Ruger 45 Convertable question

[glockky]

I have been thinking about getting one of the ruger 45 convertible revolvers and had a few question about them I hoped you guys could clear up for me. I am sure these questions have been asked before but in doing a search I couldn't find the answers.

What size do most of the bores slug at. I was thinking you could run into a problem with leading due to an oversized bore. I see a lot of 45 colt guns that have a .452 bore.

Was the revolver accurate with both cylinders?

Can you shoot the high powered 45 LC loads in them?

Are there any other cons that you have found with these revolvers?

 

[CraigC]

There are no issues with these guns. The bores are the same. Jacketed pills for the ACP are .451" and those for the .45Colt are .451" or .452". Not enough to make a difference.

 

[jmr40]

I had one briefly about 10 years ago. Maybe they've changed, maybe I got a lemon, but mine was unacceptly accurate with either cylinder. Especially the 45 ACP cylinder. I kept it a couple of months and sent it on down the road. I liked the gun and idea otherwise.

 

[7mmb]

Mine has been very accurate with both cylinders with loads it likes. The convertible built on the large 44 frame can handle the Ruger-only loads. Ruger has been making special runs of flat-top frame convertibles and New Vaquero convertibles and these CANNOT handle them. If you want to load the heavy 45 Colt stuff you will need the large frame version. The only cons I had was I couldn't for the life of me get a repeatable grip with the factory stocks and my accuracy with the thing suffered shooting off hand. Also with the heavy loads the trigger guard would beat me up. I fixed this by putting a Hogue grip on it. I know that is sacrilege but, hey, it's MY gun. I can repeat the same grip on it and it fills in the space between the back of the trigger guard and your hand. My off hand accuracy has improved substantially. I even shoot it better from the bench too. It made it near impossible to reach the hammer with the shooting hand without changing my grip though so I installed a Super Blackhawk hammer. The heavy stuff can cause the base pin to jump but that was easily and cheaply corrected with a Wolff base pin spring. The gun is awesome and I had to get a 357/9mm to go with it a couple of years later.

 

[Dframe]

I had one for a while. It shot quite well. After a year or so, it occurred to me I'd never used the A.C.P. cylinder. There just wasn't any need. The 45 colt did everything that could be done by the ACP. While there certainly isn't anything wrong with such a gun, the actual usefulness is limited, and there is the additional cost of an extra cylinder. I no longer own any convertable guns except for a S&W Model 53 (but THATS a whole other discussion)

 

[BemidjiDweller]

I love my Blackhawk 45ACP/LC. I had a problem when the previous owner duracoated it, caused the 45LC cylinder to bind when loaded with Hornady's. A quick send off to Ruger and they fitted the LC cylinder and a few other things. Since then, it as been 100%.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I bought this gun brand, spanky new in 1975. It is the first big bore revolver I ever bought, other than a couple of C&B revolvers. I was looking for a 45 Colt revolver. This one was in a local store. It cost $150.



I was in my twenties, and $150 was a lot of money for me back then. I had no use for the 45 ACP cylinder, only wanted to shoot 45 Colt. So I asked the store owner if I could just buy it with the 45 Colt cylinder for a little bit less money. He looked at me like the stupid kid that I was, and said, no, I had to buy the whole thing, with both cylinders. So I coughed up the 150 bucks and bought it. Never fired the 45 ACP cylinder until years later.

A convertible like this only makes sense if you have lots of relatively inexpensive 45 ACP ammo. Otherwise, just buy the gun with the 45 Colt cylinder. I would have, but it was the only one available at the time.

Yes, with the 45 Colt cylinder it is a tack driver. Have not fired the 45 ACP cylinder in years, but as I recall it shot well with that cylinder too.

No, the cylinder is not for sale.

Yes, it is a full sized Blackhawk, and it will take the stuff in the back of the loading books that is labeled 'Ruger Only'. Although personally, I have no use for that stuff. A 250 grain bullet moving at 800 fps does everything I need it to.

