45 ACP's in Blackhawk convertable

[got_lead?]

Can anyone give me some feedback on how well the 45ACP shoots out of a convertable Blackhawk.

Thanks

[45 2.1]

Most shoot better than the 45 Colt cylinder does. I shot several that got target grade accuracy. They can be right finicky about the way you load for them though.

[Guesser]

Mine also shoots better than the 45 Colt cylinder. I size .452, my throats are uniformly .4525, I use 452374 and 452423 cast relatively soft, 9-10, over Bullseye or Winchester Action Pistol and go for full power. Works really well.

[454PB]

Same here. I get the same accuracy whether I'm using the .45 Colt or the .45 ACP cylinder.

[got_lead?]

Thanks guys, I'm feelin the need for a .45 ACP in a revolver, and had been looking at the 625's, when lo and behold someone started talking blackhawks on The High Road. That cal 45 4 5/8" blackhawk just looked soooo purty.

So if the throats run .4525 on both ACP and LC, the bore must be around .451 or so. That would be perfect right out of the box.

I did hear sometime back that Ruger 45LC throats ran a little too tight and had to be reamed to get the gun to shoot well.

[runfiverun]

both my stainless 45 and stainless 44 special are tight cylinder throated, both blued ones are spot on.

the 625 is a nice gun also.
it will take the ar cases, single auto cases, or use moon clips.
i use the 625 as the house gun with moon clips, load 250's with unique in the ar cases when on the 4 wheeler,and just shoot acp cases when i don't wanna load the moon clips.

[MT Gianni]

The last Blackhawk I bought, I had to ream both cylinders. Then you need to re-read and commit to heart post #2.

[Dale53]

I have a SS Bisley Blackhawk in .45 colt/.45 ACP convertible. When received, both of the cylinders had undersized throats. After I reamed the cylinders, both calibers shot extremely well (under 1" at 25 yards).

I don't have a problem with any reasonable loads. Neither caliber seems to be finicky in any way.

I consider these convertible revolvers to be a really well considered piece of gear in most every way.

FWIW
Dale53

[newton]

I have one I have not tried yet in the acp. But I have to guess that it wil shoot about as good as the colt. I am planning on loading around 6 grains unique underneath the 255 mold I already have. I have to wonder what others are doing with their convertibles with this caliber.

[Bret4207]

My only BH is a 4 5/8" 45 combo. I would have preferred a longer barrel. The 45ACP shoots great. I don't think I've ever shot the 45 Colt.

[44man]

If the throats are right, they shoot good.
I did find the revolver shoots better with SP brass. Looked like the LP primer was moving out boolits too fast before good ignition.

[newton]

If the throats are right, they shoot good.
I did find the revolver shoots better with SP brass. Looked like the LP primer was moving out boolits too fast before good ignition.

Now that's interesting. I never would have thunk it. I have been able to get some but always passed. I'll have to pick some up now to give it a shot. It would be interesting to do a side by side test.

[Jack Stanley]

The seven and a half inch gun I had years ago worked just fine .

Unless the gun you buy is a lemon I can't imagine you not enjoying it .

Jack

[Groo]

Groo here
44man
That SP/LP problem seems to crop up more lately...
Could it be because we use slower powder now??????????????

[cabezaverde]

My throats are good on my ACP cylinder, but the chambers are real tight. Anyone know of someone with the tools to open them up a bit?

[Okie2]

I have the new Lipsey's SS flattop convertable....shoots great & Ruger fixed all throat issues.... Hard to get my self to shoot the acp when the 45 colt is some much fun!!!

[Gee_Wizz01]

I have 2 Convertibles, an old 76 model 7 1/2", which shoots the 45ACP hard ball like a tack driver, better than I have ever been able to shoot 45 Colts out of it. It needs chamber reaming in the 45 Colt. The other is a 2009 5 1/2" bbl, it shoots both the 45 Colt and the 45 ACP with equal accuracy, and the throats are perfect fit with both cylinders. I also have found the the 45ACP can be a bit finicky in my BH's.

G

[ClemY]

I have several slightly older stainless .45 NMBHs with .45 ACP cylinders. All of the .45 Colt cylinders needed to be reamed. Several of the .45 ACP cylinders also needed to be reamed. Two .45 ACP cylinders weren’t reamed: one was .455” and shoots well anyway; one is .451” and shoots .45 ACP ball so well that I don’t want to do anything to it that could jeopardize that. All the .45 ACP cylinders have been modified to also shoot .45 Auto Rim. I mostly shoot .45 AR in both the NMBHs and my S&W 625. The AR seems to cycle better in the Ruger and it eliminates the need for clips for the 625.

[Larry Gibson]

I've played with several Ruger convertables in .45 Colt/.45 ACP and currently have a Uberti SAA convertable. I've also shot lots of .45 ACP and AR in numerous M1917s, both S&W and Colts, and M25s. Most all of the .45 ACP cylinder throats fit more conduvively with the .451 - .452 bullets of most .45 ACP ammo. The .45 Colt cylinder throats can be all over the place but the newer ones are tightening up to be more conducive to the .451 - .452 barrels. That's one reason most .45 ACP cylinders shoot better than .45 COts.

The other reason is the cartridges themselves. I've just complete a rather extensive test for CBA loads in numerous cartridges with the .45 Colt being one of them. The .45 Colt case is a very large one and even with factory loads or equivelent the consistency of the internal ballistics is not any where near as good as with the smaller capacity .45 ACP. With factory loads or equivelent handloads the .45 ACP always gives more consistent results internally and this shows up externally with better accuracy.

