I need (want) a single action revolver

[tbtrout]

I am looking for my first single action and I am leaning towards a Ruger Blackhawk. No particular use for it other than to shoot it. Any suggestions, experiences or dislikes? I have no preference in caliber or barrel length at this point. I already load for .357 and .44 mag. The 45 colt is an option but I do not know if I want a new caliber to load for.

 

[Colt46]

If you handload a .45 BlackHawk is heaven

What handloaders have done to give the .45 Colt new lease on life is impressive. It really begs for heavyweight cast bullets. Start with the RCBS 270 SAA bullets and work your way on up. Maximum efficiency per John Linebaugh is a 350 grain cast bullet.
A heavy bullet at moderate velocity is amazing at how well it maintains velocity, and accuracy at long range.

 

[Father Knows Best]

The .45 Colt doesn't give you anything you can't do with a .44 Magnum, so my recommendation would be to stick with the .44 mag. The Blackhawk is an excellent choice. You won't be disappointed.

 

[bakert]

Although I love my BH in .45 Colt and have a Super in .44 Mag, Nothing at all wrong with the .357, which I think might be the most versatile caliber anyway. Saving my nickles and dimes right now to get one.

 

[MCgunner]

The .45 Colt doesn't give you anything you can't do with a .44 Magnum, so my recommendation would be to stick with the .44 mag. The Blackhawk is an excellent choice. You won't be disappointed.

Similar ballistics at lower pressures or slightly superior ballistics at close pressures. But, yeah, effectively they're interchangable as far as uses go. However, IMHO, a .45 Colt owner needs to be a reloader and a reloader needs a .45 Colt to reload for. The two are just like peas in a pod! And, casting for the big Colt round is very rewarding. The things are bloomin' ACCURATE! Now, just to be different, I'd like a .41 mag. I don't have a .44.

Oh, and you can hot rod the .357 beyond what it can do in lesser guns, too. The .357 is not a challenge for the ultra strong blackhawk. I've already got one of those.

 

[Jim March]

As of 2005, there are really two entire categories of "Blackhawk".

Since 1973 all "Blackhawks" and "SuperBlackHawks" have been built on the same 44Mag-class frame.

Except for one: the 50th Anniversary 357Mag Blackhawk ("Flattop").

This piece is really special. It reverted to the pre-'73 "mid frame" size, very similar in proportion and feel to the Colt SAA. If you have one re-chambered in 45LC, it would NOT be able to take the "45LC+P Ruger ONLY!!!" monster loads by Bufallo Bore and others.

So why consider it?

Because when Ruger designed this new mid-size frame, they did a really excellent job. For one thing, with the loading gate open, it will "click" each time a cylinder bore is lined up to recieve a round. The large-frame guns don't do that, they "click" when the cylinder is halfway between in the gate.

Better yet: the mid-frame cylinders are bored one cylinder bore at a time using a single drill bit sequentially on each bore. The large-frame guns are bored six-at-a-time and there is sometimes enough variance in cylinder bore and throat dimensions between bores to affect accuracy. The process used to make the mid-frame cylinders eliminates this possibility, and since it's easier to check a single drill bit once in a while, we're seeing much better cylinder quality.

The barrel/cylinder gaps are running medium-to-tight (.002" to .004" usually) on the mid-frames and all other fit and finish issues seem to be good to excellent. I think these are the best guns Ruger has made in a long time.

The 50th 357 is the only adjustable-sight mid-frame Ruger. The Ruger "New Vaqueros" are fixed-sight mid-frames...so my New Vaquero in 357 is the same gun as the 50th 357 Blackhawk but with fixed sights...which on my gun have been improved after the fact with a dovetailed windage-adjustable front on a custom base and a hogged-out rear channel to match. I did the sight mods out of personal preference, NOT because they were off from the factory - they weren't.

Re-chambering: the new mid-frame guns are believed to be strong enough to take the 41Mag or 10mm. I know of re-chamberings to 41Mag so far with no problems. The 44Spl is also a popular big-bore mod with these. In 45LC they work fine as long as you stick with loads that can be fed into a Colt SAA of modern manufacture - figure a 255gr hardcast at about 1,000fps, or a 200gr jacketed at 1,100. 270 hardcast at 1,000 is pushing it but doable with careful handloading. The Ruger mid-frame is likely just a hair stronger than a 2nd/3rd gen Colt SAA or the various Italian clones.

Parts interchange: a lot of pieces from the Ruger larger-frame series bolt onto the mid-frames. My New Vaq sports a SuperBlackHawk hammer. I could also switch grip frames to anything that will fit the larger-framed guns, with a bit of tweaking: you have to also swap mainspring, mainspring strut and "keeper". I'm considering lightening my gun with an aluminum grip frame and ejector rod housing from a standard post-73 Blackhawk. Cylinders on the mid-frame are shorter and hence base pins are different too. Belt Mountain has replacement oversize pins for the mid-frame guns.

If you can live within these limits, which includes all factory 357Mag ammo out there in that caliber, the new mid-frame Rugers *rock*.

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Whatever Ruger you get, you'll get a transfer-bar safety. Highly recommended for both safety and six-up carry. You should also consider either swapping the base pin cross-latch spring so the base pin can't possibly jump loose under recoil, or use the set-screw feature on a Belt Mountain pin ($25 or so) to solve this issue that way. The cross-latch spring is just a few bucks, or comes free with any spring kit (less than $20). Letting the base pin jump is about the only way to hurt a Ruger and in my opinion it's so cheap to eliminate that it's worth doing. Others say "don't fix if it ain't broke"...

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There is also a 50th anniversary 44Mag "flattop" Blackhawk. It's a good gun but is built on the larger frame...

