Ruger had always been a fan of single-action revolvers. was ready to take the next step and add another product to the line. 22 Standard Pistol that had been introduced the previous year. In 1950 Bill Ruger’s gun company was on its way to becoming a major player in the industry, thanks to the success of his. The Flattop models tend to command the highest values on the collector's market.There were a number of Blackhawk variants developed, including the Super Blackhawk, Flattop Blackhawk and the New Model series, along with a number of different caliber options.44 Magnum revolvers, Ruger with an updated Blackhawk and S&W with the. 44 Magnum was underway, both Ruger and S&W strove to introduce the first. Introduced in 1955, the Blackhawk was Ruger's first centerfire revolver, and it's still produced more than 70 years later.What makes the Ruger Blackhawk a popular revolver, both in terms of current production and as a collector's piece? In the 1950s, Ruger introduced the venerable Blackhawk revolver, which remains both a desirable collector piece and a popular current-production gun.