ruger blackhawk in 45acp
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G. Freeman
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- May 28, 2008
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It doesn't use moon clips. You just drop the rounds and they headspace on the case mouth.
Hoxviii
Member
Since the blackhawk is single action, it has to space off of the cartridge mouth. Otherwise you'd have to drop the cylinder every time you loaded it.
I've shot a three screw in ACP with a 7 1/2" barrel. Slickest shooting gun I've ever wrapped my mitts about. The guy that owns it has had it since it was new, he bought it to carry in country when he got sent to Vietnam- hence why it's in ACP and not colt (and yes, I've seen pictures and heard stories of him in country with this thing hanging off of his belt).
Trigger pull is so light and clean that you barely feel your finger move, it's just pressure and a clean break.
From the bench at 25 yards the pattern was so tight that I couldn't be sure that I'd hit it with more than three rounds (except for the fact that I know all six hit
).
At 50 from the bench a silver dollar nearly covered all of the shots.
Off hand at 100 I've seen him keep 6 shots in 6", not every time he tries, but often enough to know it's not a fluke.
I don't know if newer ones will be as slick- I've shot a new blackhawk that had a heavier trigger pull than my S&W 27- but i wouldn't hesitate picking one up. You can always pick up a .45 colt cylinder and fit it, or if you reload start playing with .45 super.
I've shot a three screw in ACP with a 7 1/2" barrel. Slickest shooting gun I've ever wrapped my mitts about. The guy that owns it has had it since it was new, he bought it to carry in country when he got sent to Vietnam- hence why it's in ACP and not colt (and yes, I've seen pictures and heard stories of him in country with this thing hanging off of his belt).
Trigger pull is so light and clean that you barely feel your finger move, it's just pressure and a clean break.
From the bench at 25 yards the pattern was so tight that I couldn't be sure that I'd hit it with more than three rounds (except for the fact that I know all six hit
).At 50 from the bench a silver dollar nearly covered all of the shots.
Off hand at 100 I've seen him keep 6 shots in 6", not every time he tries, but often enough to know it's not a fluke.
I don't know if newer ones will be as slick- I've shot a new blackhawk that had a heavier trigger pull than my S&W 27- but i wouldn't hesitate picking one up. You can always pick up a .45 colt cylinder and fit it, or if you reload start playing with .45 super.
jjohnson
Member
Nice!
Yes, I've had a Convertible Blackhawk for 12, maybe 15 years. I like both cylinders, thanks very much.
Being a handloader, I shoot piles of .45 ACP, and every now and then I experiment - as all handloaders should do - and, experimenting a LOT, sometimes a batch doesn't work as intended.
If I load .45 ACP and my bottomfeeders are finicky about the load, I just shoot them in the Blackhawk. The 45 Colt cartridge wasn't really made for plinking loads, but I can shoot the .45 ACP all day long with 185-gr wadcutters and save the full house 45 Colt ammo for hunting. I always stick with published loading limits, but there is a reason you will find loads "For Ruger and T/C Contender ONLY." Either will routinely digest ammo that would wreck an original Peacemaker.
So, yes, indeed, the extra cylinder gets plenty of use in mine. I know that the days of finding cheap milsurp .45 ACP ammo are gone, but if you price .45ACP at Wally World you will find it's often HALF the price of .45 Colt ammo that's woefully lacking in oomph.
That kinda leaves you with the .38 Special / .357 Mag kind of debate. My convertible cost me less than $50 more than the .45 Colt (only) Blackhawk was priced at, so I am very happy with the whole deal.
No, no moon clips. If you really like to handload or get a great deal on .45 Auto Rim ammo, there ya go....
Yes, I've had a Convertible Blackhawk for 12, maybe 15 years. I like both cylinders, thanks very much.
Being a handloader, I shoot piles of .45 ACP, and every now and then I experiment - as all handloaders should do - and, experimenting a LOT, sometimes a batch doesn't work as intended.
If I load .45 ACP and my bottomfeeders are finicky about the load, I just shoot them in the Blackhawk. The 45 Colt cartridge wasn't really made for plinking loads, but I can shoot the .45 ACP all day long with 185-gr wadcutters and save the full house 45 Colt ammo for hunting. I always stick with published loading limits, but there is a reason you will find loads "For Ruger and T/C Contender ONLY." Either will routinely digest ammo that would wreck an original Peacemaker.
So, yes, indeed, the extra cylinder gets plenty of use in mine. I know that the days of finding cheap milsurp .45 ACP ammo are gone, but if you price .45ACP at Wally World you will find it's often HALF the price of .45 Colt ammo that's woefully lacking in oomph.
That kinda leaves you with the .38 Special / .357 Mag kind of debate. My convertible cost me less than $50 more than the .45 Colt (only) Blackhawk was priced at, so I am very happy with the whole deal.
No, no moon clips. If you really like to handload or get a great deal on .45 Auto Rim ammo, there ya go....
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sidheshooter
Member
My Dad's latest purchase was a 7 1/2-inch blackhawk with both cylinders. His comments echo yours. I haven't fondled it myself, yet.
Incidentally, his best friend from childhood spent a fair amount of time in Vietnam; he quickly adopted, of all things, a Ruger flattop .357 for a sidearm after an unsatifactory stopping power incident with a 9mm pistol.
The Lone Haranguer
Member
I had a 4 5/8", unaltered, "old model" .45 convertible. I needed money and had to sell it, but I made a 125% profit on it.
Moon clips are for double action revolvers and are only necessary so the extractor star has something to grab and push the cases out. On the Blackhawk cylinder, the case mouth sits on a shoulder in the chamber, and the ejector rod goes through the center of the case; moon clips are not necessary.
Moon clips are for double action revolvers and are only necessary so the extractor star has something to grab and push the cases out. On the Blackhawk cylinder, the case mouth sits on a shoulder in the chamber, and the ejector rod goes through the center of the case; moon clips are not necessary.
...with one tiny caveat. You can't use out-of-spec cases without a rim, since they headspace on the case mouth. Everything has to be the correct size.
This is probably not a problem for anyone but the slob reloader, and I'm not condoning anything, but .38 Special plinking rounds for a .357 do lend themselves nicely to slob reloading.
This is probably not a problem for anyone but the slob reloader, and I'm not condoning anything, but .38 Special plinking rounds for a .357 do lend themselves nicely to slob reloading.
goodtime
Member
My Blackhawk 45 lc/acp convertible is one of my favorite guns. Too bad Ruger didn't make one of the cylinders with no flutes, just for a little intra-gun variety.
I have an Uberti cattleman 45 lc, and I ordered an acp cylinder for it to make another convertible. Versatility is a good trait in a gun.
I have an Uberti cattleman 45 lc, and I ordered an acp cylinder for it to make another convertible. Versatility is a good trait in a gun.
The Lone Haranguer
Member
Odds are you will not encounter it, but a .45 ACP Blackhawk does not work with .45 Auto Rim.
Gryffydd
Member
I have a stainless convertible Bisley Blackhawk, and the .45acp cylinder is fluted while the .45 Colt cylinder is unfluted and has the Bisley rollmark. They didn't do this on the standard Blackhawk convertible, which really is too bad.
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