Featured Training Gun: Ruger New Model Blackhawk

We pride ourselves on offering a selection of modern training aids representative of firearms you can actually find available on the sport shooting market in Canada. And when it comes to single action revolvers, one of the most iconic and reliable is the Ruger New Model Blackhawk.

Our New Model Blackhawk is a very common .357 Magnum with a 4.6″ barrel.  This revolver is also offered in other calibres and barrel sizes, from .30 Carbine, up to .45 Colt.  At its longest, the .45 Colt model is available with a monsterous 7.5″ barrel.

Revolvers can be fun to shoot.  But they’re deceptively powerful.  Because it does not cycle the muzzle energy like a semi-auto pistol does, there is no recoil spring or blow back to absorb some of the tremendous energy produced by the larger, more powerful cartridges. They require practice and a firm grip.

Single action revolvers are a mainstay of shooting sports such as Cowboy Action Shooting, also referred to as SASS (Single Action Shooting Society).  While traditionalists will go with black powder revolvers, some of these are prohibitively expensive.

In their place, many shooters choose a decent, modern brand single action revolver using a modern cartridge that pays homage to the Old West, usually the .45 Colt.  For simply learning safe handling skills on a Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course, however, our Ruger New Model Blackhawk in .357 Magnum does just nicely.

If you have taken our course already, you might remember this revolver as the one that needs the cleaning rod to complete the “Examine the Bore” portion of ACTS/PROVE, and with which we usually demonstrate how to safely lower the hammer to the uncocked (forward) position.

And now you have met our featured training gun in the single action revolver category, the iconic Ruger New Model Blackhawk.