Why square trigger guard?

[MovedWest]

I'm a Ruger Super Blackhawk fanatic. I know tons about the company and design of these particular guns and own a few. I consider them my pride and joy. But out of all of this I don't know why they have the square trigger guard?

I know the hunter is the only model with the dragoon grip and a rounded trigger guard, but aside from that the dragoon grip is associated with the square trigger guard.

I think it looks sharp, but is there any tactical or handling benefit?

-MW

 

[Virginian]

Dragoon grip means square trigger guard. Purely cosmetic, except for the few thousand people like me whose hands hate them. The prime reason why I no longer own a SBH.

 

[Curator]

Bill Ruger claimed it was to invoke the image of the Walker and Dragoon Colt revolvers. I suspect it was to mash the knuckle of my middle finger, which it did very nicely until I bought a pair of Pachmyer grips. The replacement grips keep your finger from behind the triggerguard and make shooting the SBH substantually less painful. The square-back trigger guard does look cool though!

 

[Master Blaster]

I suspect it was to mash the knuckle of my middle finger

Thats why I put a Hogue on mine, so now no one can see how cool it looks.

 

[calaverasslim]

That stupid square trigger guard is why I sold my 7.5" and bought a 5.5" model. Hated that guard but love the BH 44 mag.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

A fairly recent development in Medical science makes it possible to replace human knuckles with turkey toe joints. Bill Ruger owned a large turkey ranch.

 

[Old Fuff]

Colt's early revolvers had square back trigger guards, because it was a popular style at the time, and it was rumored that the Army’s Chief of Ordnance personally liked “the look,” and Colt was trying to make some brownie points. Recoil battering of the middle finger wasn’t an issue with black powder loads.

As has been explained, Bill Ruger duplicated the Walker/Dragoon grip and style for his “big .44,” but .44 Magnum cartridges aren’t loaded with black powder.

There are two ways to work around the problem. You can use custom stocks that position the finger below the trigger guard, or retrofit a grip frame that has a rounded trigger guard, or even a Bisley pattern that many prefer on a heavy recoiling revolver. Hopefully owners that otherwise like the revolver will find one of these solutions to be better then selling the gun.

 

[ArmedBear]

I can really see the merits of the Ruger "Bisley" (which is not a Bisley grip, but resembles Elmer Keith's "The Last Word" revolver grip design, cobbled together using SAA and Bisley grip frame parts). Old Fuff turned me on to the desirability of being able to control muzzle climb to keep groups from stringing verticallly. This is something I have experienced, along with extreme vertical differences in POI with different loads, in my Super Blackhawk 10 1/2" with the Dragoon grip.

That said, I have had no trouble with the trigger guard, and the gun is pleasant to shoot with heavy loads, all day long. It's a LOT more fun to put 50 or 100 full-house loads through it than DA .44s, though the Super Redhawk with its extra padding certainly isn't bad.

Anyway...

This is the Keith gun (the Ruger Bisley should be called the Ruger Keith or the Ruger Last Word Grip -- was Elmer perhaps too humble for that?):


This is a Colt Bisley:


This is the Colt Dragoon grip design that Bill Ruger used for the Super Blackhawk:


This is an early Super Blackhawk (note the square guard brass frame, just like the old Colt 1st and 2nd Model Dragoons, and the shape of the grip including the reverse curve at the base of the backstrap):


Current models retain the shape, though they are steel instead of brass.

 

[mstan99999]

After killing my knuckles a few times, I put a standard Blackhawk grip frame with Hogue grips on my 7.5 SBH and I get just as much of a handful and none of the knuckle dusting.
Thanks!!
Matt

 

[Virginian]

Bisleys and Polychokes are proof that, for most of us, it is not just as easy to love an ugly one.
I got rid of 3 different SBHs, and am happy now with a Vaquero 44 and a 50th Anniversary 44 Blackhawk. I owned one Polychoke equipped gun 47 years ago. We haven't missed each other.
I may yet get another SBH and get a Hunter grip frame for it.

 

[Old 112]

Actually, I kinda like Vern H's explanation.

Regards,
Old 112