The rear sight is a standard white-outlined square notch. A new, stronger firing pin, firing-pin spring and recoil shield were all part of the makeover package.

Closer inspection of the Ruger's exterior reveals more subtle improvements. The sides of the hammer have been thinned to speed up lock time and prevent rubbing against the frame. The oversize cylinder base pin is fitted with an Allen-wrench locking screw that anchors it when firing full-house loads. There is also an ingenious cartridge view port, an elongated hole in the scalloped-out left-hand recoil shield that enables the shooter to see if another cartridge has been loaded for the next shot. "We did this for years on our fast-draw competition single actions," Bill recalls.

Then there are refinements that only become apparent when shooting the gun. For example, the loading gate has been hand-textured to prevent thumb slippage when flipping it open. The cylinder gap has been tightened to 5/1000s, and the lead-ins to the cylinder notches have been hand fitted and polished to match the bolt. Thus, the Oglesby oversize bolt drops in faster and hits the notch dead center. And because my Super Blackhawk was an early gun, Bill changed its original aluminum ejector-rod housing to steel (current Super Blackhawks have steel ejector-rod housings).

Internally, the gun has been given a complete action job, using Bill's proprietary springs and parts, including an internal overtravel stop on the trigger; a new hardened cylinder bushing; custom firing pin, spring and bushing; and oversize drawn and tempered hand. In all, there were 38 individual upgrades performed on the gun. But it was the barrel that gave Bill and his crew their greatest challenge.

"I don't know what you'd been shooting in that Ruger," Bill chastised me after the gun was completed, "but it must have been some pretty hot loads along with a lot of unjacketed ammo because that bore was leaded up so bad it was undersize." As a result, he had to practically rerifle the bore, then lap and polish it, finally giving an 11-degree taper to the forcing cone on one end and a dramatic 11-degree "satellite" deep-dish crown on the other.

Because I wanted to use my Ruger for hunting, Bill replaced the sights with an easy-to-see white-outline rear notch and a matte-finish orange ramp. At my request he also tweaked the trigger to a no-creep, snap-glass 2 1/2-pound pull, although for many of his competition guns he can take the trigger down to eight ounces–much too light for a field gun.

So how does this all translate on the firing line? At his indoor range Bill's crew Ransom-Rested the Ruger, and it consistently printed one ragged hole at 50 yards. Now, I'm no Ransom Rest, but firing it with factory loads, I shot one- and two-inch groups at 25 yards--pretty commendable for a .44 Magnum with a 4 5/8-inch barrel.

My super Super Blackhawk came with a checklist detailing everything that was done to it, signed by Bill and bearing his corporate seal, stating that my $585 Ruger and all of its custom work was now valued at $2,850. But that figure doesn't even come close to the value I place on this tribute to Oglesby's skill. In fact, to paraphrase Charlton Heston, the only way anyone is ever going to get this gun away from me is to take it from my cold, dead hands.