Ruger Bearcat

     Notes: The Bearcat is one of the oldest revolver designs that Ruger still produces, having been first introduced in 1953.  The original version was produced between 1953-1972 and had no safety features.  In 1993, the Bearcat was re-introduced and a transfer bar safety was added. (Ruger will actually add a transfer bar safety to the older models free of charge.)  Both versions have the same dimensions and weight, but the oldest Bearcats (until 1963) had impregnated wooden grips.  In 1963, these grips were changed to walnut.  The Bearcats produced in 1993 and afterwards have palisander grips.  Older Bearcats have an alloy trigger guard that has a brass coating; new Bearcats also have an alloy trigger guard, but it is blued.  The frame of the Bearcat is usually of light alloy, but between 1971-1974, Ruger made the Super Bearcat, which has a steel frame.  The Super Bearcat had a brass trigger guard until 1973, when it was replaced by a steel trigger guard.  The New Super Bearcat, in production since 1993, features interchangeable cylinders for .22 Long Rifle and .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire.

Ruger Bisley

     Notes: Introduced in 1986, the Ruger Bisley is based on the well-known Colt Bisley, which is named after its use in the shooting matches in Bisley, England.  It is similar in appearance to the Blackhawk, but the grip angle is different and the back of the grip is raised.  It is also available in a plethora of calibers and several barrel lengths.  .22 Long Rifle and .32 H&R Magnum Bisleys have 6.5” barrels; the others use a 7.5” barrel.  All are available only in a blued steel version with walnut (or sometimes finer) grips.  In 1997, Ruger stopped making the .32 H&R Magnum and .41 Magnum Bisleys.  The Bisley is a common target for custom gun manufacturers and tinkerers.

Ruger Blackhawk

     Notes: Introduced in 1955, this is basically an enlarged Single Six.  It was initially produced in .357 Magnum caliber, but in 1956 the .44 Magnum cartridge became available and Ruger chambered the Blackhawk for it.  Later calibers included .30 Carbine, .41 Magnum, and .45 Long Colt.  Early .357 versions had barrel lengths of 4.5, 6.5, and 10 inches, and early .44 Magnum versions had barrel lengths of 6.5, 7.5, and 10 inches, but in 1972 barrels were standardized at 4.5, 6.5, and 7.5 inches.  At that time, a replacement cylinder was also introduced that allowed a .357 Magnum Blackhawk to fire 9mm Parabellum ammunition.  In 1973, a transfer bar safety was added to the Blackhawk, and a replacement cylinder was made available that allowed the .45 Long Colt version to fire .45 ACP ammunition. 

     The 50^th Anniversary Blackhawk is a new version that Ruger brought out in 2005.  It was manufactured only in 2005, and is a version of the Blackhawk with special markings in gold, such as “50^th Year Blackhawk, 1955 to 2005.”  It also has special checkered rubber grips, a key lock to secure the weapon, a heavy barrel 4.625 inches long, and it is capable of shooting blackpowder as well as smokeless powder rounds.

     The Blackhawk Bisley Hunter is a variant of the Blackhawk which uses a heavy Bisley-type frame and grips, an equally-heavy 7.5-inch barrel, and special sights, as well as a satin stainless steel finish.  The cylinders are unfluted and can only accept .44 Magnum cartridges; .44 Special cartridges are not an option.  Tolerances are very tight and cylinder action is timed perfectly.  The trigger is tuned and breaks cleanly.  The hammer, like most Bisley-type weapons, is low-profile and wide.  The rear sight is a special Ruger adjustable one, and the front sight is a blade with a bright red insert which makes target acquisition quite easy and accuracy better.  The barrel and top strap is drilled and tapped for scope rings.  The heavy weight of the revolver neutralizes some of the kick, while the heavy barrel improves accuracy.

