Favorite Firearms: A Bear-Country Blackhawk

by
posted on March 7, 2022
Bear-Country Blackhawk

In the early 1990s, I packed everything that I owned into an old Toyota Celica and moved to Juneau, Alaska, where I had taken a job flying seaplanes for the summer. When I got there, I noticed that the standard sidearm for outdoor activities in bear country was a .44 Mag. revolver, and the stainless models from Ruger were especially popular in the rainy marine climate of southeast Alaska. I didn’t have much money at the time, but I was giving some flying lessons to a friend on the side, and he offered to settle that account with a stainless-steel, 101/2"-barreled Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Mag., which I accepted.

After that first summer, I stayed in Alaska. For more than two decades now, I’ve carried that Super Blackhawk while hiking in the woods and while flying small aircraft throughout the state. At first, I found the long barrel to be awkward, but I’ve come to like the way it shoots and can’t imagine carrying anything else at this point. I’ve never had to use it for defense, but there have been a few times when I was glad to have it with me.

There’s nothing especially elegant about Ruger revolvers like the Super Blackhawk; they’re the kind of rugged and functional tool that you don’t usually get attached to. Yet this one has a lot of personal history. It brings back memories of those first days in Juneau and all of the good adventures that have come along since then.

—Burke Mees

Latest

Custom Rifle Build Left Melloni
Custom Rifle Build Left Melloni

Assembling A "Custom" Rifle For A Left-Out Lefty

Dissatisfied by the limited number of available long-range rifles for left-handed shooters, the author embarked on a mission to assemble his very own southpaw-friendly bolt-action rifle.

Preview: Real Avid Master Bench Block Pro-Kit

A comprehensive all-in-one kit from Real Avid, the Master Bench Block Pro-Kit improves any gun bench thanks to its smartly designed, multi-use setup.

The CMP D-Day Matches

Every year, at the CMP's Talladega Marksmanship Park, a weeklong series of matches pay homage to the men who landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

New For 2025: GForce Arms Jawbone

GForce Arms is known for selling Turkish-made firearms, but in 2025, the company is expanding its manufacturing base with the USA-made Jawbone.

Handloads: A .375 Ruger For Elk

My elk-hunting reasoning figured that the .338 Win. Mag. is a good elk cartridge, so the .375 Ruger’s heavier bullet weight and increased velocity should be even better at knocking down a big bull.

Springfield Armory’s 2025 Gear Up Promotion

Take home a new Springfield Armory Echelon, Hellcat or Hellcat Pro, and you can qualify to receive up to $320 worth of accessories ideally suited for that purchase.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.