In this week’s edition of Wheelgun Wednesday, we are going to venture down a path that some people might consider blasphemy and others might view it as the future. If you are here, you are already a lover of wheelguns, but what’s your grasp of technology? The latest, greatest tech that we can incorporate into and with our firearms to make them as high speed, low drag as possible is always something our newer generation of shooters is aiming for. This can be attention to detail in the aggressiveness of our grip texturing (stippling), getting faster reloads (Bianchi speed strips or traditional HKS speedloaders), or even mounting a micro red dot to something as old and western as a Ruger Blackhawk. We are going to crawl down that precise rabbit hole looking at an EGW Red Dot Mount that I recently mounted on a customer’s six-shooter. Let’s dive in!

Wheelgun Wednesday @ TFB:

• Wheelgun Wednesday: Current Custom Options
• Wheelgun Wednesday: The Pros And Cons Of Loose Cartridge Reloads
• Wheelgun Wednesday: Taurus 856 TORO Review – 1st Optics-Ready Revolver
• Wheelgun Wednesday: Top Revolver Hunting Ammo For 2023
• Wheelgun Wednesday: Empire KAGE for Colt Python

EGW Red Dot Mount for a Ruger Blackhawk

EGW (Evolution Gun Works) is known for making a bevy of parts for firearms, but they are most prominently known for producing high-quality mounts for an array of makes and models. This varies from simple bolt-action rifles all the way down to the uncommon and unlikely; just like a Ruger Blackhawk revolver. The mount that EGW produces for the Ruger Blackhawk is moderately priced at $49.99 and fits quite a few different Ruger revolvers if you desire to outfit several within your stable of arms.

EGW Red Dot Mount – VORTEX VIPER / VENOM RUGER REVOLVER SIGHT MOUNT (FITS BURRIS FASTFIRE AND DOCTER)

• Ruger Blackhawk
• Ruger Super Blackhawk
• Ruger Redhawk
• GP100 (with adjustable rear sights)
• GP100 Match Champion

According to EGW, the red dot mount could require some hand fitting, but ours did not once we were all done. If you dive in on this mount for your Ruger revolver, this is what they had to say:

Due to manufacturing variances in the Ruger’s top strap, this mount may require the pad on the bottom to be filed to fit the rear sight cut out.

The rest of the nitty-gritty specs for this EGW Red Dot Mount are as listed below by EGW themselves:

• Material: 7075 Aluminum
• Coating: Matte Black Hardcoat
• Overall Length: 1.811″
• Overall Width: 0.99″
• Torque Specs: 15 in/lbs
• Mounting Hardware:
  • (2) 6-32 Button Head Screws
  • (2) 6-32 Flat Head Screws
  • (1) 6-48 x 9/16 Socket Cap Screw

To get started with mounting this EGW Red Dot Mount to your Ruger Blackhawk (or other suitable Ruger revolver), you will want to remove the factory rear sight. For our Ruger, this entails removing the rear sight elevation adjustment screw (a larger flathead) first. Then, you need to knock out a small roll pin crossing the top strap. It is so small, in fact, that I didn’t own a punch tiny enough even with my vast bench of tools. So, I used a thick paper clip, snipped it to a length 1.5 times the size of the roll pin I was working on, held my “fabricated” roll punch with pliers, and gently tapped out our desired roll pin (we’re shadetree gunsmithing now, boys).

This left us with an exposed and naked top strap so we could now add our EGW mount. Since there is a lot goin’ on on the top strap as far as curvatures and sculpting, I found it impressive that the EGW mount mates up so well. It was a tight fit, but I could easily press the mount into place on top of the top strap of the Ruger Blackhawk.

The more that I have been an armorer and gunsmith (14+ years) the less I am actually using Loctite and similar thread-locking compounds, but since this mount only has 1 screw securing it down, I reached for my trusty, dingy ol’ bottle of Loctite. I don’t believe that EGW instructs for or against this, but I did it out of an abundance of caution (I’d recommend you do the same).

Once you tighten down that singular screw to EGW’s recommended 15 Inch-Lb (I personally did 18 Inch-Lb, but I have always been known to give things a little more ugga-dugga than recommended) you are set. The last bit is to mount your given red dot and this mount fits a lot of different red dots. We won’t waste your time telling you how to mount your preferred red dot to this EGW mount, but we assure you it is incredibly easy. Just don’t bust out any impact drills and you’ll be fine.

• Vortex Viper
• Vortex Venom
• Burris Fast Fire 1, 2, 3, 4
• Docter
• ADE RD3-001
• ADE RD3-002
• ADE RD3-009
• UTG Reflex Micro Dot
• Crimson Trace CTS-1200
• Crimson Trace CTS-1300
• Sightmark Mini Shot

So, there you have it – voilà! This was an extremely easy mount to add to the Ruger Blackhawk, but it is something that we wanted to share with all of you. I, personally, was unaware that a mount for the Ruger Blackhawk even existed that wasn’t super custom or hyper-niche. Micro red dots are incredibly popular when it comes to semi-auto pistols, but now that popularity for technology, speed of engagement, and flat out cool factor are making their way to revolvers. I’m all for it!

A few critiques I do have of the EGW mount is that it appears to be angled upward; a decent amount. I boresighted this red dot for a customer of mine and I ran out of elevation adjustment upon it being laser boresighted. So, is it boresighted? Yes. Does this shooter have an elevation adjustment left? No. Also, I would have liked to see the red dot, once mounted, lower to the bore axis. All in all, I have not shot a Ruger Blackhawk with an EGW mount on it so I can’t completely speak to its accuracy, whether the “upward angle” is an authentic issue, or any other thoughts. I can say that it mounted easily, fit perfectly, and I am glad EGW is making options like this for revolvers. As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.