Dave Markowitz
Member
I picked up this 6.5" Blackhawk convertible .357/9mm on Tuesday. It was made in 1976 and has the "MADE IN THE 200TH YEAR OF AMERICAN LIBERTY" rollmark on the barrel.
Last night I went with RON in PA to the indoor range at Lower Providen Rod & Gun Club to give it a try. Along with the gun I brought some Winchester white box .38 Special 150 grain LRN loads, and a box of Sellier & Bellot 9mm 115 FMJs. Unfortunately, range rule prohibit shooting magnums on the indoor range, so I couldn't try any .357s.
Targets were 10" paper plates at 30 feet. I put 3" Birchwood-Casey orange dot in the center of each plate. I shot the .38s first. Shooting offhand I was able to keep all my shots (except for the occasional flyer) inside 3". Most shots went into 2" to 2.5". For me that's good.
I then tried about 15 of the 9mms. These impacted about 4" lower than the .38s, due to the lighter bullet at higher velocity which has much less barrel time. Group size was about the same as the .38s.
Recoil with the .38s was not much more than shooting a .22, although it was louder than a .22. The 9mms had noticeably more recoil but it was still very mild. The 9mms were quite a bit louder and had more flash, largely at the barrel/cylinder gap.
I'm really looking forward to shooting it outside with some .357s, hopefully next week.
Last night I went with RON in PA to the indoor range at Lower Providen Rod & Gun Club to give it a try. Along with the gun I brought some Winchester white box .38 Special 150 grain LRN loads, and a box of Sellier & Bellot 9mm 115 FMJs. Unfortunately, range rule prohibit shooting magnums on the indoor range, so I couldn't try any .357s.
Targets were 10" paper plates at 30 feet. I put 3" Birchwood-Casey orange dot in the center of each plate. I shot the .38s first. Shooting offhand I was able to keep all my shots (except for the occasional flyer) inside 3". Most shots went into 2" to 2.5". For me that's good.
I then tried about 15 of the 9mms. These impacted about 4" lower than the .38s, due to the lighter bullet at higher velocity which has much less barrel time. Group size was about the same as the .38s.
Recoil with the .38s was not much more than shooting a .22, although it was louder than a .22. The 9mms had noticeably more recoil but it was still very mild. The 9mms were quite a bit louder and had more flash, largely at the barrel/cylinder gap.
I'm really looking forward to shooting it outside with some .357s, hopefully next week.
