RUGER 30 CARBINE!!

I’ve heard that they are very loud I’ve never owned one so that’s about all I know

74man said:

How many here have the Strum & Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Carbine and how do you like it? Have you ever had to send it back to Ruger for repair? What was the problem you had to send it back for? Even though it is a single action, what is your overall concensus of the Revolver? Just for my own interest.

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I had one for a while. It was loud, but I should have been wearing hearing protection anyway. I didn’t sometimes back in those days, and I think that 7.5” 30 Carbine did a lot of damage to my ears.
The only real problem I ever had with my Ruger Blackhawk 30 Carbine itself though was I had to run good ammo through it because the cheap stuff would leave stuck cases in the cylinder, and they were a real pain to get out. That was before I started handloading, so I don’t know how well it would have done with my own, meticulously handloaded 30 Carbine ammo. They headspace on their case mouths, you know.
The one thing I’ll always remember about the Blackhawk 30 Carbine I had is it was the revolver I pulled off what was probably the best shot with a revolver I’ll ever make in my life. We were pheasant hunting, and I was carrying that 30 Carbine revolver as a sidearm. A coyote ran across about 80 yards in front of my wife and me, I drew my revolver and put a 110 grain bullet right through the coyote’s ribs. He slowed to a walk, staggered a few steps, and then fell down dead. I never have let on that I was lucky - I’m not that good of a shot with a handgun.

Ive got one-

Very loud, but reasonably low recoil- my daughters shoot it without trouble. The big, impressive flash is always a crowd pleaser!

Ejection is a bit annoying since lining up the relatively small charge holes with the ejector rod is a trick. You will wind up smacking the cylinder face repeatedly trying to hit the hole....

Reloaded cases have to be trimmed perfectly, otherwise they won't headspace properly and can easily lock up the gun, requiring cylider removal.

Overall, its a fun range toy that can also perform hunting duties, but I wouldn't trust my life to it if I didn't have to.

My buddy had one when we were in high school. Regrettably we fired it without hearing protection quite often. It was a very cool set up for the early 1980's with a Bushnell Phantom scope. We shot a lot of jack rabbits with it and loved to shoot it at dusk for the huge fire ball. It has very little recoil and I remember it being fun. We had no problems with it.

I've got an old model. It's loud. It belonged to my father. Thanks for the reminder, I'm going to take it out in run a few rounds through it.

Man I'm glad I only fired an old 9mm once before I decided NEVER without earpro. I have left ear tinnitus as a young man and it sucks please always wash hands for lead, and wear eyes and ears to protect your senses.

Always did want a ruger 30 but the case length issue I would only want rimmed in a revolver I realized and haven't gotten any 45 acp or other rimless revolvers only rimmed for me. I hope I get to fire someone's eventually though.

It turns the already lacking .30 carbine ballistics and converts half of the energy into excessive noise and muzzle blast.

.30 carbine has also exploded in price and hovers around $1 per cartridge. A cheap plinker it is not.

If all that sounds good to you, by all means.

I've had two old models , the first I put the obligatory 2.3x Bushnell Phantom on and yes it was very good for 100+ yard shots on coyotes, they were not flukes ! That was in the late 70s thru the middle 80s and I was a reserve warrant officer at remote Hunter Liggett and tied into the "hey looky what I found" NCOs in logistics or supply , that kept me in endless ammo finds and there were a few crates of M1 Carbine ammo floating around for "disposal" . That gun was a fun gun along with my XP100 rechambered by a local gunsmith to 5.56 !! I sold that one in early 90s during the hard "recover from a divorce while kids in college" years .
Its replacement was a low number old model ANIB for a reasonable price in mid 90s . It got shot little, it just served as a test bed for my .30 carb Dillon 650 cranked out reloads for the tw Carbines I had . I did slaughter a few live stock and with 110 grain sp ammo it was exceptional if not perfect for that task from sheep to steers that were up to about 50 yards off . The .300 Black out pistols kinda replaced that niche , and hunted too. I traded it for my Mauser Straight pull 25-06 straight across about 6 or 7 years ago. I occasionally jones for one. It is one gun that needs at least a 7.5" barrel and would not work well in a shorter barrel. Ruger should have also offered it in 10", it would have been a scorcher.

