reloading for 357 blackhawk

[kart racer]

Has anyone tried loading 38 super .356 124 gr jacketed bullets for the 9mm conversion in a blackhawk?I have some .356 diameter tc and wondered if they would be any more accurate out of the blackhawk since it's a 357.I was gonna try them,but wanted to make sure it'd be safe to do it.

 

[hoghunting]

I used to own the Blackhawk convertible that had the 38/357 and 9mm cylinders. The one time I used 9mm cylinder with 9mm ammo, the bullet drop was so great that I didn't have enough elevation in the rear sight to come close to the target. The shots that hit the backer board were spread out so much that I didn't measure. They definitely were not accurate. They were .356 also.

 

[dodge]

I agree with hoghunting. I currently own a Blackhawk 4 5/8" in the 357/9mm and with the 9mm cylinder in it, it's not a very accurate handgun. Mine isn't as bad as his but still not as accurate as using 38/357 ammo. I think that it's a combitation of undersized bullets and the long jump the bullet has to make before it hits the rifling in the barrel.

 

[ChristopherG]

I have some .356 diameter tc and wondered if they would be any more accurate out of the blackhawk since it's a 357.I was gonna try them,but wanted to make sure it'd be safe to do it.

More accurate than what? Than .355 bullets? Maybe. Than .357-.358 bullets? Doubtful. The barrel's got to be big enough to accomodate the largest bullets it's going to have shoved through it, and anything undersized is likely to be a bit screwy. I expect you could load those .356 tc's in .38, or even .357 brass and make a load that's accurate enough for tin cans at 10 paces, but if you want maximum accuracy it's probably gonna be a bullet made for the .38/.357.