Blackhawk in 10mm and 40 s&w

[contender1]

Red Bear,, it has to do with ammo costs & availability.
The 38 spl was a very popular caliber,, especially among LEO's for decades. As such,,, ammo was cheap & available. And the 357 was the easiest to find & it can shoot both calibers.
The 45 Colt & 45 acp,, with the Colt being very limited in factory offerings, not always available,, yet a heck of a great caliber when reloaded in modern firearms,, it is popular. But expense of Colt ammo makes it less than desirable to the non-reloader. BUT, when you add a 45 acp cylinder,, combined with the fact that for many decades the 45 acp was the military caliber,, it's ammo availability & cost made that convertible very popular.

But the OP was about the 10mm/40 S&W. And again,, find a wide variety of factory offerings in 41 mag,, & look at what's available AND the expense. Now,, reloaders,, even finding brass isn't as easy as we'd like.
BUT,,,, the 40 S&W is a popular LEO caliber,, so ammo & brass is very cheap. The 10mm is kinda like the 41 mag in that it just won't die because it can do a lot & is appreciated.
Throw in the fact that a lot of modern shooters prefer semi-auto action designs,, so to allow those of us who like revolvers the option,, they build revolvers in it. As a reloader & a revolver person,, we have it made. We can find brass AND ammo cheaply,, auto guys often lose brass or don't pick it up. Heck,, at my range the last 2 USPSA matches,, a guy was using a 10mm & I got close to 250 pieces of 10mm brass just for the time it took to pick them up!
Don't get me wrong,, I do enjoy & appreciate the 41 mag. In fact,, I have more of them than I do 40's & 10's combined. BUT, as a guy who understands the general public casual shooter types,, it's hard to find AND afford good top quality 41 mag ammo in many stores. So, casual Joe,, non-reloader,, who wants to feed his semi-auto,,, can easily go to the local discount store, & buy cheap ammo to blast with. While the dedicated types,, who enjoy revolvers,, appreciate the versatility of a convertible caliber firearm,, and reload,,, can get the most out of the calibers. And it's easy to see that the manufacturers see the same things,, as these guns are selling & desirable. So,, many of us who enjoy versatility,, appreciate the fact we have options.

And besides,, why limit yourself to just one caliber or one gun?

The 41 mag to me,, is a heck of a great caliber. When properly loaded,, it makes an excellent hunting round,, or it can be a superb target gun with less felt recoil to most than the 44 mag & others.
So, the short answer is ammo availability & costs.

[gpidaho]

At this time I own six Ruger handguns and a few more have come and gone. The biggest problem I have with them is that as they come from the factory they are set up to fire jacketed rounds. My 45 Colt 45 ACP Blackhawk has cylinder throats that a .451 pin gauge won't enter. Doug Guy has throated one cylinder and one Ruger 45 ACP auto barrel for me and I highly recommend his service. Gp

[onelight]

Good post , contender1 well said

[georgerkahn]

Buckeye Sports offered a 10mm / .38WCF revolver -- "Buckeye Special" -- a Special edition Blackhawk in 10mm and 38-40. It features a blue finish, 6 1/2 inch barrel, adjustable sights, very nice factory wood grips, the two cylinders, and single action trigger. I believe it was made for one year only -- 1990. Relatively hard to find, they do on occasion pop up on firearm Auction sites. I had one, not much different other than calibers than other Blachawks.

[gwpercle]

.401 Power Mag would make it four...................

I wonder how many are thinking ... 401 what ???
I should have have ordered one in 1967 when you could mail Herter's a check ....(what???) and the mail man would bring that big SA revolver right to your front door !

[RED BEAR]

contender1 thanks for clueing me in. I handload everything i shoot with the exception of 22lr. As such i have never considered the cost or availability of ammo.just never gave it a thought. Only factory ammo i use at all is in my carry guns and use so little of that that cost doesn't enter into it. Again thanks this has bugged me for a while.

[contender1]

No problem! I too reload everything except the rimfires!
As an instructor,, I have to "think outside my preferences."
And just last week, a friend was lamenting about his 45 Colt. He WANTED to shoot SASS,, but doesn't reload,, so he made the comment; "I can't afford $1.50-$2.00 a shot so I'm about ready to just sell my Colt! He hasn't tried SASS,, but he wanted to.
So,, while most of us here reload,, and cast our own,,, we often forget about the casual shooters,, or those not as serious about it as we are here.
I own a gun range,, and I get a LOT of 9mm & 40 S&W empties left behind,, even by reloaders. A USPSA match will get me a bunch of brass. Many have commented; "I can buy it cheap enough to where I don't have to "waste" my time reloading."
It's really the less popular calibers that makes those of us who do reload smile,,, when we find free brass.
And the convertibles,, they play upon the shooters who don't reload & look for cheap ammo.