Is believed that Elmer Keith, a friend and associate ofīill Ruger, was given a 4-5/8” barreled version for this Some of the early prototypes and guns were sent to various It was later determined that the frame needed to beĮnlarged and strengthened to better handle the high pressuresĪnd recoil of the heavy magnum cartridge. These were shown at the March 1956 NRA show. 44 Magnum cartridge!! Bill Ruger obtained a quantity of pre-productionĬartridges along with the technical details behind the cartridgeĪnd promptly went to work designing a single-action revolver to There he learned of a guarded new product development, R&D Department of Remington Arms Company. Ruger did some investigation and eventually ended up at the 44 Magnum with a suggestedįound some unusual looking fired cartridge cases at a local The SeptemDistributor price sheets listed the new Blackhawk. 'Flattop', was introduced in August 1955. Production began a little over one year after its first center This was Ruger’s second center fire revolver and New cartridge had only been invented in 1955. This caused quite a stir in the gun industry since this

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