Ruger 45ACP/45colt

[Shooter6br]

Anyone have a Ruger Blackhawk in 45ACP/45Colt? Which barrel lenght do you prefer? 4 5/8 or 5.5? Use it mainly in 45acp OR 45 Colt?? Rick?

[hamour]

I have the convertable in the 4 5/8 BBL. It is the best walk around revolver I have. Relatively light weight yet powerful and shootable.

I use the LC cylinder with RCBS 270gr SAA Cast bullet, on top of 17grs of 2400, can go up to 21grs but that is for specific hunting situations. 9 grs unique also works well.

[MT Gianni]

I poke holes in paper with the acp & in stuff with the LC. 4 5/8" is my guns length and it does OK. I have Ruger SA's in that length and up to 6.5" and have yet to find the perfect length.

[Shooter]

I have a Vaquero 5.5" with both cylinders. Fun plinker, but not enough sights for precision work. I use the ACP cylinder most.

[curiousgeorge]

I have the 4 5/8" length in the convertible. I mostly shoot the Long Colt with 8.0 grs Unique and the RCBS 45-250-KT ( I think that's correct ) or a 250 gr XTP with 16.5 grs 2400. Not thumb buster loads at all, but works for 99% of what I will see woods packing here in KY and both very accurate in my gun.

Occasionally shoot the .45 ACP cylinder with mostly target loads (always have to readjust the sights) but honestly don't use it a lot anymore. As "hamour" said, light weight and packable.

Steve

[Hardcast416taylor]

I bought the Blackhawk with 2 cylinders years ago when they first offered it. Like CuriousGeorge I hardly ever use the acp cylinder anymore. I however stick with my trusted load of 6 gr. Red Dot and a RCBS 255gr SWC .Robert

[Trey45]

Convertible Blackhawk, 5.5" that stays dressed as a 45 Colt 95% of the time. It's my "go to" gun, and I'm usually packing it with 310gr NEI Keiths on top of 22gr H110.

[Potsy]

Had a 4-5/8 blued convertible at one time. Probably the best big bore packin' pistol Ruger makes. Aluminum grip frame & ejector rod housing shaved off considerable weight.
I owned it before I started casting, but commercial SWC's over 9.0 grn Unique, and later the same charge of Universal generally hit where they were pointed. I also did my first work with Ruger only .45 Colt loads in that gun. A less than perfect vehicle for that kind of work; but it would shoot heavy loaded LBT's and XTP's well enough, if I didn't grit my teeth too hard before I pulled the trigger.
Kept some Cor-Bon ACP's around for the ACP cylinder, it even rode around in the car and truck as my CCW, but I don't think I ever actually shot it with that cylinder in it.

[Alan]

I'm going to buck the trend here a bit. I have a 4 5/8" old model that I bought used about 1979. The fellow I bought it from had shot it a bit with the .45 Colt cylinder, but not at all with the ACP cylinder.

It was accurate with .45 Colt, but I put the ACP cylinder in and never looked back. It was easy to duplicate .45 Colt performance with the ACP cylinder and Lyman #452424, and it was scary accurate. I shot SASS matches with it when my only other available single action was a '58 Remmy.

Once I got another Ruger in .45 Colt, I put the Colt cylinder in it and shot it a good bit in matches also. It has gone back to the ACP cylinder now, and will probably stay that way for the forseeable future. It is one of my favorite packin' pistiols.

Alan

[white eagle]

I have one in 5.5"
love it..... very packable
work up stiff Ruger only loads
broke the grip frame got a steel one installed
the acp hasn't seen any use yet
but I am workin on it

[Dale53]

I bought a Ruger SS Bisley .45 Colt/.45ACP convertible sometime earlier this past year. I had to ream the cylinder throats (as is common, they were undersize). After reaming the revolver shoots Extremely well (under 1" at 25 yards with both cylinders using my own cast bullets).

