Got some time in on the Blackhawk convertable today

[ECVMatt]

My dad passed away a few years ago and I have been slowly going through his guns and checking them out. Recently I started shooting his Blackhawk that we picked up about 30 years ago. It is a .357/9mm convertible with a 4 5/8th in barrel. I was trying to work up a load for it and started to get some misfires. I sent it off to Ruger and they had it back to me in less that 10 days. It seems it needed a new transfer bar. I now have a couple of those in the parts bin.

It was pretty cold and windy today so I was mostly shooting for fun. I shot these three groups on the same target for perspective.

I started with my normal load using a158 grain XTP over a max load of H110. This shot pretty will at 25 yards and the group was was about 3 inches in diameter.

Using the same hold I fired a cylinder of 9MM 115 ball ammo. It shot about 5 inches low and into a group of about 6 inches. This could definitely be used in a pinch, but I think the 9MM will be reserved for back up. I will keep testing other loads to see if I can improve this.

Lastly I shot a group with using 180 grain XTP bullets and a mostly full dose of H110. I have been using this load more and more in my .357's as it is very powerful for the cartridge, but easier on the ears and not as "Blasty" as the 125's or the 158's. Interestingly this load shot the best with a group of about 2 inches and much closer to the 9MM grouping. I think if I was going to be more serious about using the 9MM cylinder, this would be the load that I would use in the gun for the .357.

Overall it was a great day in the desert, even with the cold and the wind. If the wind dies down tomorrow, I might give it another go and see if I can shrink the group sizes down a bit.

All in all I am very impressed with this Ruger and happy to get some of my dad's guns back into action.

 

[ontarget]

Very cool to be able to take a piece of your dad out to the range with you. Sweet looking BH. Nice shooting too.

 

[Milt1]

Lastly I shot a group with using 180 grain XTP bullets and a mostly full dose of H110

Can you be more specific with the 110 load? Thanks!

 

[skfullen]

Nice!

 

[Grizzly2]

Good looking revolver and a wonderful keepsake. I see he put a SBH hammer on it. Nice touch. I have one on my 4 5/8 .45 Colt. Years ago I had the .45 convertible in 4 5/8" and strangely the ACP cylinder was more accurate for me. I regret having traded it years ago and not keeping the 45 ACP cylinder to have fitted to this one. Pretty handy to have.

You might also try some 147s in the 9mm cylinder. They may hit very close to the 158s.

 

[35 Whelen]

That's a beautiful revolver and some excellent shooting!

35W

 

[bannockburn]

ECVMatt

Sorry to hear about the loss of your Dad. It's nice that you have a gun of his that you can remember him by while using it. And it's a fine looking Blackhawk at that! I especially like the 4 5/8" barrel and the stag grips. You've also got the makings of some decent groups there and a scenic place to do it at!

 

[Armored farmer]

Good shooting and good reloading too.
Thats a fine looking BH with fair amount of character. I like the grips, and the fact that its a 9mm convertible makes it even better.
(I would have a hard time returning that one to the safe)

A fine keepsake from your dad.

 

[walnut1704]

I found the throats were exactly the same (.3575) on both cylinders with my (much newer) Blackhawk Convertible. That and the bore diameter being a bit large is not conducive to superb accuracy with 9mm. Mine shoots 9mm ball about like yours. Not bad really, considering.

I did ream the throats out to a full .358 on both cylinders. I've fooled around a good bit with the 9mm cylinder and loaded 150gr SWC sized .358 and it shoots as well as the .38. Not sure why anybody would bother unless you just flat did not have any .38 brass. Or you like the full extraction of the shorter 9mm case in the single action.

I did have some chambering issues, due no doubt to the fatter bullet in the 9mm chamber but Remington brass worked best as it seems to be a bit thinner than most. But all-in-all the 9mm cylinder has limited practicality, but they are fun to fool around with.

 

[Clipper67]

My Blackhawk has a longer barrel, but it's still a favorite..my first ,357, back in the early 80's..Glad that you have your dad's Blackhawk, they really deserve a family heritage. I don't shoot 9's in mine, that cylinder sits on my bench as a Plunk test for 9 MM..

 

[kBob]

WishIda never traded off my .357/9mm pervertable Blackhawk! Had the Garand Bug bad at the time and traded the Blackhawk AND a Colt conversion unit with three mags for one of the first Blue Sky Korean Garands..... ok we did not have the internet except GEnie at the time and I did not know. Eventually traded that wood stocked boat anchor for a nice '03A3 and some cash. Still miss the Blackhawk and conversion unit.

I especially enjoyed shooting the Blackhawk in .357 Magnum at 100 to 200 yards. The 9mm cyclinder calmed my little lower case s survivalist soul like a few extra six gallon buckets of grain over in the corner. It was not as accurate as the .357...but beat nothing all to heck. I pronounced it to one and all as great with the .357 and good enough with the 9x19mm.

I love the OPs grips and the fact it is an heirloom.

-kBob

 

[Tallball]

Nice revolver!

Mine didn't come with a 9mm cylinder, but I bought one off of Ebay and it happens to fit just fine.