 

[ranger53]

Believe me, you want a BH in 45 colt! I've got one and I love it It has a 7.5 " barrel. You can reload for itfrom mild to OMG loads. AND SAY UP TO 50 YDS,AT LEAST FOR ME, it will do anything a 44 will do. You will want to put a set of hogue grips on it. I use 25.5 gr of Lil Gun with a 240 gr. XTP. I'm shooting 1" groups with mine at 30 yds. with no scope! Oh yeah you need one.I just picked up a new BH in 357 mag. yesterday with a 6.5" barrel.
tommy

 

[Tom C.]

If you want a Blackhawk, you want to think about what you want to do with it before picking a caliber.
I like the .45 Colt. I like being able to load heavy bullets at significant velocity. I also like the option of a .45 ACP cylinder to use inexpensive mil ball.
The .44 is a power house. CAS is responsible for many milder loads being available, or you can load it milder. Most factory loads are full power.
The .357 is one to get for inexpensive shooting. Ammo and components are less expensive than the bigger bores. The full size Blackhawk is oversize for the .357, but if you can find a 50th Anniversary Blackhawk, they are the mid size from the ‘50s. They also seem to be made better than the standard Blackhawks. I have large hands and prefer the larger grip of the standard Blackhawks. I got a pair of the 50th Anniversary guns for my wife for CAS. They fit her fine.

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

if you want a new caliber go with the .45 colt. If you want to stick with calibers you already load you can't go wrong with a .44 mag

 

[Ala Dan]

The only handgun in my single-action stable is a brand NIB Ruger 50th
Anniversary .357 Blackhawk. I chose it over other caliber's, because I
also did not want another caliber too load for; and because I really
like the smaller (older style) grip. Another plus, is the fact that it has
fully adjustable sights; which I need for these ole' eyes~!

 

[Checkman]

What Ala Dan said. Only I've shot my 50th anniversay Blackhawk.

 

[highlander 5]

+10000 for the 45 Colt i have 2 a Bisley and a SS Blackhawk with the Bisley grip frame,trigger and hammer. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Bisley version as the grip frame is much more comfortable to shoot especially with heavy loads BUT they come in 1 barrel length,7.5" and blued.You can do as i did and have the grip frame ,trigger and hammer fitted by a gunsmith
cost $125-$150. Just had a 44 mag SBH 4 5/8 mag na ported and had the above parts fitted cost was $240 and BTW the porting works very well.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I have an "old model" .45 convertible (interchangeable .45 Colt and .45 Auto cylinders) made in 1972. I would only part with it for an outrageous amount of money. But, if you can find one of these, or a New Model in the same caliber, you can do most of your shooting with the .45 Auto. Just a thought.

 

[OH25shooter]

I was in the same boat a few years ago. I wanted a SA revolver. I bought a new model Ruger Blackhawk 38/357. I chose that caliber because the 38 round could be used for target shooting and the 357 round for medium size game hunting. Many times I've thought about trading it away. As early as today. But, for some reason I'm having a hard time. The Ruger SA is classic. Built tough and looks kinda neat as well. Plus the neat sound of the 'clicking' when you rotate the cylinder. Can't find that in an automatic. It's a tough call. I would ask yourself, exactly what will I use this gun for? Maybe you have a partial answer, in that, you already load the 357 round. That's a big plus.

 

[Lobotomy Boy]

You do not want a single-action revolver; you most definitely need one. I have no logical reason for saying this, but once you buy one, you will understand why I said it.

I don't think anyone would argue with the choice of the Blackhawk. I'm sure other examples are perfectly fine, but no gun beats the quality and convenience of the Blackhawk, even those that cost much more, and the transfer-bar safety is indispensible, especially if you use the gun for big-game hunting.

If you already load for .44 Magnum, that would be the most practical choice. You can load hot rounds for hunting everything, including bear, and you can load light loads for target practice. The other calibers are fine, but to me this seems the most versatile and economical option.

 

[tbtrout]

Thanks for the responses, I am going to do some gun fondling this afternoon. As it turns out the kids have a birthday party to go to right down he street fron a gun shop. It is almost manifest destiny in the making. I still have to go to the Police Station to pick up my permit aplication, but that is what tomorrow is for.

 

[critter]

Good responses from the experienced here. I can only add to the mix. I have a Ruger Blackhawk (Bisley) in .45 Colt. VERY accurate gun. AND you can load anything from 'cowboy' plinking type loads all the way up to loads with which you can feel safe hunting 'big bite-back game' with.

I would also recommend the Bisley type grip if you have any idea of using the Ruger-only type loads. They are far-and-away the most comfortable configurations for the kickers.

Good luck and have a BLAST!

 

[Greek]

I have the Ruger 50th Anniversary .357 which is quite accurate and fun to shoot.
Then I have the 50th Anniversary Single Six with both the .22LR and .22 Mag cylinders. That one has fixed sights and is not very accurate (although it could be me or the ammo I use... ).

 

[peacemaker45]

Beware of single actions. I bought a Super Blackhawk a few years ago just because it was .44 mag, and $300. No other reasons. It has since progressed to the point that I have 7 single actions, and am an avid cowboy shooter. As for the caliber, if you're wanting to hunt, look at a long barreled .44 Mag. If you have an eye towards cowboy shooting, then you probably want a short barreled .38/.357. The fixed sight guns are more versatile for cowboying, the adjustable versions for load tinkering and hunting.

As for the .45 Colt, I only ask; Why? What can the old warhorse do that a .44 Mag can't do better? Depending on what you want to do, the .44s can use Russian (I want to chase the gamers in SASS, but am too cheap to switch calibers), Special (most midrange work), or Magnum (for when there is something large, hairy, and toothy out there that wants a piece of my A$$) cases.

YMMV