 

[ridgerunner1965]

i have one of the newer ones maybe a 2011 vintage.the cylinder throats are too tite for 452 cast bullets.cast is all i shoot so i cant tell you about jacketed bullets.its very accurate for the first 10 rounds or so then it starts leading starting at the forcing cone.a sure sign of tite cylinder throats.i shoot the same basic load with the same exact cast bullet in my kimber 45 acp with good results and no leading at all.a tumble lube lee 230 grain.

tite throats are common from what research ive done.you can rent a reamer to fix it yourself. just havent got around to it yet.other than that im very pleased with my blackhawk.but be warned.

the 45 acp cylinder prints high and to the right of the 45 lc cylinder.with same bullets.maybe 3 inches right and 2 inches high.i really havent messed with the acp cylinder much as of yet tho.

ive heard they are not all like this but many are.could be just my mold or loads.but it seems they do rent cylinder throat reamers for a reason. if yu shoot only jaketed bullets you may not have a problem.

 

[Bassleg]

I have one that I purchased in the early 80's and have shot it a lot with both cylinders and it is my go to gun when I go huntin anything.

 

[USSR]

After a year or so, it occurred to me I'd never used the A.C.P. cylinder. There just wasn't any need. The 45 colt did everything that could be done by the ACP.

+1. Never saw the need for a .45 ACP cylinder either. I load the .45 Colt case down to .45 ACP velocities (although with a heavier bullet) and load it up to about 1100fps. Already have a M1911, so no need to go there with a revolver.

Don

 

[osteodoc08]

I've got one and I must say, it can handle whatever load I throw at it, within recommended levels. Both cylinders are more accurate than me with the nod going to the 45LC cylinder. I'd jump at the chance to get one.

 

[CraigC]

The .45ACP will do 900fps with less powder and the shorter case allows for quicker, easier and more positive ejection. Handloading is a wash but factory ACP ammo is cheaper than .45Colt by a considerable margin. All of which is why I want to have an Old Model .357 converted to a 4" .45ACP.

 

[deanodog]

I have two and I keep the ACP cylinder in the blue one and LC cylinder in the stainless. I reamed the throats and shoot cast bullets. They both shoot as well as I can. Pictured with my Super blackhawk.

 

[glockky]

How big of a deal is it to ream the chambers?

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

The .45ACP will do 900fps with less powder and the shorter case allows for quicker, easier and more positive ejection. Handloading is a wash but factory ACP ammo is cheaper than .45Colt by a considerable margin. All of which is why I want to have an Old Model .357 converted to a 4" .45ACP.

Funny, I have an Old Model .357 that I am considering converting to 44 Special.

 

[CraigC]

I already have one of those.

 

[Bassleg]

I also have a 2" 5 shot 44 special

 

[ghitch75]

if you have a ACP gun to begin with then get the convertible....if not just get a 45C....

 

[HankR]

Mine works fine with either cylinder. I do occasionally feed it some .45 ACP, normally reloads that don't feed 100% reliably in my bottom feeder. Once I started reloading I used the .45 ACP cylinder much less, but I don't believe the price difference is significant enough to skip the "convertible" if buying a new gun.

 

[robhof]

robhof

I had a pile of reloads that didn't feed in my son's H&K 45 so I got an ACP cylinder for my BH and they all shot just fine and groups off hand were as good as the Colt loads. The throats were tight; .448 to .450 when I got it and I sent it to cylindersmith and they're all .452 now.

 

[glockky]

Is reaming the chambers that hard. I would think just taking a couple thousandths off would not be that bad.

 

[cpt-t]

glockky: I bought two RUGER 45 CAL BLACKHAWK CONVERTIBLES in 1971. A 4 1/2 & a 7 1/2 inch model. I lost the 4 1/2 inch gun except for the 45LC cylinder, still have it. The 7 1/2 BH is just an outstanding gun. I shoot mostly cast bullets, in both the 45 LC & 45 ACP cylinders. My BH will shoot the Ruger only loads without any problem what so ever but rarely ever do. About 800 to 900 fps have always been plenty for any thing I have shot with it. Full pentration on deer or hog I have shot use 250 gr RNFP in the 45 LC cylinder and 230 gr RN in the 45 ACP cylinder. My Ruger BH shoots the 45 ACP`s about an inch above the 45 LC. Off of a rest you can get a group about the size of a golf ball at 25 yds most of the time. I have never had a bore problem or a leading problem if I keep the loads below 1000 fps, I shoot more 45 LC`s than 45 ACP`s but shoot both quit a bit and cast for both. I wish I had my 4 1/2 inch BH back and my VERY GOOD FRIEND that was carrying it when it was lost. If I could help you in any other way, it would be my pleasure.
ken