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Thread: Which caliber conversion?

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Which caliber conversion?

    I have an old model .357 Ruger Blackhawk I am planning to have converted. I am leaning toward 41 magnum, but am also considering 10mm with an additional cylinder in 40 S&W. 44 special is also in the running. What do ya'll recommend?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master


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    I would recommend buying the revolver you want in the caliber you decide on. Conversion would be very expensive.

  3. #3
    Boolit Man nseries's Avatar
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    Do it in a caliber that you can't buy off the shelf, new or used. If you look hard enough, you can find 3-screw .44 Specials that someone else converted. ...and if I'm not mistaken, wasn't the 3-screw .41 Magnum on the .357 frame? Either way, you can find 3-screw .41 Magnums if you look.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    I always wanted one in .44 but now as said above you can buy it new(but not with 4 click lock work).
    Aaron

  5. #5
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    ive got two. One is a 44 spec and the other a 41 mag. To me the 44 spec gets used hands down more then the 41. It hits just as hard on deer sized game and doesn't have the muzzle blast and noise. If I look at all the revolvers in my safe the 4 44 specials I have are probably the most shot guns I own other then the 9mm black guns.

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    yes you can and compared to the price of a custom old model something like a 44 spec bisley or Blackhawk is a bargin. but theres just something about a gun made just the way you want it. Everyone should own at least one custom revolver in his life.
    Quote Originally Posted by joatmon View Post
    I always wanted one in .44 but now as said above you can buy it new(but not with 4 click lock work).
    Aaron

  7. #7
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    factory 41 mags were all built on the larger 44 frame.
    Quote Originally Posted by nseries View Post
    Do it in a caliber that you can't buy off the shelf, new or used. If you look hard enough, you can find 3-screw .44 Specials that someone else converted. ...and if I'm not mistaken, wasn't the 3-screw .41 Magnum on the .357 frame? Either way, you can find 3-screw .41 Magnums if you look.

  8. #8
    Boolit Bub
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    I agree Lloyd, having a firearm built just for me isa large part of this. I have had off the shelf guns all my life. Now I need fewer gun, but want them to be special and unique.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Personally,,, since I collect OM Rugers,,,, I prefer to see them left in factory condition. BUT,,,,,,,, BUT,,,, it's YOUR gun,, not mine,,, and every time another one is removed from the available ones,,, my collection gets a wee bit more valuable.

    That said,,, I'd look at the 40 S&W/10mm conversion. Definitely not an off the shelf item, or one that is often seen. I have a Buckeye Special,,, but it's a NM,,, and a Vaquero 40 S&W & I get a lot of funny looks when I show one of them.
    The 44 Spl has been done a lot,,, and now they make a NM variation.
    A 41 mag,,, there are factory OM 41's out there already.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master


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    Trade it for a .44 then have it converted to .41 Magnum.

    That's what *I* would do, if cost wasn't an issue.

  11. #11
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    Have you looked at the "Jeff Quinn Special" at Clements Custom Guns? For $1100 you get quite a deal (in the world of custom guns that is). I'd go for 41 Special myself.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    well I like the old models just the way the came. also in the old model the frame sizes were all the same .357 .41 mag and .45 colt. and yes the small framed old model .45 was where they started the ruger only .45 loads. there was also a old model flat top made in .44 mag. so you could sell that old model and have a good down payment for a gun like you want.

    look up skeeter skelton he did some of the conversions you are talking about. they were costly back then.

  13. #13
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    I guess I think of it a bit different. theres only one ruger handgun that ever demanded money enough to call it a collector (other then maybe a serial no. 1 gun. that would be the hawkeye single shot. Old model 357s are still as common as any other single action other then a new model. Maybe if a guy squirrels them away your great great grandchildren might make some money and that's if the world is still going and guns are still legal. I buy a gun to use. Any old model ruger I buy today at 60 years old isn't going up in value more then the cost of living is going to increase by the time I'm dead. Its like base ball card collectors. thousands of them collect cards that are worth maybe a buck and one in a thousand of them collects something that's truly collectable. Now if you were going to cut up a first gen colt saa id be the first in line to scream no! But its just an old ruger. Kind of like calling a 1969 4 door impala a collector car. I had mine done probably a bit over 10 years ago. I paid 200 bucks a piece for them. I think at that time a new one cost about 350. Id bet you can still easily find them for the 500-600 bucks you pay for a new one. Wheres the collectability in that. Nope to me its like taking that 69 impala and sending it out and having a 69 Camaro come back
    Quote Originally Posted by contender1 View Post
    Personally,,, since I collect OM Rugers,,,, I prefer to see them left in factory condition. BUT,,,,,,,, BUT,,,, it's YOUR gun,, not mine,,, and every time another one is removed from the available ones,,, my collection gets a wee bit more valuable.

    That said,,, I'd look at the 40 S&W/10mm conversion. Definitely not an off the shelf item, or one that is often seen. I have a Buckeye Special,,, but it's a NM,,, and a Vaquero 40 S&W & I get a lot of funny looks when I show one of them.
    The 44 Spl has been done a lot,,, and now they make a NM variation.
    A 41 mag,,, there are factory OM 41's out there already.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    they are not that common as every one thinks. all the ones you cut up only make mine worth more. I remember buying old model rugers for $72 new in the box. a friend and I went around to all the shops when the new models came out in 73. we bought up all the old stock.

    they are collector guns.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    I would not convert a perfectly good ruger to ANYTHING you can already buy. For the money you would put into it, you can just buy one already. If 10mm is what you are leaning to, then I would suggest a new model for that conversion. But in all reality, 41 mag is about the same thing.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by psweigle View Post
    I would not convert a perfectly good ruger to ANYTHING you can already buy.
    Ditto. Besides, the .357 Magnum version is useful and handy, being able to also shoot .38 Specials, and especially if you can find the 9mm conversion cylinder. If you want a .41 Magnum RBH, buy one. They are plentiful.
    Pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory ... lasts forever.
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  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Sometimes common sense does not enter into a decision. Most is us worked hard for our money so we do not waste it. But if someone really wants something, I say go for it.
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  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I'd go for 41 Mag but I'm kinda of partial to the first Blackhawks I ever owned.

    I'm kinda surprised, Lloyd. I never noticed the muzzle blast to be anything out of the ordinary and I had a couple of barrel lengths.
    I Am Descended From Men Who Would Not Be Ruled

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  19. #19
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    41 Special is a natural !
    Can be built on the smaller Blackhawk frame and isn't offered by Ruger.
    There was a two part write up on the 41 special in the No. 304 , October 2016 (part I) and No.305, December 2016 (part II) ,issues of Handloader magazine. Revolver conversions , part I and reloading data, part II.
    I have a 41 magnum , but going to get some 41 special brass to use for light loads with castboolits . 41 magnum brass is a bit hard for light loads so must be annealed and separated from regular magnum brass. the 41 special brass will be easy to keep separate.
    The articles are in Brian Pearce's "From The Hip " columns.
    Personally I would never mess with my three screw, it's the first hand gun I ever bought and this girl I met liked to go shooting it with me. I married her in 1973 and we're still sharing the same bedroom . She's a keeper ... If she enjoys shooting , marry her !
    Too much sentimental value going on with it .
    Gary
    Last edited by gwpercle; 03-10-2017 at 07:33 PM.
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  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master Artful's Avatar
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    Having taken factory guns and bubba'd guns and made them more to my liking - I don't do it for resale, I do it because it make me get more enjoyment out of using them -


    I say go for it.
    je suis charlie

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
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