[Guest Post] Matt’s Ruger Blackhawk .45

[ I am pleased to present this guest post written by Matt Green ]

This Ruger .45 my Dad left me is one of the first weapons I ever fired.

blackhawk 1 1 tfb tm [Guest Post] Matts Ruger Blackhawk .45 photo

My grandparents had a farm in central Minnesota, near St. Cloud, and we would drive the two hours to visit every month or six weeks or so. Nearby was an old iron bridge, crosshatched with braces, bedded with wood that beginning to rot as the bridge neared the end of its first century of usefulness. The newer highway bridge went over the slow moving creek a couple of hundred yards upstream, so the metal bridge on the dirt road was relegated to cars and small trucks. It was too small for any modern farm machinery to pass across it.

But it was a great place to learn how to shoot. Dad would bring out his Ruger Mk1 .22 and this Blackhawk, and my three brothers and I would take turns shooting pop cans and empty ammo boxes floating in the river, tossed in on the upstream side of the bridge. Dad would occasionally take a turn with the .22, but he mainly used his .45, usually stoked with ACP ammo, since it was less expensive than Long Colt. It was also a way for him to see if we’d been fooling with his pistols in his absence, as he caught my younger brother once when he hadn’t put the ACP cylinder back in. Dad loaded a .45 ACP round, and it dropped deep into the LC cylinder. One look at the bunch of us, and he knew which brother was guilty.

When we exhausted the .22 ammo, we’d each get a cylinder full of .45 to shoot, or most of one, since five rounds each made the box come out even. It was harder to shoot well than the .22, and much louder (I don’t remember that we bothered with ear protection back then), but it was very satisfying to shoot it well and have Dad comment as much.

ruger blackhawk tfb tm [Guest Post] Matts Ruger Blackhawk .45 photo

I miss him, and think of him whenever I shoot the old Ruger, or really, whenever I handle firearms in general. The interest I have in firearms now was sparked long ago by shooting with him.

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Steve Nov 4th 2009 handguns Tags: , , , 9 Comments

9 Responses to “[Guest Post] Matt’s Ruger Blackhawk .45”

  1. Johnon 05 Nov 2009 at 9:08 am link comment

    That is the kind of gun you never sell and which gets passed on for generations.

  2. shoot-ezon 05 Nov 2009 at 9:09 am link comment

    Good blog article.

  3. SpudGunon 05 Nov 2009 at 10:55 am link comment

    The .45LC Ruger Blackhawk is just a marvelous pistol in every sense of the word.

    Simple, easy, reliable and great to shoot, it is one of the must have pistols in anyones collection.

    Nice post.

  4. Concerned_Soldieron 05 Nov 2009 at 5:01 pm link comment

    That was hard to read and not lose it. My father taught me how to shoot almost the same way, but near a hunting camp.

    .22s and then a few bigger rounds like .45 or .38. I take my boys shooting all the time and really enjoy it when I get the chance to shoot with my father and my sons. He bought them a Ruger Bear Cat a few years back that they love to shoot.

    Great post!!

    V/R

    C_S

  5. Adamsdadon 05 Nov 2009 at 5:43 pm link comment

    Great post, Matt…and I’m with you, Concerned Soldier about teaching the boys to shoot and develop a love and respect for firearms. Somehow, I convinced my dad that my first handgun should be a .44Mag Ruger Super Blackhawk! I still own this marvelous gun and whenever I shoot it, I think of those special times with my father. He didn’t live to see his grandsons handle that Ruger but I know he watches over us from another place.

  6. Arthur B. Burnetton 05 Nov 2009 at 6:32 pm link comment

    I shot rifles and shotguns with my Dad, but handguns were something I only saw on TV. My first experience with a handgun was a cheap .22 revolver belonging to the hired man at my Grandmothers farm. I have forgotten just about everything about it other than the fact no one hit anything with it all day.
    I was about 14 when a friend of my Grandfather let me try his Ruger Black Hawk in .357. What a difference! I will remember that winter afternoon for the rest of my life.
    Unlike my Dad I have a wide selection of handguns but have somehow failed to add a Black Hawk to the family. I need to fix that.

  7. theotherryanon 06 Nov 2009 at 9:41 am link comment

    Seems like a real nice story and it is sure a nice wheel gun.

  8. John K.on 08 Nov 2009 at 7:58 am link comment

    I am not much of a wheel gun man but I really enjoyed reading that. Thanks.

    And remember folks, it’s our responsibility to introduce new generations to our sport/hobby. Not only is it fun but it’s also the best way to ensure that our great-grandchildren won’t view firearms as some ancient, evil relict like the other side makes them out to be.

  9. Doug Duncanon 18 Nov 2009 at 5:05 am link comment

    My uncle has an old Ruger Blackhawk .44 Magnum that is in mint condition and probably 35 years old. I think it has a 6″ or 7″ barrel.

    What is that gun worth today?

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