Manufactured in 1959, this may be the most famous and desirable of all the Blackhawk revolvers produced by Ruger. This specific Blackhawk revolver, chambered in the venerable .44 Magnum, was the favorite hunting gun of the legendary firearms figure "Skeeter" Skelton. Charles Alan "Skeeter" Skelton (1928-1988) was an American law enforcement officer, and arguably the most prolific gun writer ever to pick up a pen. Skelton served in the United States Marine Corps, with the U.S. Border Patrol, as Sheriff of Deaf Smith County, Texas, in the DEA, and the U.S. Customs Service, before dedicating his time fully as handgun writer and editor for the firearms periodical "Shooting Times". His first handgun column in "Shooting Times" appeared in the July 1966 issue, and he would go on to author over 400 articles for the magazine, inspiring generations of shooters and outdoorsmen with poignant prose of western life and gun culture. Readers from 7 to 70 were enthralled with his stories of the adventures of his characters like Dobe Grant and Jug Johnston, and of course his childhood anecdotes from the "Me and Joe" series. It is noted in documentation about Skelton that his favored handgun cartridge was the .44 Special, so it is no surprise that he would have also had a soft spot for the .44 Magnum, a lengthened .44 Special loaded to higher pressures. The .44 Magnum was developed in 1954 during a collaboration between another shooting legend, Elmer Keith, and Smith & Wesson, who released their .44 Magnum revolver in December of 1955. Not to be outdone, Ruger began offering .44 Magnum as a chambering for their Blackhawk the following year, a revolver they had just released the prior year. The Blackhawk and its successor, the New Model Blackhawk, would go on to be one of Ruger's most prolific and successful handguns. It is no surprise that Skelton would have latched on to the .44 Magnum Blackhawk, giving him the option of shooting his old favorite .44 Special or the hotter .44 Magnum load. Out of the .44 Magnum Blackhawks produced, those with 6 1/2 inch barrels were by far the most common, while only around 2,700 were produced with the 7 1/2 inch barrel like this example, making them quite hard to find. With 7 1/2 inch barrels being Skeeter's favorite length on a revolver, he was more than happy to fork over the $50 price tag for this revolver when he spotted it in Bud Maffet's gun shop in Clovis, New Mexico in 1960. A 2019 article from "GUNS" magazine notes that this revolver was Skelton's favorite and that he wrote often about taking various game with it, preferring the weight of this revolver over the Super Blackhawk, as well as the Colt profile grip frame and rounded trigger guard. The article also notes that he made the grips for it himself, probably taking a favorite pair he had already made for a Blackhawk in .357 Magnum, and meticulously sanding them down to their current thin profile. He also polished the aluminum grip frames when the anodized finish began to wear and tuned the action to function just as he wanted. The article also shows a picture of the revolver along with the holster rig. Another article in "American Handgunner" titled "Skeeter's Last Words" also shows pictures of the revolver, including one which appears to show Skelton himself holding it. Along with the two mentioned articles, Skeeter is pictured with this revolver numerous times over the years in various periodicals and articles, often using it as a hunting gun. This revolver, along with Skeeter's enthralling writing, truly helped usher in the golden age of handgun hunting, inspiring many to test their skill in the field. After Skeeter's death in 1988, his son, Bart Skelton, a prolific firearms writer in his own right, became the custodian of this legendary revolver until his death in 2023. The revolver itself has the standard markings, including the early production serial number on the right of the frame. It is fitted with a ramped blade front sight and an adjustable Micro notch rear sight. As previously noted, the grip frame and trigger guard have been polished and the action is, very noticeably, finely tuned. It is fitted with the grips that Skeeter made himself, which are very finely figured and finely sanded to their personalized slim profile. Also included is Skeeter's tooled leather, early production, Lawrence 120F holster and a matching tooled leather cartridge belt that he is said to have had made by a friend. Provenance: Charles "Skeeter" Skelton; Bart Skelton; Property of a Gentleman

Fine, retains 70% of the original blue finish with the showing a smooth grey patina in the form of mild holster wear, typical of a gun regularly used. The aluminum grip frame polished bright by Skeeter Skelton. The grips are also fine as custom made by Skelton with a few scattered light handling marks. The finely tuned action is mechanically excellent. The holster and cartridge belt is fine with moderate wear and some age-related cracking. This is an incredible opportunity to own the favorite handgun of arguably the most prolific handgun writer ever, Skeeter Skelton!