I haven't used both cylinders back-to-back for a while, but the couple of times I did that, the 9mm's and the 38's gave me about the same accuracy.

The 9mm may have shot a little lower, or I could be misremembering.

Ruger Blackhawk 357 Magnum

• Tallball
• Jul 30, 2018

 

[ECVMatt]

Thanks for all the kind comments about my dad, he was the man for sure. He was the Chief Lifeguard for LA County, helped professionalize the Baywatch program (the boats not the TV show), was one of the first licensed dive instructors in our area, and the best father a boy could hope to have! Growing up with him provided a childhood of constant adventure. As much as I miss him, I know he is in a better place and shooting the guns that we bought together brings me joy.

The load I am using for the 180 XTP is the starting load from the Hodgdon manual. I use 13 grains of H110. It gives me about 1200 - 1275 FPS as an average depending upon which gun I am shooting it out of. I am liking this load more and more for accuracy and being a well rounded field load for the local mountains and desert areas.

I am going to head out tomorrow and play with some .38 Spl's and the 9MM again. I am definitely moving this one from the back of the safe and into the rotation. I am interested in the 9MM cylinder, but only with factory ammo as I don't reload for it and probably won't start anytime soon.

Have a great afternoon.

 

[murf]

180 grain lead @ 1200 fps is all i feed my two blackhawks these days; no ear ringing, extremely accurate, doesn't lead the barrels. glad you moved it to the front of the rotation.

enjoy that fine looking wheel gun,

murf

 

[Riomouse911]

Very nice day, great groups, one fantastic revolver from a Dad with an amazing story.

You can’t do much better than that .

Stay safe.

 

[PapaG]

Here is a story about the dumbest trade in history (aside from Brock-Broglio). When the 357/9 convertible came out I traded a nice 6" Python forthe Ruger with a 6 1 /2" barrel. Within weeks the almost free surplus 9 ammo dried up. I did shoot one deer with the 357. Don't know why I got rid of it. I had another one a couple years ago, NIB from the 70s but let a buddy talk me out of it. I'll always keep my dad's stainless 1976 Blackhawk 357 and it shoots just fine with 148 hbwc on through the heaviest stuff a sane person would put together. (Not my only dumb trade)

 

[skfullen]

I have a convertible in .45/.45acp, and HAD one in .357/9mm. What a dope...
I wish I could find another!

 

[walnut1704]

Back in the 70's I had a stainless Blackhawk that I really liked. I always wanted a stainless convertible. These were very rare (and pricey) until a few years ago when they came back as somebody's "distributor special". I ran into one in a gun shop and bought it. Paid a bit too much but I don't care. Still, I mostly shoot .38 out of it.

20171129_092115

• walnut1704
• Sep 20, 2018

 

[ThomasT]

Like several others I had the short barrel convertable and stupidly sold it. At the time I thought the gun was too big and heavy for the 357/9mm round. Now I see the wisdom of owning one of them. And I shoot 38/357 the most in my handguns. The 32 long and 32 mag are my next favorite rounds to shoot.

I shot more 9mm out of mine than I did 38/357. I actually loaded the 9mm case with a 124gr lead bullet and a 3gr charge of Bullseye and it was accurate enough to shoot the turtles in my buds pond. And its about 40 yards across. Any turtle that stuck his head out of the water was in great danger.

 

[ECVMatt]

Like several others I had the short barrel convertable and stupidly sold it. At the time I thought the gun was too big and heavy for the 357/9mm round. Now I see the wisdom of owning one of them. And I shoot 38/357 the most in my handguns. The 32 long and 32 mag are my next favorite rounds to shoot.

I shot more 9mm out of mine than I did 38/357. I actually loaded the 9mm case with a 124gr lead bullet and a 3gr charge of Bullseye and it was accurate enough to shoot the turtles in my buds pond. And its about 40 yards across. Any turtle that stuck his head out of the water was in great danger.

I miss a lot of things about Texas, but turtle shooting is on the top of the list! I don't load for 9MM right now, but that might change for a lot of reasons. You used to find 9MM brass all over the desert, now there is nary a piece.

 

[ThomasT]

I counted up my brass a couple of weeks ago by weight. I should have around 3200 pieces not counting another thousand or so I have loaded up. I have a couple of new 9mm pistols and decided I'm going to do a better job of saving my brass. I bought a couple of cheap 8x10 tarps from Harbor Freight and I will stake those down like we used to do at the Falling Plate Matches so you can find your brass.

And if we don't keep the turtles thinned down I think in 6 months you could walk from one side of the pond to the other without ever getting your feet wet. I have no idea where they all come from.

 

[1KPerDay]

Handsome hogleg. I've wanted one of those for a long time. The prettiest barrel length also, IMO. I have been curious about POI with the 9mm cylinder so this post is very helpful. Thanks!

 

[walnut1704]

Handsome hogleg. I've wanted one of those for a long time. The prettiest barrel length also, IMO. I have been curious about POI with the 9mm cylinder so this post is very helpful. Thanks!

To be fair the OP had a 158gr .357 vs a 115gr 9mm. Use a 147gr in the 9mm and the POI would probably be a lot closer.