I have settled on a MiHec moulded H&G #68 200 gr SWC for the ACP cylinder and either the NOE cast 250 gr Keith or a MiHec cast 45-270-SAA bullet for "heavy" use in the .45 Colt Cylinder.

This makes a very good trail gun (mine has a 5½" barrel) and should do most of what most people need a field revolver for, including hunting big game.

I can recommend with out reservation if you are a reloader (I cast my own bullets and reload).

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/DalesPistolsRevolvers4Selects-0385.jpg

Dale53

[Dframe]

I had one for a couple of years before it occurred to me I had never used the ACP cylinder. Those convertables are much more useful in theory, than they are in practice. OK gun, but I wanted something more traditional and ended up with a Colt. My ruger was a 5.5 inch barrel. It was sold quite some time ago.

[zxcvbob]

I have a Ruger Bisley in .45 Colt with a 7 1/2" barrel. That's too long. (No I don't want to trade it.) I shot a friend's .45 convertible Blackhawk with what looked like about a 6" barrel and it balanced a lot better.

My favorite .45 Colt load is 7.5 grains of Promo with a 230 grain boolit. It's maybe too hot to shoot in a SAA. 8.0 grains with a 255 boolit is unpleasant to shoot, while a hotter load using slower-burning powder is OK.

[OBIII]

I also have a Ruger Super Blackhawk convertible with the 7-1/2" barrel. Not too long if you want to reach out and touch someone. I rarely fire the 45 acp, but I figure it will be easier to find than 45 LC when the shtf.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I had a pair that I imported to Australia. I really liked them and used them in SASS shooting for a few years. They had 5.5"Bbls and handled nicely. I sold them to get a pair of opensighted revolvers so that I could compete in Traditional and no sooner had I sold them than the rules changed and Traditional was dropped, D'Oh!!!

I have since bought another, this one was used and has a 4 3/4"Bbl and white pseudo ivory grips. It is a nice looking unit.

[Thumbcocker]

I have had much better luck with the acp cylinders in two convertibles. A 200 grn swc with 6.0 of 231 is a good load but is maximum for auto pistols so be careful. My stainless Bisley has been a heartbreaker with the colt cylinder. I have never achieved the accuracy with it that I have with it's
.44 sister. I have tried boolits, powders, sizing diamaters, and cylinder reaming. It shoots acps well but with the all steel frame is heavy to pack around for an acp.

In my limited experiene the .44's, magnums and specials, are much more friendly to work with. Like I said it is a heartbreaker because it is a beautiful pistola and I had high hopes for it. Hopefully the magic combination will come together some day.

[Gee_Wizz01]

I have two convertibles, a 5 1/2" and a 7 1/2". I tend to use the 45 Colt cylinders more than the 45ACP cylinders. I bought my 7 1/2" in 1976 and it actually shoots .45ACP better than most .45 Colt loads. The 5 1/2" is a tack driver with the .45 Colt cylinder and shoots OK with the .45ACP cylinder. I have several .45ACP auto pistols and like the idea of being able to shoot 45 ACP in my Blackhawks. The 7 1/2" can be cumbersome to carry, especially in a belt holster, but with 260 gr RNFP's loaded with either 17 grs of 2400 or 22.5 gr of H110, it is excellent big hog medicine. The 5 1/2" is easy to carry but it is a handful with the heavy loads. I use the Lee 452-160 RNFP over 8.7 grs of WW 231 for practice. This load is very accurate in both pistols and shoots to the same point of aim as my heavy loads and conserves lead. I do not load my 45ACP loads heavy, as I fear one will get into one of my autos. For general plinking I use a 255 gr RNFP or 45424 on top of 6.0 gr of Red Dot or 8.5 grs of Unique in .45 Colt.

G

[Wally]

Have Ruger .45 Convertible... Ruger graciously changed both cylinders for me as the cylinder throats were oversized @ .456". However I get an occassional misfire in the .45 ACP cylinder as it appears the clearance between the firing pin and the cartridge case is a few thousands larger. As a result the firing pin is too far away to strike the primer with some .45 ACP rounds. Has this happend to anyone else?