Larry Gibson

[Alan]

I have an OM .45 4 5/8". It cuts one hole at 25 yards w/ ANY decent ammo. Note: Current White Box Win. or UMC yellow box does NOT qualify as decent ammo. What it consumes by the bucketfull is any .452" 230 RN or TC over 4.9 gr of Red Dot. That is about .4 gr below max, and pretty much identical to current factory velocities w/ 230gr.

[beagle]

I have one of the 5 1/2" Blackhawk convertibles and the barrel length is just right for me. Shoots ACPs better than .45 Colts but it's no slouch with them but with all the .45 ACP brass available, I tend to go that route.

Takes a little adjusting at first on seating depth and crimp for the ACP cases but once you get it dialed in it's fine.

Pretty easy to push a 454190HP out of an ACP case at about 1,000 FPS so I don't worry about .45 Colts too much./beagle

[Thumbcocker]

I have 2 .45 convertibles and they both shoot acp's better than colts. They both like the lyman 425460 swc over 6 grains of 231. This is a mx load but has been fine for my guns. Chambers are tight so you may have to seat the top band flush with the case mouth. My cylinder mouths are .4525 and the boolit casts out a smidgin over .453 so I size in a .454 sizer. For the uninitated a "smidgin" is a highly technical measurment that is more than a hair but less than a dab. That load also shoots well in a 625 model of 1989.

[pipehand]

My 4&5/8" shoots just enough more accurately with the ACP cylinder to frustrate me in my attempts to make the 45 Colt cylinder shoot as well! Still, the gun is mostly loaded with the Colt case, and the group buy clone version of the RCBS 45-270 SAA.

[newton]

would it be a bad thing to list what kind of load people are using for their acp? I know some have, but I would be curious to see more. My stuff is coming in today for the acp so I'll have some to test this weekend.

[Larry Gibson]

Unless you get into 45 Colt loads over 16,000 psi (SAAMI MAP is 14,000 psi for the 45 Colt) with 200+ gr bullets using Unique or faster burning powder the loads are very inefficient and erratic. That's why I recommended the 8.5 gr load with your 250 gr cast bullet. The psi will be 18,000 psi +/- with a very low ES in fps. a 255 gr 454190 runs 933 fps with an ES of 37 fps for a 10 shot test out of my 5 1/2" Uberti Artillery SAA.

The 45 ACP has a SAAMI MAP of 20,000 psi and most all loads are efficient in the smaller case at the higher psi's. Most 230 "hardball", commercial and military, runs at 15 - 17,000 psi.

In the 45 ACP with a 190 - 205 gr cast SWC try 4.5 - 5 gr of Bullseye for a very accurate load.

Larry Gibson

[Rockchucker]

Well My convertible came in last night and I'm excited about casting and reloading some boolits in the near future. I'm just waiting of some of the items Needed before I can get started, Guess I'll shoot some acp's thru it this weekend and get a feel for it. The grips are a lot smaller than the Black Hawks, even the little single six. The picture I posted is a copy from the webb.:bigsmyl2:
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i403/ronthompson5231/RUGERRUKNVB455X.jpg

[got_lead?]

Wow, I think I'm in love!! Those limited stainless models are beautiful. I wonder when they'll show up around town or at the gun shows. thanks for the pics Rockchucker, I hope you're enjoying yours.

[DanWalker]

Hope you don't mind the hijack, but does anyone know where I can get a 45 ACP cylinder for my BH?

[44man]

Groo here
44man
That SP/LP problem seems to crop up more lately...
Could it be because we use slower powder now??????????????
No, I tried all powders. I sat and stared at the little case at my bench. I said to myself that the LP primer is just too much so I cut bushings for my friends brass. The results were pretty dramatic so he went to www,oncefiredbrass.com/45acpspeer.aspx and bought 1000 cases.
He has a little S&W that really shoots well now and we found his 1911 was also better. I built his 1911 and it did 1/2" at 30 yards but is better now even though a pistol is not as touchy.
The other direction is the .454 with the wrong primer, it should use a LP mag primer not a SR mag.

[Rockchucker]

Wow, I think I'm in love!! Those limited stainless models are beautiful. I wonder when they'll show up around town or at the gun shows. thanks for the pics Rockchucker, I hope you're enjoying yours.

I haven't seen any around here either, that's why I ordered this gun from Bud's Gun Shop at a great price. Thanks for the complement too, I just shot off 12 rounds of Magtech cowboy rounds so I could have the brass and was very impressed with it so far.

[Dale53]

DanWalker;
Dan, the bitter truth is you'll find it cheaper to locate a convertible and sell what you have than paying for a cylinder and someone to fit it to your existing gun.

I have no idea where you might find a cylinder. Ruger normally will not sell a cylinder nor fit one to a revolver that wasn't originally a convertible.

FWIW
Dale53

[DanWalker]

Thanks... Story of my life. If it rained soup, all I'd have with me would be a fork!

[runfiverun]

dan not to make you cry.
my old man just sold the acp cylinder he has had kicking around since the 80's.
he didn't know where he got it from and asked if i wanted it.
since i have one i told him no.
besides that you don't need anything for that 45 you have, it's fine.
but if you really need a blackhawk convertible,we could just swap straight across :lol:



they do make the flat top and the black hawk i looked at a stainless flat top and a stainless black hawk and would have grabbed the flat top but they both had the longer bbl.
in the final box was a blued 4-5/8th's.
exactly what i wanted....finally.
the advice larry gives above about the 45 colt cylinder is spot on.
i have excellent accuracy in the 45 colt with 8.5 grs of unique and the 454424 or the 452664 boolit.
the acp does well with 6 grs of unique and a 225 rnfp magma engineering mold i have.
i may have the acp cylinder modified to take A.R. brass so i can just use that with the heavier boolits.
and be done with it.