The first Ruger revolver, the Ruger Single Six®, was designed in 1953. It was followed by the Blackhawk® in 1955, the Super Blackhawk in 1959, the Security Six® in 1968, the New Model Single Actions in 1973, the Redhawk® in 1979, the GP100® in 1985, the SP101® and Super Redhawk in 1988, the Bisley in 1991, the Vaquero® in 1993, the Hunter in 1999, and the Super Redhawk Alaskan® in 2005. All have Ruger’s legendary reliability and strength, and are excellent choices for all sporting purposes.

Single action revolvers are so-called because their trigger performs the single action of firing the gun after the hammer is cocked manually. They are simple, rugged, and of classic “old West” design. They are loaded and unloaded one cartridge at a time – slow, but rugged.

Double action revolvers can be fired like single actions (first cocking the hammer and then pulling the trigger) or in the double-action mode (pulling the trigger through a longer arc, which both cocks the hammer and then fires the revolver). Double Action revolvers are quicker to shoot and reload, as they have a swing out cylinder and simultaneous ejection.

Black powder revolvers predate the U.S. Civil War. They fire loose black powder and a ball via percussion caps placed on nipples on the back of the cylinder. They are used in special black powder competitions and during black powder hunting seasons.