I've shot rifles for some time, but am fairly new to handguns (only about one years experience). Could a person shoot standard store-bought magnum loads constantly in a .44 magnum Ruger Blackhawk without shooting the thing apart in a few years? I'm trying to figure out what ammunition I need to be using for practice, and if I can get away with simply using what I would hunt with.
Blackhawk Longevity
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Vern Humphrey
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You won't live long enough to shoot a Blackhawk apart.
Ben Shepherd
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Yep. Unless you load stupid, you won't hurt one if you take reasonable care of it.
easyrider604
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Not to hijack the thread but have heard similar questions asked many times before. Most replies are as vague as the question, so can somebody really give a range, in approximate number of factory loads, one can shoot through a Blackhawk before:
1. accurate declines, say from 1.5 inch groups at 25 meters, to 2.5 inches
2. the gun will need service and/or repair, and what these repairs might be
3. wear-out to the point of being unsafe, and what parts actually wear-out
1. accurate declines, say from 1.5 inch groups at 25 meters, to 2.5 inches
2. the gun will need service and/or repair, and what these repairs might be
3. wear-out to the point of being unsafe, and what parts actually wear-out
Ben Shepherd
Member
ER- My fathers SBH is about 27-28 years old. Thousands of rounds of full power magnum. No issues yet.
Jim Watson
Member
Friend of mine wore out a Blackhawk NM .45 Colt with heavy loads approaching magnum.
I don't know the round count but he shot it so much the transfer bar was pounded out too thin to transfer hammer impact and he started getting misfires. So he took it out, and ground the hammer to hit the firing pin directly and shot it a while longer. Then the forcing cone split. He looked up the price of a new barrel, transfer bar, and hammer and sent the gun to Ruger with a check. They completely overhauled the gun with more new stuff than he expected... and returned $10 change.
So I would not worry about wearing out a Ruger. It will take a lot of shooting, and can be fixed if you do.
There was one early report on a S&W M29. They said that after 20,000 rounds, about half jacketed, half cast, that the forcing cone was eroded out to a knife edge. So they had the barrel set back a turn or two, the forcing cone recut, and kept shooting.
I don't know the round count but he shot it so much the transfer bar was pounded out too thin to transfer hammer impact and he started getting misfires. So he took it out, and ground the hammer to hit the firing pin directly and shot it a while longer. Then the forcing cone split. He looked up the price of a new barrel, transfer bar, and hammer and sent the gun to Ruger with a check. They completely overhauled the gun with more new stuff than he expected... and returned $10 change.
So I would not worry about wearing out a Ruger. It will take a lot of shooting, and can be fixed if you do.
There was one early report on a S&W M29. They said that after 20,000 rounds, about half jacketed, half cast, that the forcing cone was eroded out to a knife edge. So they had the barrel set back a turn or two, the forcing cone recut, and kept shooting.
AirForceShooter
Member
Ruger charged for a repair?
That's unheard of.
Usually if you break a Ruger they fix it. No questions asked.
AFS
That's unheard of.
Usually if you break a Ruger they fix it. No questions asked.
AFS
1. accurate declines, say from 1.5 inch groups at 25 meters, to 2.5 inches
2. the gun will need service and/or repair, and what these repairs might be
3. wear-out to the point of being unsafe, and what parts actually wear-out
easyrider: I expect what loads one shoots has a great deal of effect on longevity but I wore out a blackhawk in 357, here is what I noticed:
I was shooting 125 gr JHP with a full charge of H110.
I went to somewhere around 15,000 rounds before I sent it in for re-hab. Accuracy started to suffer after 10,000...The forcing cone showed lots of wear and it began spitting (powder, I think) for the last 1,000 or so.
The gunsmith said it need a new barrel, timing work, build up and re-harden some metal on the frame behind the cylinder (I think that is what I heard). If I had been shooting heavy hardcast at a more sedate velocity it would probably still be going. As it was, it took me 20 years to wear it out...I like the load, so I am going to keep shooting it...doubt I will get the rebuild worn out before my shooting days are over. FWIW, dvnv
2. the gun will need service and/or repair, and what these repairs might be
3. wear-out to the point of being unsafe, and what parts actually wear-out
easyrider: I expect what loads one shoots has a great deal of effect on longevity but I wore out a blackhawk in 357, here is what I noticed:
I was shooting 125 gr JHP with a full charge of H110.
I went to somewhere around 15,000 rounds before I sent it in for re-hab. Accuracy started to suffer after 10,000...The forcing cone showed lots of wear and it began spitting (powder, I think) for the last 1,000 or so.
The gunsmith said it need a new barrel, timing work, build up and re-harden some metal on the frame behind the cylinder (I think that is what I heard). If I had been shooting heavy hardcast at a more sedate velocity it would probably still be going. As it was, it took me 20 years to wear it out...I like the load, so I am going to keep shooting it...doubt I will get the rebuild worn out before my shooting days are over. FWIW, dvnv
LeonCarr
Member
With factory loads, you have a better chance of finding Jimmy Hoffa and Amelia Earhart having lunch together than you would wearing out a Blackhawk/Super Blackhawk in your lifetime.
I knew a guy once upon a time with a .44 SBH who loaded stupid (so stupid I would not shoot his ammo, and I will shoot anything
), and he still got about 15,000 rounds out of it before having to send it to the factory for new barrel and a general tightening up. His loads were so hot that the primers were flowing into the firing pin hole.
Just my .02,
LeonCarr
I knew a guy once upon a time with a .44 SBH who loaded stupid (so stupid I would not shoot his ammo, and I will shoot anything
), and he still got about 15,000 rounds out of it before having to send it to the factory for new barrel and a general tightening up. His loads were so hot that the primers were flowing into the firing pin hole.Just my .02,
LeonCarr
IF you don't use insanely hot loads (as in hotter than a thermo-nuclear device detonation), your great-grandkids MIGHT be sending it in for a tune-up.
