Om Blackhawk and a case of the warm fuzzies

[Southpaw 72]

Bought a OM BH in .45 Colt yesterday at a gun show. Can't pick it up until Tue.( Illinois) Looks almost new unfired to me. No dragline on the cylinder and no holster wear. A couple of small spots of surface rust on the hammer. Since this is my first OM, can someone here school me on what I've got ? Are the old models prone to have undersized throats? Are they as strong as a modern BH?

[McLintock]

Sounds like you got a nice one, if a 7 1/2" barrel, it's go for about $700 to collectors, if a 4 5/8's, about $825, so anything less then those figures is good. Figure over a $100 more for a convertible. The one I shot for a while, shot high and needed a taller front sight and I've talked to others that had the same problem. A good throating always seems to help them, they can be undersized. They're every bit as strong as a New Models that are on the large frame, as they shared the same frame as the Super Blackhawk, but stronger then the ones coming out now on the Medium frame. Good gun and it should serve you well for years to come; I've got five of them myself, long barrel and short barrel in both 45 Colt only and convertibles, and a brass grip framed short barreled one. Hope this helps.
McLintock

[Southpaw 72]

Wow! Guess I did good. I only gave $475. Now I need a mold,brass, dies.........etc.

[Catshooter]

Proper loading of five:

Hammer to half cock,
Load a chamber,
Skip a chamber,
Load four,
Cock and fully lower the hammer. It is now resting on an empty chamber. The first notch on the hammer is also called the safety notch and is not a good place to leave the hammer.

They're a great sixgun. And that was a great price!

Welcome to the forum.



Cat

[Southpaw 72]

What are my options for a front sight? They aren't pinned like a NM.

[contender1]

Well I too own "a few" of these Ruger OM 45's. (Over a dozen.) Mighty fine guns. Good info above. Excellent buy at the price you gave. You didn't mention a box,, or if it was convertable,, but both add to value.
Front sight options are few.
Most folks find a boolit, powder, load combo that will regulate to the height of the average distance they shoot. If you want a taller or shorter front sight, it requires a gunsmith. But,, if you go that route,,, kiss any collector value goodby. It'll still be a desirable shooter,,, but it's value will drop.
Those guns are desirable as collectors & shooters. Take care of it & it'll retain it's value.
I'd be interested in the serial number and more details to see if it's close to any of mine! (A PM would be nice.) I am a serious Ruger collector too BTW!

[Southpaw 72]

Well I too own "a few" of these Ruger OM 45's. (Over a dozen.) Mighty fine guns. Good info above. Excellent buy at the price you gave. You didn't mention a box,, or if it was convertable,, but both add to value.
Front sight options are few.
Most folks find a boolit, powder, load combo that will regulate to the height of the average distance they shoot. If you want a taller or shorter front sight, it requires a gunsmith. But,, if you go that route,,, kiss any collector value goodby. It'll still be a desirable shooter,,, but it's value will drop.
Those guns are desirable as collectors & shooters. Take care of it & it'll retain it's value.
I'd be interested in the serial number and more details to see if it's close to any of mine! (A PM would be nice.) I am a serious Ruger collector too BTW!

When I get my hands on it I'll have more details. This gun will be a shooter and a hunter. Hopefully I'll get to break it in on a big whitetail this year.

[got_lead?]

If it shoots high, you can go a bit lighter on the boolit, like a 200 grainer, it will print quite a bit lower. You can also get another rear sight blade and file or mill it down a bit.

Enjoy your new toy

[Southpaw 72]

If it shoots high, you can go a bit lighter on the boolit, like a 200 grainer, it will print quite a bit lower. You can also get another rear sight blade and file or mill it down a bit.

Enjoy your new toy

I didn't think about filing down the rear sight blade. Are om and nm sight blades interchangeable. If so, I have a spare aperature type rear sight blade that may find a new home.

[contender1]

Some of the Old Model rear blades are interchangeable with the New Models. Without going into a lot of boring details, the easiest thing is to remove one & try to swap around with another one until you see the difference. (Basically, there is a SMALL tip of metal on earlier OM blades. You'll see the difference if you get one.)
But before you do any modifications etc,, get that puppy out & shoot it to see where it prints. THEN you can decide what is needed. And yes, modifying a rear blade is cheaper than many other alternatives.

[Southpaw 72]

Some of the Old Model rear blades are interchangeable with the New Models. Without going into a lot of boring details, the easiest thing is to remove one & try to swap around with another one until you see the difference. (Basically, there is a SMALL tip of metal on earlier OM blades. You'll see the difference if you get one.)
But before you do any modifications etc,, get that puppy out & shoot it to see where it prints. THEN you can decide what is needed. And yes, modifying a rear blade is cheaper than many other alternatives.

I will shoot it before I do anything to it. I have a mold on the way so I can get it up and running.

[atr]

+1 for Catshooter.....good advice

Hey have fun with your new revolver...

[gwpercle]

Don't carry it with a round under the trigger and don't send it back to Ruger for any upgrade, the trigger just won't feel like the old model trigger...and if you send it back for anything you will get the new safety feature installed reguardless if you want it or not.
Gary

[BruceB]

Aperture sights are wonderful.... ON RIFLES.

On a handgun, they are as useful as a mountain bike is to a trout.

They fly in the face of every optical principle that makes them so good on rifles, the main one being that, by mounting EXTREMELY close to the shooter's eye, the rear sight is IGNORED by the shooter and his eye automatically centers the front sight in the aperture.

With that aperture positioned two feet or so from the eye, it becomes another object to deal with, while it actually OBSCURES more of the field-of-view.

You have a fine new revolver. Don't screw it up with gimmicks that detract from its utility...

[Southpaw 72]

Aperture sights are wonderful.... ON RIFLES.

On a handgun, they are as useful as a mountain bike is to a trout.

They fly in the face of every optical principle that makes them so good on rifles, the main one being that, by mounting EXTREMELY close to the shooter's eye, the rear sight is IGNORED by the shooter and his eye automatically centers the front sight in the aperture.

With that aperture positioned two feet or so from the eye, it becomes another object to deal with, while it actually OBSCURES more of the field-of-view.

You have a fine new revolver. Don't screw it up with gimmicks that detract from its utility...

I will have to respectfully disagree. I installed one on my 41 mag and it did wonders for my eyes. Far from a gimmick, it shrunk my groups. Like with a lot of other things ymmv.