[jakumms]

Have two Ruger convertibles: stainless Bisley, and a blued Blackhawk; both with 5.5" barrels... Although I have several other 45 LC's, I love both of these guns... I had the throats on both cylinders on both guns reemed to 0.4525 - all shot significantly better. With proper loads, all four cylinders now shoot in the 1.0 to 1.5 inch range (5 shots @ 25 yards), which is about as good as I can see... Favorite loads for both guns: 45 ACP - 200 Gr. SWC w/ 5.2 gr. HP38 (vel 810) or 5.7 Gr. Unique (Vel 900)... 45 LC: 200 Gr. SWC w/ 6.2 Gr. Tight Group (Vel 880); 255 Gr. SWC w/ 10.0 Gr. Unique (Vel 1,100); 310 Gr. Lee w/ 22.0 Gr. H-110 (Vel 1,235) - shoot the ACP load for cowboy/bowling pins; shoot the LC. w/255 Gr. for deer load in the blued model; shoot the heavy 310 Gr. in the stainless for a pig or whatever you want load... All bullets are cast, of course... Joe K.

[LAH]

I bought a Ruger SS Bisley .45 Colt/.45ACP convertible sometime earlier this past year. I had to ream the cylinder throats (as is common, they were undersize). After reaming the revolver shoots Extremely well (under 1" at 25 yards with both cylinders using my own cast bullets).

I have settled on a MiHec moulded H&G #68 200 gr SWC for the ACP cylinder and either the NOE cast 250 gr Keith or a MiHec cast 45-270-SAA bullet for "heavy" use in the .45 Colt Cylinder.

This makes a very good trail gun (mine has a 5½" barrel) and should do most of what most people need a field revolver for, including hunting big game.

I can recommend with out reservation if you are a reloader (I cast my own bullets and reload).


Dale53

Care to share you ACP load?

[Dale53]

LAH;
I have been loading .45 ACP for competition and pleasure for a VERY long time.

My target (pleasure) loads are 4.0 grs of Bullseye (or equivalent) behind the Mihec #68 SWC. I use either Federal 150 LP primers or Winchester LP primers.

Frankly, my experience has shown me that any of the relatively fast burning powders such as Bullseye, Clays, Titegroup, Win 231, etc loaded at the same velocity as 4.0 Bullseye works just as well. In fact, I recently bought a bunch of powder in an estate sale at a VERY good price. It included several pounds of Dupont PB. That takes a bit more powder (5.1 grs) but works every bit as well.

These reduced velocities (around 725 fps) shoot extremely well (under an 1" at 25 yards) but may require a lighter spring in YOUR 1911 to function well. The revolvers handle the reduced loads quite well. When using the 1911, I set the bullet seating depth using my barrel removed from the pistol, held vertically, and seat the bullet until the base of the case is flush with the barrel hood. I taper crimp to .470" (for both the pistol AND the revolver). I load for the 1911 but then can use the same loads in all platforms. Since I go through 5000-7500 .45 ACP rounds a year (even in my reduced years of late) this simplifies my loading chores.

Some have gone as low as 3.5 grs of Bullseye but I have found more reliability in the 4.0 gr range. When shooting rapid fire in NRA Bullseye, the reduced recoil allows quicker recovery between shots - that can lead to higher scores. These loads have been tested extensively in a Ransom Rest and in my accurized 1911's will shoot under 2" at fifty yards. They do as well in the revolvers.

These loads are also excellent small game loads (as a number of cottontail and snowshoe rabbits can attest:mrgreen:).

Dale53

[robertbank]

Have Ruger .45 Convertible... Ruger graciously changed both cylinders for me as the cylinder throats were oversized @ .456". However I get an occassional misfire in the .45 ACP cylinder as it appears the clearance between the firing pin and the cartridge case is a few thousands larger. As a result the firing pin is too far away to strike the primer with some .45 ACP rounds. Has this happend to anyone else?

