Q's on Ruger Blackhawk 45 LC 5.5"

[dmdracer]

I ordered the above and should have it Thurs. or Fri. Excited :)

I have been using the search button the last few days and have found great info about this 6 shooter.

I have a couple of questions and hope you all can help me sort out some of this info bouncing between my ears.

I have been told that you can use 45 acp rounds in them as well as LC (of course)
I see that you can buy the blackhawk convertable with the 45 acp cyl included.

Why is this ? Is it not good to shoot acp out of the LC cyl. ? sort this out for me !
I cast the 200 and 230 gr from group buy molds for my 1911's so that could be some "already loaded" rounds to play with at first.

I plan to shoot paper, cans, etc but I would also try it for deer this season within reasonable distance.

With this said, what style of mold should I look at for casting my own ?

The 454424 was mentioned alot.... ????

Grips... a gentleman at the range had a couple Vaquero's, one was stock and the other had some type of after market grips.... the after market were wider than stock and made a big diff. in the way it felt.... loved it :)

He could not tell me where they came from but what do I ask/look for in describing / finding the wider grip style ?

I have also looked around for holsters....pricey lil things. I don't think I will do any cowboy action shooting but an old style belt and holster might be a good thing to carry in the field.... any basic, cheap suggestions in this area would be nice....:) Do people sale used holsters much and where would I find one ?

Appreciate the help on this new to me firearm.

Dave

[Trey45]

Simply put, you cannot shoot 45acp in the 45 colt cylinder. That's why they make a convertible, so you can shoot 45 colt, and 45 acp, in their respective cylinders. Your 45 Colt will shoot 45 Colt, and 45 Schofield.

[zxcvbob]

I have a .45 Ruger Blackhawk (actually it's a Bisley model) and it's a great firearm. It did not come with a .45 ACP conversion cylinder; I have shot a friends convertible loaded with .45 ACP's and it's a nice cartridge in a heavy revolver -- but I think I like .45 Colt better.

Traditional bullets are cast lead 250 to 255 grain RNFP or SWC. I have a Lee 230 grain truncated cone bullet mold (I think it's an ACP bullet design) that might be my favorite. It's a tumble-lube bullet, and I roll crimp it into the top little groove.

[pdawg_shooter]

Why is this ? Is it not good to shoot acp out of the LC cyl. ? sort this out for me !
I cast the 200 and 230 gr from group buy molds for my 1911's so that could be some "already loaded" rounds to play with at first.

The ACP round has no rim to headspace off off. The ACP cylinder is bored like a pistol barrel so the brass can headspace off of the case mouth.

[zxcvbob]

Just thinking out loud here [I know that's dangerous]

I wonder if you could make 10 mm long (approx.) bushings and slip them into the chambers to headspace .45 ACP cartridges in a .45 Colt cylinder? But there would still be a problem that the .45 ACP is about 0.1 mm smaller in diameter than .45 Colt. I don't know how significant that would be; pretty sure they would fire but might not seal the chambers and you'd get a lot of blowback, and also might ruin the brass.

Once you insert the bushings and shoot the gun once you might never get them out again even if it doesn't work.

[white eagle]

like the others have said
You Need A 45 ACP Cylinder
do not shoot or attempt to shoot
45 acp's out of a 45 colt cylinder
If you do want to do so send the gun to Ruger
they may fit you up with a 45 acp cylinder
I like Tom @ Accurate molds for molds first rate customer
service and a first class product you won't go wrong with him
just sayin

[Dale53]

I have a Ruger SS Bisley .45 Colt/.45 ACP Convertible. I cast my own bullets and reload. I find the convertible to be an EXCELLENT idea by Ruger. I DID need to ream both cylinder throats as they were undersize. I used a Manson Reamer kit complete with pilots (necessary in my opinion). I now have cylinder throats that measure at .4525". The revolver shoots like an NRA Bullseye pistol with both cylinders. Here it is with the .45 ACP cylinder:

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

Here's the first group I shot with it (.45 ACP cylinder) after reaming the cylinder throats:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/img072.jpg

You will note that the group was high as I had not yet zeroed it. This was with a target load and the Mihec #68 200 gr SWC bullet at fifty feet. It was winter and COLD outside - hence the shorter range.

