Blackhawk 45 ACP problem

[cabezaverde]

I have the same issue with my 45 acp cylinder and 452460. Very interesting thread.

[C-dubb]

I have the same issue with my 45 acp cylinder and 452460. Very interesting thread.

I'm trying to use a Lee 452-230 only because I already have a couple thousand rounds loaded with it. Instead of changing booltis, I am definitely going to have my cylinder reamed.

[skeettx]

No issues with my BN-44X,

Have you tried just bumping the loaded cartridge with the carbide sizing
die with the de-priming ram removed?

Mike

[Dale53]

C-dubb;
Doug Guy is "spot on". I do not have a Ruger Flattop .45acp/.45 Colt convertible but I do have a Ruger Bisley SS .45 ACP/.45 Colt Convertible. I bought it new, and the cylinder throats were too small in both of the cylinders (.449"-.450"). I couldn't even chamber my 1911 reloads and the .45 Colt cylinder caused leading "like crazy".

I was formally trained as a machinist and a good friend offered me a loan of a Manson "made for the job" reamer kit complete with pilots. After reaming both cylinders, both cylinders shoot extremely well (1.0" at 25 yards off a rest on demand) and NO leading. Further, no chambering problems with any of my standard loads for my 1911's.

I reamed the throats to .4525" on mine and later several other cylinders with equally good results.

Measure your throats and if they are undersize send them to Doug Guy and your problems should be over.

FWIW, I am a great fan of the Ruger Convertible .45ACP/.45 Colt as they make a truly great "all 'round" handgun for both the Range and in the Field! Truly!

After Doug Guy returns your cylinders, I predict happiness in your future.

Just a thought or two...

Dale53

[C-dubb]

No issues with my BN-44X,

Have you tried just bumping the loaded cartridge with the carbide sizing
die with the de-priming ram removed?

Mike

First thing I tried.

[C-dubb]

C-dubb;
Doug Guy is "spot on". I do not have a Ruger Flattop .45acp/.45 Colt convertible but I do have a Ruger Bisley SS .45 ACP/.45 Colt Convertible. I bought it new, and the cylinder throats were too small in both of the cylinders (.449"-.450"). I couldn't even chamber my 1911 reloads and the .45 Colt cylinder caused leading "like crazy".
I was formally trained as a machinist and a good friend offered me a loan of a Manson "made for the job" reamer kit complete with pilots. After reaming both cylinders, both cylinders shoot extremely well (1.0" at 25 yards off a rest on demand) and NO leading. Further, no chambering problems with any of my standard loads for my 1911's.

I reamed the throats to .4525" on mine and later several other cylinders with equally good results.

Measure your throats and if they are undersize send them to Doug Guy and your problems should be over.

FWIW, I am a great fan of the Ruger Convertible .45ACP/.45 Colt as they make a truly great "all 'round" handgun for both the Range and in the Field! Truly!

After Doug Guy returns your cylinders, I predict happiness in your future.

Just a thought or two...

Dale53

DougGuy has already reamed 2 of my guns and did an excellent job but I am cheap and I like being self sufficient so today I ordered my own reamer. I have 4 Ruger 45 Colts that need reamed and one Colt that might, so I figured that a $100 reamer was the way to go. Wish me luck.

[murf205]

C-dub, before I found out about Doug, I reamed 2 44 S&W cylinders myself. When I bought the reamer, I talked to Dave Manson and he told me that the best lube for the project was pipe threading oil. He also-emphatically-said not to turn the reamer backwards while doing this. For a handle I used a 1/2" drill chuck not attached to the drill. Do you have pin gages for a 45? To say I was nervous is an understatement to think that I was about to cut into a brand new 44 spl Smith&Wesson. Hope this helps

[Dale53]

C-dub;
Since you are going to do this yourself, I have a suggestion.

