Ruger blackhawk .30 carbine

[dirty dave]

Would like ask about the Ruger blackhawk .30 carbine revolver.Wanting to know from those of you who own and shoot them.What seems to be the best factory ammo that shoots good and ejects out with no problems.

 

[MICHAEL T]

All I have ever heard about them is how loud they are. Hurt the ears loud.

 

[Sam1911]

I have had one for years. Can't recall the last time I ran factory ammo through it, but I don't remember any problems ejecting.

Favorite loads for me are a 125 gr. flat-nosed hollowpoint that Sierra makes, over ?? gr. of H110.

Have you tried some factory ammo that didn't work well? Otherwise, these days I'd shoot whatever I could FIND in stock.

Great gun. A bit of muzzle blast, but nothing ridiculous.

 

[Old Shooter]

A friend of mine had one for a while, I don't believe he ever had any problems with it and he shot it quite a bit, but that sucker was LOUD!

I shot my six rounds thru it and then handed it back to him and said "nice gun" and let it go at that.

 

[X-Rap]

Yes very painful if shot without protection, its the only gun I really wouldn't use to hunt with unless I was in a blind so I could wear muffs.
Plenty accurate but I don't shoot factory ammo, sorry.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I compared a 30 carbine to my 357 maximum recently. The 30 carbine is louder then the max. I always remembered my 30 carbine SBH was the loudest gun I ever fired. I am now convinced of that.

Love the gun though. I have often thought about buying another.

 

[alsaqr]

I have a .30 carbine Blackhawk with a 5.5" barrel. Have never had any ejection problems at all. All of my .30 carbine ammo is handloads. Commercial .30 carbine ammo costs too much and much too noisy when fired from the Blackhawk.

 

[Balrog]

If you are wearing proper ear protection, a 30 carbine revolver is not going to hurt your ears any more than a 357 mag or other revolver, so I think this is a silly point to argue if we are just talking about range shooting.

Second, some 30 carbine ammo will stick in the cylinder of a 30 carbine, and I have not been able to figure this out. For a while Georgia Arms produced a 30 carbine load that was labeled "carbine only", and if you tried to fire it in a Blackhawk you could not kick the spent cases out with the ejection rod, you had to remove the cylinder and knock them out with a dowel.

 

[wleoff]

Here's my Blackhawk with a M1 Carbine. Shoot the Blackhawk about dark to get the best effect from the flame.

 

[W.E.G.]

Why is it that everytime this gun is mentioned, the stories about how loud it is come up?

Is there something about this gun that moves people to shoot it without ear protection?

Is there some data that proves it is actually louder than a similarly-configured .357 Magnum, or even a .40 S&W out of a Glock?

 

[Drail]

It is louder. I used to handload ammo for a friend who owned one. Fire it and EVERYBODY at the range stops shooting and looks at you. I shoot .357, .41, and .44 mags from handguns and carbines and none of them produce as much blast and noise as the .30 Carbine Blackhawk. .40 or 10mm out of a Glock doesn't even come close. Yup, fire one about dark and there is a basketball size ball of flame in front of the muzzle. You can feel the air pressure wave in your ribcage while standing several feet behind the gun. This was one of Bill Ruger's crazier ideas. Shooters should ALWAYS have eye and ear protection. .30 Carbine brass has a very slight taper and depending upon the taper and the finish in the cylinder's chamber they can stick like a wedge. Fail to use enough case lube and they'll stick in your sizing die REAL good like you wouldn't believe. Fun.

 

[HOWARD J]

I love the sound.I love the flames.............
I used to fire military shells.They worked fine.
Havn't seen any in a long time.
I use 110 gr JSN with 15 gr. of H110--once in a while one will give me a hard time ejecting---you just push harder on the rod.
I don't trust my Iver-Johnson carbine-=-I use 12.8 gr. of H110
I get a kick ---the way the bldg. vibrates when I fire........................

 

[wleoff]

Surprisingly, the recoil is not bad. But it's loud with ear protection. With a Blackhawk, one is shooting a rifle cartridge out of a 7 1/2" barrel. That leaves powder still burning outside of the barrel. Makes a great show and mine is fairly accurate. Try it.

 

[john fox]

One of my favorite guns! I have an old model and handload for it. I shoot it indoors and even with factory ammo and with my ears on, it doesn't bother me.

 

[FROGO207]

I own two of them and handload. I use a 110 grain Lasercast bullet with bluedot for a light gallery load. It works super for me. It will not penetrate more than a couple layers if cardboard most times. and low flash. GI hardball IS LOUD.

 

[mljdeckard]

A friend of mine has a Blackhawk in .30. It's about the loudest freakin' pistol I have ever shot.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Shoot one and you will understand. It is loud and yes the recoil is pretty mild.

 

[brianr23]

What about the Thompson Center Pistols? Yes the barrels are a little longer but nobody every complains about shooting a .300 win mag with a 12" barrel. I can't believe that a .30 carbine in a 7.5" is louder.

 

[oldgoat46]

The .30 cal Black hawk is a really nice revolver. couple of things: do not shoot the cheapo Wolf steel case ammo it will stick in the cylinder and do not under any circumstances leave it loaded with the steel case stuff. It iwll rust together. Also the pistol performs much better if you use ammo specially loaded for the shorter barrel. the carbine ammo doesn't burn all the way in the 7.5" barrel and thats the reason for the big flash and hellish report. I love mine. With the 7.5" barrel and a cope it is very accurate at 50 yards.

 

[Sam1911]

Yes the barrels are a little longer but nobody every complains about shooting a .300 win mag with a 12" barrel.

Uh...WHAT? Yes, a short-barrel Contender is crazy loud, too. But everyone expects that it would be. And there aren't many folks who would shoot a .300 Win mag out of a 12" barrel without complaining ... just noise would probably be a distant second to the recoil and muzzle blast. The loud report would be seen as proportional to the huge cartridge.

I can't believe that a .30 carbine in a 7.5" is louder.

It certainly wouldn't be LOUDER than a .300 win mag out of a 12" barrel. It is louder than most shooters expect based on the small size of the round. Folks look at it and expect a .38 Special report. It's a bit more than that.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

People must be buying them, as it is still in the lineup.

 

[brianr23]

Sam I think thats my point I just didn't explain myself completely. If I was to purchase a blackhawk in .30 carbine I would expect the louder report. Just as people who purchase the Thompson Center. It just seems that everytime someone mentions a .30 Carbine Blackhawk the thread is dominated with posts about how loud it is. Not so with the Thompson Center.

 

[Sam1911]

Oddly enough, here's a quote from a current thread:

223 through a short barrel is VERY loud. When I sighted in my 14" competitor pistol at the club I used to belong to the first question when I hit the club house was "WHAT WAS THAT?". The club house was about 200yds from the range. 223 really doesn't settle down in terms of muzzle pressure until at least 20" and 24" is better.

So, it's definitely an issue.

 

[Sam1911]

And the reply to it:

I've bird hunted my whole life without muffs and not lost any hearing...YET.., but the contender with any sort of rifle caliber will ring your chimes. I found that out early on with a .30-30 deer hunting from a box blind. I couldn't hear for 24 hours after that shot. OUCH.

 

[flipajig]

my dad has one and its LOUD i also shoot a contnder and its LOUD to.
a 30-30 barrel with factory ammo will ring your bell.