My general field load in the .45 Colt is with the Mihec clone of the RCBS 45-270-SAA bullet in either hollow point or solid point:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/LoadedRounds45-270-SAA-3735.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/MiHecCramerStyleBulletMould-3207-1.jpg

All in all, a near perfect combination revolver (perfect would include proper cylinder dimensions to begin with) and nearly perfectly executed by Ruger. Frankly, by having undersize cylinder throats, I ended up with custom throats that shoot extremely well.

Dale53

[zxcvbob]

I used to see Ruger convertible cylinders for sale on eBay, but even if you find one you'd need to get it fitted and timed by a gunsmith.

[Thumbcocker]

I have a pair of 45 convertibles and like them a lot. The 200 swc over 6.0 of 231 load in .45 acp brass I mentioned above has shot well in both of them. That load in a Blackhawk is like shooting .38's in a .357 and you are only using about 200grns of lead per shot. Even though it doesn't recoil a lot it hits with a good smack and has been accurate for me.

When you consider the availabilty of acp brass (often free for the scrounging) I thnk the extra cylinder is a good thing.

[dmdracer]

Thanks guys for the education, all the answers clear up a few things.

Guess I should have got the convertible, looks like I could have Ruger do the fit for a few more $$ if I think I "need" it later.

Any one know of the grip thing I mentioned ?... I sure liked the wider ones on the one I saw.

Dave

[bisleyfan41]

Any of the custom gripmakers can build you grips to perfectly fit YOUR hand; some are costy though if that's a concern. Hogue's cowboy line of grips are thicker than standard and feel better, but fit to the grip frame may be off a bit here and there.

[750k2]

Why is this ? Is it not good to shoot acp out of the LC cyl. ? sort this out for me !
I cast the 200 and 230 gr from group buy molds for my 1911's so that could be some "already loaded" rounds to play with at first.

The ACP round has no rim to headspace off off. The ACP cylinder is bored like a pistol barrel so the brass can headspace off of the case mouth.

.45 ACP headspaces off the case mouth
.45 LC uses a rimmed case.
Drop a round in the chamber and you will see the problem - but I wouldn't pull the trigger
It might go off with undesirable outcomes.:shock:

[shooting on a shoestring]

"The 454424 was mentioned alot.... ????"

Yep. Very good boolit, 250 grs, can go fast or slow, lots of meplat to smash and spray meat, weight to crush bone, SWC shoulder to cut clean holes in paper. It has a single large lube groove and holds plenty of lube. Looks good too! Its my favorite boolit for .45 Colt, and lots of other folk see it that way as well.

Second up is 454190, a mostly round nose with a small meplat, also 250 grs, has two small lube grooves. I use it as a target round. Looks traditional.

[RobS]

A very good design as well is the 453640 design that BABore has on his BRP site. I have this design HP'd and have shot the solid version with nice results. It is basically the 454424 bottom with a LFN style nose to it. Same meplat as the Keith at .320 but a bit heavier being at 260 grains. The mold I received from BRP cast at .454 with straight WW alloy.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=66230&highlight=453640

[white eagle]

another reall good design that I have been turning in some impressive groups
is a mold design by Tom @ Accurate Molds
it is his personal concoction
real nice boolit
I know of at least one fella that shares my enthusiasm as well
Check it out here
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-300F-D.png

[canyon-ghost]

http://stores.ebay.com/Bearpaw-Ruger-Grip-Store I like these for wider grips, have large hands. For traditional grips, the replacement style : http://www.clccustomgrips.com/home.html

[Snyd]

Thanks guys for the education, all the answers clear up a few things.

Guess I should have got the convertible, looks like I could have Ruger do the fit for a few more $$ if I think I "need" it later.

Any one know of the grip thing I mentioned ?... I sure liked the wider ones on the one I saw.

Dave

Congrats on the Blackhawk!