Take a fired case of the caliber in question. Try it in all of your chambers to make sure it fits. Then cut the head off for a "cylinder bushing". You can slide it in each chamber, then slip the reamer INSIDE the "bushing". That will minimize the misalighnment to help you keep the reamer from going in crooked. You must still pay attention, keeping the reamer centered in the chamber. Between using the proper pilot in front of the reamer, and the shell casing in the rear, it should be much easier to keep it alighned and ream a straight hole.

Just a thought...

Dale53

[C-dubb]

Thanks guys, good advice.

[jonp]

If your ammo is working fine in your 1911's & the case gauge,, I'd send it to DougGuy & let him uniform the chambers to .4525. You will be very happy with the results.
I own several Ruger 45 cal convertibles. All have been done this way.

+1 on this

[DougGuy]

DougGuy has already reamed 2 of my guns and did an excellent job but I am cheap and I like being self sufficient so today I ordered my own reamer. I have 4 Ruger 45 Colts that need reamed and one Colt that might, so I figured that a $100 reamer was the way to go. Wish me luck.

With 4 cylinders to do, you may run into the hardness problems that caused me to get away from using reamers. That reamer will cut in a normal cylinder pretty much it's advertised diameter. However, Ruger cylinders are VERY inconsistent and you get one where the reamer will cut 3 throats, and you dang near gotta twist the shank off of it to get it to go through the others. Once it does, the bore it leaves behind is not the same size as the ones that cut easily, and a .452" gage pin will NOT go through the hole that a .452" reamer JUST went through. How is this possible? The reamer will crush and pass through the hole. If you look at the reamer's design, the flutes aren't 90 degrees to center, they are ground on an angle.

Even after the easy to ream holes, there is a LOT of tool marks to clean up, and now you need another tool to finish the job. It is also for whatever reason a real pain to get reamers large enough that a .452" boolit passes through the throat with just the right amount of drag fit, but will clean up and polish without going to .453" or larger.

It would help you a lot to have some individual pin gages, you would see exactly what I am talking about with pin gages.

I use the Sunnen hone exclusively for cylinder throat honing, and I use pin gages as a compartor from throat to throat, they come off the Sunnen with the same amount of drag fit in each throat on the final .4525" pin. This degree of consistency, you cannot arrive at with a reamer alone if there is any variation at all in hardness.

[Chill Wills]

It IS Worth saying to you that have Blackhawk convertibles with small out of spec. cylnders;
At least you can fix the problem by removing metal. That is a good option.

My late 1970's 45 Blackhawk convertible ACP cylinder is 0.454" GO, 0.455" no GO and shoots like you know what.

People offer; "just load larger bullets for it". I say; What use is a convertible if you can't shoot regular 45 ACP ammo you load in your 1911? That IS the whole point of having an extra 45 ACP cylinder. Right?

The 45 COLT cylinder is large also. 4 holes GO at 0.455" and the other 2 GO at 0.456"! Crazy paired up to a 0.452" barrel.

I gave up using the 45ACP cylinder and I only shoot the the 45Colt - settled on 255gr LBT 0.457" bullets. It shoots well enough when fed what it likes but as far as a convertible goes, I felt like Ruger took me for a ride. I got over it years, decades really, ago. It's just life. Nobody said it is all going to be perfect.

Anybody need a really large cylinder ???

[DougGuy]

Anybody need a really large cylinder ???

I had a convertible with .456" throats both cylinders, sent it back to Ruger on their dime, asked for a pair of cylinders with .4515" throats guess what they sent back 3 weeks later? Yup, cylinders with .4515" throats. On their dime.

[cabezaverde]

I had a convertible with .456" throats both cylinders, sent it back to Ruger on their dime, asked for a pair of cylinders with .4515" throats guess what they sent back 3 weeks later? Yup, cylinders with .4515" throats. On their dime.

How old was the gun at the time?

[DougGuy]

How old was the gun at the time?

This was about 1990, gun was a few years old at least.

[MSD MIke]

I think you have already been told how to correct the issue, the only thing I will add is that I had the same problem. Once I sorted it out (Reaming Cyl.) 45 ACP with just about any 200 Gr SWC bullet with just about any published powder charge is by far the most accurate loading for my Blackhawk.

Mike