     The Blackhawk Convertible come in two versions: one that fires 9mm Parabellum/.38 Special/.357 Magnum, and one that fires .45ACP/.45 Long Colt.  For both of these revolvers, all one must do to change ammunition types is to change the cylinders (except that .357 Magnum and .38 Special use the same cylinder).  No moon-type clips are necessary for the rimless rounds.  Using 9mm Parabellum rounds in the Blackhawk Convertible does present a slight problem, however: the smaller diameter-bullets do not quite fit the barrel of the Blackhawk, being a tiny fraction of an inch smaller than .357 or .38 rounds.  This means that the 9mm rounds do not quite “bite” into the rifling of the barrel, resulting in slightly degraded accuracy.  Some have solved this problem by using slightly-larger bullets in 9mm Parabellum cases, but this is a very tricky handloading job that should be done only by experts.  

     In the early 1980s, Ruger made small amounts of their Blackhawk in several unusual chamberings, primarily at experiments, but they also sold them in small numbers for what was a high real-world price.  These differ from their cousins primarily in their chamberings; they primarily used 6.5-inch barrels.  Most of these were built in collaboration with Dan Wesson, John Linebaugh, Dick Casull, and Lew Schafer.

     Soon after the Blackhawk in .44 Magnum was introduced, many of Ruger’s customers began clamoring for a Blackhawk designed for .44 Special.  Bill Ruger’s attitude at the time was that if you wanted to fire .44 Special, buy a .44 Magnum Blackhawk.  And so it went for some 40 years, until 2010, when a Blackhawk designed specifically for .44 Special was introduced.  Initially, this version was available as only a limited production run of 2000 revolvers through Lipsey’s and with a 4.625-inch or 6.5-inch barrel; however, it is now a regular Ruger production item, and available in 4.625-inch or 5.5-inch barrel lengths.  This version fires the .44 Special cartridge, but uses the smaller .357 Magnum frame.  The weapon is quite attractive in highly polished blue, and has checkered plastic grips.  If you remove the right grip plate, you can access the key lock, a good feature to have if you have small children about.  However, if you do not want to have to remove the grip plate, the plate is marked for drilling in the right place so that you can insert the key through the grip.  The revolver has a micro-adjustable rear sight – in fact, adjusting the rear sight requires the use of a small screwdriver for full adjustability.  The front side is a blade on top of a serrated ramp, and thus target acquisition is relatively easy.

     John Taffin, like many Blackhawk owners, tinkered and rechambered some of their Blackhawks.  In Taffin’s case, he rechambered a .357/9mm for .357/.38, and gave it a 10.5-inch barrel.  His favorite barrel length for the Blackhawk seems to be the 7.5-inch barrel, and that is used below for most of the Blackhawks (except for the .357/.38).  Some of the rechamberings he did include .44 Special, .41 Special, .45 Long Colt (without the ability to fire .45 ACP), .38-40, and .44-40.  He did do custom work for some friends and acquaintances, and several other rebarreling and rechamberings done by Taffin exist.  Below are some of his works.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The 50^th Anniversary Blackhawk does not exist, nor does the Blackhawk Bisley Hunter or the .44 Special-only Blackhawk.

Ruger GP-100

     Notes: The GP-100 was introduced in 1988; Ruger, despite its outstanding success with its earlier service revolvers, felt that there was still room for improvement and updating.

     The GP-100 is built stronger and more rigidly than normal revolvers, and with a heavy barrel.  The construction is modular, allowing for future improvements, exchanging of barrels, aftermarket add-ons, and in addition making the GP-100 easy to maintain.  The GP-100 is all-steel, with both blued and stainless steel finishes available.  The standard GP-100 grips are rubber with wood side panels (of differing sizes to better fit an individual shooter), but many aftermarket grips are available for the GP-100.  The cylinder is released by a button like the magazine catch on a pistol, though the ejector rod can be difficult to use and is not considered one of the GP-100’s strong points.  Trigger pull is quite smooth if the hammer is already cocked, but the double-action trigger pull is considered by many a bit long.  Sights are usually fixed, with a red dot on the front sight and a white-outlined rear sight notch.  The front sight is dovetailed into the barrel; optional adjustable sights are available, but require the use of a very small screwdriver for the windage adjustment.