Ya, the 45 acp cylinder sounds kind of neat to have but you don't really need it. I cast 200gr swc's (45 acp boolit) and have loaded them over 7 or 8 grains of Unique in 45 Colt brass, slight crimp on the driving band and they shoot great. But, 255gr rnfp over 8.5-9gr Unique is a really fun accurate load in the Blackhawk. Here's an old pic. Here I was experimenting with crimp on the 200 swc's. One crimped in lube groove, one crimped over the driving band. I ended up with just a slight crimp on the driving band (no pic), accurate and works the brass a lot less. On the left is the Lee 255gr rnfp from the Lee 6 banger. Very accurate. It's my go to plinking round.

http://web.mac.com/perryschneider/pics/45_swcs.jpg http://web.mac.com/perryschneider/pics/45_swc.jpg

I say don't worry about the 45 acp brass, load up your booits in 45 Colt brass and have some fun!

And then of course you've got to at least try some Ruger Only loads. 300-350gr over H110 :p

[429421Cowboy]

Plenty of good info on the reloads, not much more i can add on that front.
If you don't worry about traditional asthetics then Hogue Mongrips should settle things nicely, I'm already a cowboy, i don't feel the need to dress up like one on the weekends. My guns are working tools used everyday, how the shoot and how they last is more important then how nice they look. "Cheap" and "holster" aren't words i usually use at the same time. Galco SAO hollsters are now my go to leather, the can be threaded strong side and crossdraw, built to last and feature a retention strap. Figure around 70 bucks online if you shop around. You have a hell of a gun, enjoy it in good health.

[429421Cowboy]

Congrats on the Blackhawk!

Ya, the 45 acp cylinder sounds kind of neat to have but you don't really need it. I cast 200gr swc's (45 acp boolit) and have loaded them over 7 or 8 grains of Unique in 45 Colt brass, slight crimp on the driving band and they shoot great. But, 255gr rnfp over 8.5-9gr Unique is a really fun accurate load in the Blackhawk. And then of course you've got to at least try some Ruger Only loads. 300-350gr over H110 :p

Oh ya, what he said too:)

[DanWalker]

I like 6.5 grains of Red Dot under a 454424.
My blackhawk wears Pachmayer grips. They made a big difference in how the gun fit my hand.

[dmdracer]

Hey... you guys are awesome, really thank you for all the replies.

Thinking of the 270 mihec group buy going on now, of course I want it now, looks to be a couple months out !

I did pick up some brass and started loading some 200 gr swc, 230 gr rn from the molds I have and Hdy 250 gr xtp's with some Unique.

My only problem I have right now is ....no gun ! Guess I'm a bad guy... they put me on delay !

Store owner gave me a pamphlet to apply for a "pin #", said I will not have any problem after I get the #..... any one familiar with a "pin # " ?

Dog gone Govt. waste... just drives my blood pressure up a few points. ugh !

Holsters..... too many choices... I'll be patient and look around.

Grips... the guy with the ones I mentioned earlier sent me a contact # so I'll talk to him later today.

Thanks everyone :)

Dave

[RobS]

Thinking of the 270 mihec group buy going on now, of course I want it now, looks to be a couple months out !


BRP can do that one too and can HP a cavity or can make up a 2 or 4 cavity HP mold. He can probably do you just about anything you want really including multiple cavity molds etc. He makes 5 cavity designs and on down. The only thing he can't do is modify the basic design such as boolit diameter since he uses cherries to cut his molds. You could get yourself a mold in as little as 2 weeks and talking with him will get you a current estimate.

http://www.brp.castpics.net/P2.html

Bruce owner of BRP molds or BABore on the forum:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?u=402

[Thumbcocker]

Holsters..... too many choices... I'll be patient and look around.


Take a hard look at the Simply Rugged Loaded Pancake. I swear by mine.

[MtGun44]

Have not actually dropped a .45 ACP into the .45 LC cylinder in my convertible, I expect
that the cartridge would drop so far in as to not be reachable by the firing pin. Note
that the front edge of the brass is what locates the .45 ACP (headspaces it) for and aft.

Bill

[canyon-ghost]

Well, neither the 41 magnum or 44 special that I own are convertibles. It's really a mute point that comes down to a matter of choice. I prefer not to reload two different cartridges for one handgun because I ladle cast and single stage. Everything I make is one at a time and all handmade. The guys with progressives, bottom pour pots can outrun me but, that's of no consequence to me.
I just figure we're beating a dead horse on that one.

Ron