ME TOO!

I have both a New Model BlackHawk in .30Carbine and it’s sibling the Single-7 in .327FedMag.

I don’t understand why everyone feels compelled to comment on the muzzle blast. I find it no more bothersome than a .357Mag with a 110 or 125gr bullet, nor a .44mag with a full power 1970’s factory load. You know! The ones that got 1,500fps from a 6-1/2” barrel. Back when 22gr of #2400 under a 255gr KT-SWC was considered max. Now it’s 18.5gr! For 1,250... Even a +P or +P+ 9mm has a nasty bark. Try shooting at the 50yd line at a regional or National match and someone is shooting one 4’ beside you!
Powerful guns are Loud!

Also, the .30’s were considered inaccurate. They were! It’s called “THREAD CHOKE” the barrels are constricted at the frame because they are screwed into the frames such as to deform the barrels. It took 1,200 full power cast bullet loads and 50 fire lapping rounds in my S7 to “iron” it out. Should send it back to Ruger as it has a “hitchey” trigger.
My .30carbine has slight thread choke, not enough to be addressed even by sending it back.
I shoot mostly cast bullets at .311”.
I did have another problem with my .30Carbine. It had the WRONG FRONT SIGHT! It had a .44mag/.45Colt front blade. Rear sight at max elevation would still shoot 10” low at 25yds. A mill file and touch up blue fixed it!
A side note is that the New Models will chamber and fire .32/20! As evidenced by a photo.


Free handed, elbows on bench at 50yds. 120gr Lyman 31108 FNGC over 10.0gr #2400.

I have one. I agree, it's loud, especially with factory ammo (meant for a carbine), but the recoil is really managable. I used to use mine for IHMSA Revolver class using 120 gr. cast bullets. Plenty accurate enough, but I left probably half of the 200m rams standing, especially if I hit 'em below midline. Both fun and disappointing to hear the "ping" and not see it fall.

My NM Blackhawk is a fine pistol, and I load it as it is a pistol, not as a rifle. I mostly use 32/20 brass, so length is not quite so critical. It isn't a real accurate gun, maybe it has this choke as spoken about. How does one check for that?

I love mine!

1969 OM received in a trade. Sat in a safe with a box of Rem 110 gr ball, unfired for 48 years.
Been fired many times since.
Loud, but no louder than any magnum handgun. The report is sharp, a crack, not a boom.
Recoil is negligible.
Load it ask a handgun, not a carbine and it is and absolute joy.
I load 115 gr powder coated LRN @ 1200 fps.
It is my 10 yo grandson's favorite gun.

Surplus Carbine ammo does have a huge fireball. Reloading makes it fun.
.32-20 or .327 Fed are comparable.

I've had nearly every caliber Blackhawk except one in 30 Carbine, it has never really interested me but I'm sure they're cool guns

I was gifted this one and about 350 rounds of ammo a year ago from a friends estate. It is well used but plenty good for a shooter.

It’s easy to check for “thread choke”.

1. Use a tight cleaning patch on a cleaning rod and slowly insert the rod noticing the resistance. You’ll notice a distinct increase in resistance in the vicinity of where the barrel is threaded into the frame.
2. Use a .310 or .311” round ball or soft lead slug and tap it down the bore. A distinct increase in resistance will occur in area of where the barrel is threaded into the frame.
Also, the ball or slug my “mike” at .308” or less. Less implies thread choke.

74man said:

How many here have the Strum & Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Carbine and how do you like it? Have you ever had to send it back to Ruger for repair? What was the problem you had to send it back for? Even though it is a single action, what is your overall concensus of the Revolver? Just for my own interest.

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I haven't owned one, but I was at the range when somebody who did fired it. Even wearing muffs and plugs and standing on the far end of the range it was like "Holy &^*!$@#@!, what was THAT?" when it went off. M1 Carbine ammo is loaded for maximum performance in a carbine barrel and touching one off in a pistol barrel results in an impressive fireball and an ungodly loud noise. Which is why I haven't owned one.