Ruger GS-32N

     This is a military revolver that was once a standard with many police and military police departments around the US.  It is a version of the Speed Six/Service Six/Security Six series of revolvers.  It is a simple and easy to use weapon.

Ruger LCR

     Notes: One of the smallest and lightest weapons Ruger has ever made, the LCR (Lightweight Compact Revolver) is a very small revolver designed for personal defense and concealment.  The construction of the LCR is of lightweight yet strong components; the frame is essentially one forging of aircraft-quality aluminum and the cylinder is of stainless steel specially shaped to reduce weight as much as possible while retaining strength.  The 1.875-inch barrel is externally part of the same forging as the frame, though internally it has a steel liner.  The housing for the firing components is of polymer, including a fully-shrouded hammer.  There is no rear sight – only an integral U-shaped notch; the front sight is a simple pinned low-profile ramp which is removable.  Despite the light construction, the LCR is stressed for +P rounds.  There are two grips available – Hogue Tamer grips, or Crimson Trace Lasergrips (the LG model, which has an integral laser pointing sight in them). A new model for 2010 is chambered for .357 Magnum as well as being able to fire .38 Special. A newer model for 2012 is chambered for rimfire cartridges.  The LCR-22 has a trigger pull weight of about 10 pounds, but it feels significantly less due to a mechanical advantage inherent in its design and due to actual mechanical design.

Ruger Redhawk

     Notes: The Redhawk is a large, powerful handgun (essentially a larger version of the Security Six with several other improvements) with a well-deserved reputation for accuracy and ruggedness. Some models come within rings for mounting a telescopic sight; others have a sighting rib.  Some are ported to reduce barrel climb.  All have dovetailed sights, but the standard rear sight is adjustable while the front is a wide ramp with an orange insert.  The grips are usually wood, and finishes are usually wood or stainless steel.

     The Super Redhawk Alaskan was introduced in 2005.  It is a “backpack gun” of surprising power, being chambered for the .454 Casull (and .45 Long Colt) or .480 Ruger cartridges (and, as of 2007, .44 Magnum), but the 2.5-inch barrel limits this power to drastically.  It is very strongly built and has a bull barrel.  The grips are of wood with rubber wrapped around it, but a Hogue soft rubber grip is an option.  The Alaskan does not have dovetailed sights, but the fixed rear sight is white-outlined.

     In 2007, due to popular demand, Ruger introduced a Redhawk .44 Magnum version with a 4-inch barrel.  This version generally uses Hogue rubber grips, though walnut grip plates are an option.  The front sight blade also has a red dot to aid in quick aiming, with the rear sight being micrometer-adjustable with the aiming notch being outlined in white.  So far, the finish is offered only in satin stainless steel for the 4-inch barrel version.  This 4-inch version was followed by one chambered for .45 Long Colt in 2008.

     In 2016, again due to popular demand, Ruger introduced a Redhawk with 2.75” Barrel.  This was designated the Super Redhawk Kodiak. This is designed not only for self-defense but for wilderness backup. It is a big slab of metal with a heavyweight barrel that helps control recoil and muzzle flip. This version is available only through TALO Distributing.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Super Redhawk Alaskan does not exist, nor does the Redhawk with a 4-inch barrel, in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Ruger Security Six

     Notes: A .357 magnum revolver from the firm that is famous for them, the Security Six is a double- action revolver sometimes with an integral sighting rib and with an ejector rod housing.  Introduced in 1969, the Security Six was not only Ruger’s first entry into the police handgun market, it was a very different weapon than Ruger had been known for until that point.  The Security Six quickly also became quite popular with private security guards and civilians.  Original barrel lengths were 3.75, 4, and 6 inches, though the 3.75-inch barrel was later dropped.  The Security Six could be had with adjustable or fixed sights, with a stainless steel or blued finish, and with walnut or plastic grip plates.  The Security Six was produced until 1988, when it was replaced in production by the GP-100. 

