The Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk is a six-shot single-action .44 Magnum built for handgun hunting and traditional range shooting, and it has an MSRP of $1,099. The New Model name marks a transfer bar and a loading gate interlock, so every chamber can be loaded instead of leaving one empty under the hammer.

The barrel is 7.5 inches of cold hammer-forged alloy steel in a blued finish, and the grip frame wears traditional western-style hardwood panels. The cylinder swings nowhere, so loading and unloading happen one chamber at a time through the gate. Every shot needs the hammer cocked by hand, because there is no double-action mode to fall back on. Nothing on the gun is cut for an optic.

If you're cross-shopping, the Ruger Super Redhawk has an MSRP of $1,549, works double action, carries 53.0 oz of stainless and has scope mounts machined into the barrel rib. The Taurus 44 has an MSRP of $794, weighs 52.0 oz, runs double action and is ported, behind a 6.5-inch barrel. The Super Blackhawk weighs 48.0 oz over 13.38 inches of revolver, with no double action.