Oldest brother has one of the "3-Screw Old Model" .357's he bought sometime in the late-60's...still puts the lead where he points. Granted, he only uses the standard Rem 158-Gr SJHP or SJSP, but it is still going strong. Sometimes, just for grins, he will shoot some of those super-light .38Spl 148-gr target/wadcutter loads, particularly with new/relatively inexperienced shooters.
As far as I know, he has never shot any of the Hammerheads/buffalo bore, etc super-blaster rounds in it.
Oldest brother has one of the "3-Screw Old Model" .357's he bought sometime in the late-60's...still puts the lead where he points. Granted, he only uses the standard Rem 158-Gr SJHP or SJSP, but it is still going strong. Sometimes, just for grins, he will shoot some of those super-light .38Spl 148-gr target/wadcutter loads, particularly with new/relatively inexperienced shooters.
As far as I know, he has never shot any of the Hammerheads/buffalo bore, etc super-blaster rounds in it.
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easyrider604
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dvnv, 125 grain bullets loaded to max will definitely take its toll. I was expecting more longevity than 15,000 rounds from a 357 BH. I guess my 357 BH will only see 158 LSWC medium loaded from now on.
44mag, firearms longevity really depends on what your feed it. I bought my GP100 and BH intending to use full magnum loads either 125 or 158 grain but will now stick to downloaded 158 grain LSWC or RN. Read in this forum that 125 grain bullets are too short, causing the flame erosion of throats and cutting of top straps. Have fun with your BH!
44mag, firearms longevity really depends on what your feed it. I bought my GP100 and BH intending to use full magnum loads either 125 or 158 grain but will now stick to downloaded 158 grain LSWC or RN. Read in this forum that 125 grain bullets are too short, causing the flame erosion of throats and cutting of top straps. Have fun with your BH!
Beagle-zebub
Member
Someone with actual knowledge on this should supplement my statement, but my understanding is that even full-power 158gr. loads don't abuse the forcing cone--this makes sense, as the cartridge was designed to shoot that bullet weight, IIRC. You can ravage a .357 maximum with 125gr. bullets, too, but can push 158gr. bullets to the same power level and do so without the ill effects on the revolver.
That it took 10,000 12.5gr. .357 loads to wear at the forcing cone of a Blackhawk is a testament to its strength. A few hundred rounds of the same ammo would wreck the forcing cone of a Smith 19.
I don't know of other cartridges that have that issue, or at least ones that the Blackhawk is chambered for. Actually beating them to death is unheard-of.
That it took 10,000 12.5gr. .357 loads to wear at the forcing cone of a Blackhawk is a testament to its strength. A few hundred rounds of the same ammo would wreck the forcing cone of a Smith 19.
I don't know of other cartridges that have that issue, or at least ones that the Blackhawk is chambered for. Actually beating them to death is unheard-of.
MagnumDweeb
Member
As a grandson (I'm only 24) of a man who now owns the Blackhawk 7.5" he shot for twenty years, the Blackhawk has a heck of a lifespan. Granted my grandfather normally only shot .44 spcl out of the gun but that was for more than twenty years (he was a lawyer who wrote a will for a friends who paid him with one of his Blackhawks). I've been shooting .44 Magnum out of it since I was 15 (only got it when I was 20 when he passed after my Uncle held onto it for me till I was 21).
I would be willing to bet a lot of money that you could buy a new Blackhawk today, shoot a box of 50 Magnums in it every single day for the next 100 years, and still hand it down to your grandson. (assuming proper maintenance of course)
jjohnson
Member
Not in Your Lifetime.
No, shooting even the top end factory .44 mag loads every day throughout a human's natural lifetime would wear out the Ruger. I'd bet my retirement that you would wear out long, long before the Ruger would.
It was built to take a great deal of workload for a long time by people who knew how to manufacture well a design that was over-engineered, if there is such a thing.
And if you should somehow be able to accomplish wearing one out - just use the lifetime warranty. Look at it as an investment. You will only need to buy one.
No, shooting even the top end factory .44 mag loads every day throughout a human's natural lifetime would wear out the Ruger. I'd bet my retirement that you would wear out long, long before the Ruger would.
It was built to take a great deal of workload for a long time by people who knew how to manufacture well a design that was over-engineered, if there is such a thing.And if you should somehow be able to accomplish wearing one out - just use the lifetime warranty. Look at it as an investment. You will only need to buy one.
Redbeard55
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I purchased my 357 Blackhawk in 1976. It has probably shot 100,000+ rounds. I did snap the transfer bar. Placed a call to Ruger and they shipped out a new transfer bar. The replacement is simple enough for anyone with a little skill to perform. I've shot mostly 38s out of my 357. Much more pleasant to shoot. I often sit down and fire 500 38 Specials in an afternoon. I don't know anybody that would shoot 500 full power magnum loads in an afternoon. If they would, they are certainly much younger than I am. As I get older I simply can't take the pounding. My 357 is getting a little loose, but not enough to send back to the factory. If I need more power than the 357 I move up to 45 Colt or low to mid range 44s. If I need more power than that, I move up to the 480 Ruger. As a reloader, I prefer to stay away from the upper end of any caliber. This minimizes errors, reduces costs and is easier on my aging body.
easyrider604
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Redbeard, after how many rounds did you snap the transfer bar? tnx
Redbeard55
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EasyRider:
The transfer bar broke around 95,000+ rounds. I don't keep an exact count, but I know more or less how many rounds I load per year.
The transfer bar broke around 95,000+ rounds. I don't keep an exact count, but I know more or less how many rounds I load per year.
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