     Ruger later introduced a smaller version of the Security Six, called the Speed Six.  The Speed Six is a bit heavier in order to handle the powerful ammunition it was capable of firing, and has a more rounded profile.  The hammer is shortened, and the wooden grip was rounded and smooth.  A later version of the Speed Six used a concealed hammer and neoprene grips with finger grooves.  The Speed Six was formerly the standard sidearm of US Air Force Security Police, and is still carried by some undercover and investigative agents of that service.  It was also carried by pilots at one time, but they now carry the M-9 or other automatic pistols.  The Speed Six was sold almost exclusively to military and police organizations, and was uncommon with the general public until the early 1990s.  The Speed Six is a reliable and tough weapon made largely from stainless steel.  A 9mm Parabellum version of the Speed Six was also made (primarily for European sales), but it is relatively rare.

     The Service Six (also called the Police Service Six) is essentially a version of the Security Six designed to be simpler to operate and maintain, as well as less expensive.  It was meant primarily for police use, but quickly became popular among civilians as well.  The Service Six was available only with fixed sights (pre-set at the factory for 13.7 meters), and only with a rounded and smooth wooden grip.

Ruger Single Six

     Notes: This rimfire revolver first appeared in 1953.  It had a flat loading gate safety and hard rubber grips.  In 1962, the rubber grips were replaced by walnut grips.  The Single Six first appeared with a 5.5” Barrel, but other lengths were added in 1959.  A transfer bar safety was added in 1973.  Between 1956 and 1958, a version with a light alloy frame and 4.5-inch barrel was produced, but it did not prove to be successful. 

     Between 1960-1962, the Single Six Magnum was produced; this was designed for .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, with an interchangeable cylinder for .22 Long Rifle.  This was replaced by the Single Six Convertible, which was basically the same, but used a standard of a .22 Long Rifle cylinder with a replacement cylinder for .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire.  (Both are identical for game purposes.)

     The Super Single Six came on the scene in 1964, with an adjustable rear sight and barrel lengths of 5.5 or 6.5 inches.  Later, more barrel lengths were added.  Except for the adjustable sight, it is a standard Single Six (for game purposes). 

     New manufacture Single Sixes are close to identical to older Single Sixes, but have a transfer bar safety.  It also comes in a stainless steel version, but only for the 5.5 and 6.5-inch-barrel versions.  In 1985, a version firing the .32 H&R Magnum cartridge was also introduced; this version was withdrawn in 1997, but re-introduced in 2001.  It has a 4.5-inch barrel. 

     In 2004, new versions were introduced in .17 Mach 2 Rimfire and .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, but they did not see mainstream penetration until 2009.  These have 7.5-inch barrels, adjustable rear sights, and have attachments for scope rings.  They are heavy for their caliber and are quite stable.  They have interchangeable cylinders to allow the firing of either .17 caliber cartridge.

     The Single Nine and Single Ten are new versions of the Single Six firing 10 .22 Long Rifle or 9 .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire rounds.  Though the cylinder is somewhat enlarged, the main way the guns use to pack more rounds into the cylinder is to make the cylinder walls thinner.  These revolvers also have Williams fiberoptic sights, with the rear sights being adjustable, and the grips are Hardwood Gunfighter grips.  The barrel and frame are stainless steel with a satin finish.

     New for 2016, the Single Seven is sold exclusively by Lipsey’s in Louisiana.  (They’re available on Lipsey’s Internet store, but are heavily back-ordered.) It is based on the Single Six, but has seven cylinders and fires smaller-caliber cartridges (though some are Magnum cartridges). The cylinders are unfluted. The sights are black, and are a ramp front and an adjustable notch rear. Construction is of stainless steel with a satin finish.  It can fire seven cartridges (without changing anything) and comes in three barrel lengths (the barrels are not, however, interchangeable).  It has bird’s head grip of walnut. The trigger pull is short and crisp and has a pull weight of 3.56 pounds (as measured by B Gil Horman of American Rifleman magazine).

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The two .17 caliber versions do not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline. Nor do the Single Seven, Nine, and Ten.