These were used as sidearms by some US personnel embedded with M1 carbine armed SVA units. Good to have ammo commonality when logistics support was sketchy.

Hi...

I have a BlackHawk in .30Carbine. Bought it last spring, IIRC.
Haven't been able to get a set if dies for it yet but have shot factory ammunition in it. Plenty accurate on steel plates out to 25yds...haven't got around to trying it at 50 or 100 yards yet.
I did not find it exceptionally loud but I was wearing electronic ear muffs. Comparable to hot loads with 125gr jacketed bullets in a .357Magnum revolver.

Mine's a Buckeye Blackhawk 10mm / 38-40. There's a 30 Carbine at the LGS that looks interesting but the diminutive nature of the 30 Carbine round causes pause. If I need a flamethrower, prolly best to purchase said flamethrower...

horsemen61 said:

I’ve heard that they are very loud I’ve never owned one so that’s about all I know

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Very loud. It's more of a nasty "crack". I fired my Grandpa's without muffs when I was 18 years old without ear protection and it caused permanent damage. My ears have been ringing ever since. Tinnitus.

Sweet shooter though. Now I wear ear protection any time I shoot. But the damage is done.

One thing I'm learning by reading thru this thread is that anything that's under .357 in bullet diameter and equal to or greater in PSI is always called "loud."

Anyway, the .30 Carbine Blackhawk has apparently always been a conundrum, as has the cartridge itself. I assume back in the 60s when the M1 Carbines were being phased out of service the ammo became surplus and cheap as that's typically what drives people to buy something that isn't a mainstream caliber (see the Tokarevs that people scooped up, shot a ton, and once ammo prices started going above 9mm prices those Toks got sold en masse) and Ruger decided at to start making Blackhawks in the chambering to offer something for people to shoot that cheap ammo.

I've never seen the .30 Blackhawks get praised for being accurate, but their trajectory for long shots must be decent considering the velocity and lighter, more aerodynamic bullets. With reloading there's likely some potential to improve the performance of the .30 Carb in the BH, but there's a definite lack of .308 sized bullets in weights under 115 grains. I'm thinking something like a Spire point could have potential, but nobody is bothering to make molds for .308 bullets meant only to be used in revolvers. Another issue with the .30 Carb is the lack of a rim requiring a taper crimp only be used; I have never found taper crimps in revolvers to aid in improving accuracy.

I've had little interest in owning a .30 BH, back before the pandemic I remember seeing used ones on gunbroker going for under $400, which is a great price for a well made gun. I'm tooled up to load .327, so there's really no want or need for a .30 Carbine revolver.

When the Single Seven is available, is a lighter, smaller gun that holds one more round, it would not surprise me to someday see Ruger discontinue the .30 Carbine Blackhawk. Its time and purpose has come and gone.

Do a search on Paul Harrell on you tube. He owns a .30 Carbine Blackhawk and His channel has several videos on it

TTv2 said:

I've never seen the .30 Blackhawks get praised for being accurate, but their trajectory for long shots must be decent considering the velocity and lighter, more aerodynamic bullets.

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I can't speak for any others, but I can hit an 8"x10" steel plate offhand at 100 yards with mine pretty regularly. Same with the .32 Single Six and .327 Blackhawk. With any of the larger caliber Blackhawks, I need to move up to 75 or 50 yards to get a similar hit ratio.

TTv2 said:

I'm tooled up to load .327, so there's really no want or need for a .30 Carbine revolver.

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I bought the .30 Carbine BH first, and then hunted down a .327 BH as I had other .32 caliber guns and no other .30 handguns, and it seems like the two cartridges are pretty similar. But as usually happens when I plan to replace one gun with another, I do good at finding the replacement but not so good at selling the old one. Oh well.

My uncle had one but I doubt he ever shot any actual .30 Carbine ammo in it. Those were reserved for his M1. For the sixgun he'd reload the brass using .32-20 load data.