single action revolver ever designed. They are loaded with the hammer in the half-cock notch and properly carried with the hammer down on an empty chamber.
The typical 3-screw Blackhawk (so called because of the three screws in the side of the frame) was a blued steel revolver built on a flat top frame roughly the same size as a Colt SAA. The one piece Western-style grip frame was made of aluminum alloy, as was the ejector rod housing. It has two piece walnut grips. The hammer and trigger springs are coil springs, much easier to adjust and more durable than the flat springs used in the Colt SAA. The 3-screw Blackhawk is a simple action, and one that is easy on which to work.
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