Wally check the length of those cases that didn't fire. The .45acp case has to be up against the front of the cut in the cylinder to properly headspace. If the case is to short the cartridge just goes into the chamber until it his the ridge in the cylinder leaving to big a gap for the firing pin to reach the primer. .45acp cases shrink over time from reloading and have have found few that are anywhere near .898 in length even when new. I would mark the cases, use them in an auto and separate them out so you don't reload them again for the Ruger.

Take Care

Bob

[Wally]

Thanks, Bob,

I will do that---I don't have a .45 ACP Semi-auto to use the short ones in. I've found the CWW & TZZ are the only types of brass that does this..I would suppose they are on the short size. All cases used have been shot numerous times--seems they last a very long time.

[robertbank]

Hi Wally they do last a very long time. Most will either split at the mouth from belling or split along the walls from fatique. All will shorten over time so you might want to change out the brass or see what the minimum length is that you can get away with and just discard cases that are shorter than that in length. I have some cases that I have named, I have shot them so much. When they die it often seems like I have lost an old friend. LOL

Take Care

Bob

[Wally]

Bob,
I measured a good size sample of my .45 ACP cases--both commercial & military..all are well under .898" with the mean being at .886". I size w/ a Lyman Carbide sizing die. I tried a .30-06 & then a .243 Win steel sizer dies and found the cases now measure at least .005" larger with most "growing" by .01"...the mean being at 0.896" in length... Seems that the carbide sizer ring doesn't size the case deep enough. The web of the case is well within specifications using the rifle steel sizer dies.

[robertbank]

Wally your experence mirrors mine. I have new unfired Winchester cases that don't measure .898. I have yet to find any .45acp cases that do. Straight walled cases will shorten overtime. I suspect that your cases that don't fire are just a tad too short. Trial and error wil be your only guide I suspect.

Bottle neck cases such as rifle cases lengthen from shooting and resizing due to the shoulder expanding into the chamber walls. This is one reason why you have to trim them occassionally.

I have in the past trimmed my revolver cases to the same length just to ensure a consistent crimp. Once done they are good and need no further trimming. I haven't done that in years as I found at my level it really didn't effect my results enough to worry about it.

Take Care

Bob

[LAH]

LAH;
I have been loading .45 ACP for competition and pleasure for a VERY long time.

My target (pleasure) loads are 4.0 grs of Bullseye (or equivalent) behind the Mihec #68 SWC. I use either Federal 150 LP primers or Winchester LP primers.

Frankly, my experience has shown me that any of the relatively fast burning powders such as Bullseye, Clays, Titegroup, Win 231, etc loaded at the same velocity as 4.0 Bullseye works just as well. In fact, I recently bought a bunch of powder in an estate sale at a VERY good price. It included several pounds of Dupont PB. That takes a bit more powder (5.1 grs) but works every bit as well.

These reduced velocities (around 725 fps) shoot extremely well (under an 1" at 25 yards) but may require a lighter spring in YOUR 1911 to function well. The revolvers handle the reduced loads quite well. When using the 1911, I set the bullet seating depth using my barrel removed from the pistol, held vertically, and seat the bullet until the base of the case is flush with the barrel hood. I taper crimp to .470" (for both the pistol AND the revolver). I load for the 1911 but then can use the same loads in all platforms. Since I go through 5000-7500 .45 ACP rounds a year (even in my reduced years of late) this simplifies my loading chores.

Some have gone as low as 3.5 grs of Bullseye but I have found more reliability in the 4.0 gr range. When shooting rapid fire in NRA Bullseye, the reduced recoil allows quicker recovery between shots - that can lead to higher scores. These loads have been tested extensively in a Ransom Rest and in my accurized 1911's will shoot under 2" at fifty yards. They do as well in the revolvers.

These loads are also excellent small game loads (as a number of cottontail and snowshoe rabbits can attest:mrgreen:).

Dale53

Thanks Dale, this has been noted & logged. I shoot the ACP round only in a sixgun.