In 1955, Ruger introduced their Blackhawk single action revolver. While similar in appearance to the classic Colt, it offered several new safety and reliability features.  It was chambered for the .357 magnum -- the most powerful handgun cartridge of that era.

The Blackhawk became a legend and widely popular. Over the years, improvements were made to its design, some safety improvements and others cosmetic. This included the actual size of the gun which was enlarged to allow it to chamber the .44 Magnum. Two frame sizes were now standardized -- a medium Blackhawk and a large Super Blackhawk. This forever changed the feel of the .357 Blackhawk and made it too big and bulky, compared to the original.

In 1962, protective ears were added to the .357 to protect the rear sights, ending what was referred to as ‘the flattop look’ of the pistol. The grip frame was also redesigned from the traditional Colt style to a newer version that better handled recoil.

While these changes were functionally logical, they transformed the look and feel of the gun from a light, compact pistol into a bulky, large handgun.

For safety purposes, the design was altered, again, in 1973 to add a transfer bar system. This allowed the carry of the weapon with all cylinders loaded without fear of discharge if the gun was dropped. Prior to this design, going back to the early Colts, typically only 5 rounds were chambered and the hammer was set to rest over the empty, 6th chamber for safety. The new design also allowed for easy loading and unloading of the pistol, since it only required opening the loading gate and spinning the cylinder.

The change in the safety and the loading gate functionality was marked by an obvious design change. Before, the Rugers had three screws in the side of the frame.  New guns use pins and no screws. Guns prior to 1973 are called ‘three screw versions’ and are prized by collectors. Ruger went a step further and offered to add the transfer bar system to any old, three screw model for free, along with a return of the original parts.

In 2005, the 50th birthday of the Blackhawk, Ruger decided to make a special anniversary pistol. This special one-of-a-kind run of revolvers would bring the return of many features given up years before.

It was built on the medium sized frame that was used with the 3 screw models prior to 1973. It deleted the protective sight ear, making it look like the original flat top models. To top it off, they made it with the classic, Colt-style small grip not seen for decades.  About the only new feature that was kept was the transfer bar system and modern, pinned frame design. While some purists may bemoan this decision, from a safety and product liability angle, Ruger really had no choice. They also added a hammer lock, again for legal and liability reasons. However, they hid it under the plastic grips so that it’s not visible and doesn't mar the classic look of the pistol.

Having shot many of the old, three screw .357s back in the day, we were quite anxious to do what probably won’t be done with most of these collector pieces -- we took it out and shot it.

The gun is very well finished and the trigger is crisp and light, by modern standards. The gun falls right into your palm and the Colt-style grip frame is a joy to handle. This is the kind of pistol you enjoy holding and shooting. Accuracy with several .357 and .38 special loads is on par with typical, high quality revolvers.

All in all, it’s a great little gun and we wish Ruger would make it a production item. These guns are too sweet to keep in the safe.