Shorten a Super Blackhawk barrel?

[pull the trigger]

What would it cost to have my stainless super blackhawh cut from the 7.5 to the 4.625". Should I look at a rebarrel instead? I would try it myself but my limited experience with SS is that it is HARD. Any idea what it would cost either way?

[Cornbread]

Locally here the best gunsmith in town charges $80 to cut down a blackhawk barrel or similar revolver barrel, re-crown it, and move the sites. I just asked him for a price on doing a BFR barrel cut down last week and he said his prices for BFRs or Blackhawks are the same so that price point is very recent info.

[buckwheatpaul]

You might also inquire about turning the barrel inorder to remove the WARNING statement that is on the barrel....had that done back in the 1980's....otherwise you might wind up with 1/2 of the warning......

[str8wal]

Should I look at a rebarrel instead?

I would look at this route. If you cut a 7-1/2" to 4-5/8" you will likely also need a taller front sight. A rebarrel should have the correct sight height. Check the Ruger forum classifieds as there are often some new take-offs for sale.

[bigted]

i have snipped a couple myself with nothing more then a hacksaw ... file ... propane torch ... some soft silver solder ... a countersink for the drill motor ... some 400 grit wet n dry sand paper.

1- cut the barrel to the length you desire + 1/8th inch for the filing job to straighten and spiff the barrel muzzle
2- now file the muzzle till you have both the finished length you desire as well as the square muzzle.
3- take your countersink and gently countersink the muzzle as softly as you can and still cut in the new crown. finish this with your 400 grit paper till very smooth on the new crown as well as the end of the cutoff and filed barrel.
4- now take your propane torch and heat the cutoff barrel around the front sight till it melts the silver solder and drops off.
5- take the sight and clean it under neath so it is smooth and ready for solder ... now heat the sight till the sight takes the solder and coat the underside with a coat of silver solder [tinning].
6- now position the sight on the barrel in just the rite place where it will be square and centered on the barrel ... clamp it in this position and then begin to heat the barrel from the inside of the muzzle till it heats up ... now heat the sight and barrel both till your tined sight melts the solder onto the barrel ... allow to cool.
7- after all has cooled ... take your 400 grit paper and dress everything up to prep for the blus patch job.
8- after cleaning and degreasing ... blue the bright areas to match the existing blue.

a fun project and after all has been done ... if the job gets muffed ... you can still get that take off barrel and replace your cutoff. nothing to lose and all to gain. doing your own mod's makes your revolver special to you no matter what the job turns out like.

[seaboltm]

I have used bigted's method, but I used a barrel crown/muzzle trimmer from Brownells to square up the end and recrown, not a file.

[SSGOldfart]

does the crown need to be squared to the groves or does it matter? I thinking along the lines of cutting down a T/C encore barrel myself..

[ghh3rd]

Here's a place that I've heard recommended a couple of times on this forum:
http://www.magnaport.com/misc.html

[C. Latch]

If you go from 7.5" to 4.625" you'll probably have to change the ejector housing, too.

[pull the trigger]

I have used bigted's method, but I used a barrel crown/muzzle trimmer from Brownells to square up the end and recrown, not a file.

Do u own the tools for this?

[44man]

My question is WHY? Why shorten a good gun. Just what is so bad about 7-1/2"?
I am a stick in the mud and will not own under 6" for any reason.

[DougGuy]

If you want a short barrel SBH, just find one and leave the hogleg like it is. Not only is it a lot of trouble to shorten one, but you will hacksaw about 1/2 of it's resale value at the same time.

[seaboltm]

Do u own the tools for this?

yes, but I don't have a 357 pilot for the cutter.

[pull the trigger]

I would prefer to swap for a short barrel but never see any around my parts

[bigted]

from childhood i never liked the 7.5 inch barrels. just too long for me i guess. as for the value? what value are we talking about with a ruger super blackhawk? 450 dollars will replace any super in a used gun so if a feller was to cut one down to exactly what he wants ... i guess i dont see the harm.

now an old origanal Colt? now we are talkin but i still prefer the shorter barrel lengths myself.

my view from my standpoint is that if you hanker for something you can build yourself with a firearm that is yours ... what the heck ... go for it. chances are slim that anybody else is going to have to put up with it but the owner and if he is happy ... where is the rub?

some of the current models of firearms are from the do it yourselfers cutting and whittling to get what they wanted ... and the new offspring held ground and some manufacturer made a legitimized model out of somebodys dream. kinda like the 25-06 or 35 Whelen or the different wildcats based from the good ol 06 case ... plenty folks griped about the "whats so wrong with the 30-06 as it is" standpoint but folks kept rite on changing till we got the different calibers like 25-06, 270 win, 35 whelen. just like creating the 44 mag and 338 and so on from existing firearms and calibers.

ok i will step off my stool now and suffer with the stir i just caused. 8-)

[SSGOldfart]

from childhood i never liked the 7.5 inch barrels. just too long for me i guess. as for the value? what value are we talking about with a ruger super blackhawk? 450 dollars will replace any super in a used gun so if a feller was to cut one down to exactly what he wants ... i guess i dont see the harm.

now an old origanal Colt? now we are talkin but i still prefer the shorter barrel lengths myself.

my view from my standpoint is that if you hanker for something you can build yourself with a firearm that is yours ... what the heck ... go for it. chances are slim that anybody else is going to have to put up with it but the owner and if he is happy ... where is the rub?

some of the current models of firearms are from the do it yourselfers cutting and whittling to get what they wanted ... and the new offspring held ground and some manufacturer made a legitimized model out of somebodys dream. kinda like the 25-06 or 35 Whelen or the different wildcats based from the good ol 06 case ... plenty folks griped about the "whats so wrong with the 30-06 as it is" standpoint but folks kept rite on changing till we got the different calibers like 25-06, 270 win, 35 whelen. just like creating the 44 mag and 338 and so on from existing firearms and calibers.

ok i will step off my stool now and suffer with the stir i just caused. 8-)


I thought it was well said without stomping on anybody's toes

[W.R.Buchanan]

The reason why I shortened mine is that I wanted a gun that handled better. The longer barrel is like pointing a broomstick. Also it holsters better and I can present the weapon from the holster much quicker.

I sent mine to Terry Tussey in Carson City NV. He is a pretty well regarded Pistol Smith, famous for his 1911 work.. Steven Segal uses him for his 1911's if that makes any difference. I have known Terry for many years.

The complete job which included cutting and recrowning the barrel to 5" installing a Weigand Front Sight with a Removable blade so you can compensate for different loads, and complete bead blast and reblue job cost me $300.

After you silver solder the new sight on the barrel you have to reblue the barrel. Since you probably aren't going to be able to match the color you really need to reblue the whole gun. The Bead Blasted finish just sets the gun apart from the rest of the Rugers out there..

It did not reduce the value of the gun one iota.

You don't have to change the Ejector Housing to go to 4 5/8" it is the same housing. I am changing mine to one off a 10" barreled gun (per John Linebaugh) so that it will extend to the end of the barrel like all short barreled guns (<5") should have. 5.5" and above keep the shorter EH.

Mine has the Lawyer Warning on the underside of the barrel. The beginning of the text is about 1/16" behind the muzzle. If the barrel was cut off to 4-5/8 it would remove the first word, "Before," from the barrel. Since the warning is on the underside of the barrel I don't see this as a big deal. I can't get it to show up in a picture so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Here's a pic of mine. The one with the Bead Blasted finish is the SBH Bisley .44 Mag, the other is a BH Bisley .44 Spec.

Randy

[44man]

from childhood i never liked the 7.5 inch barrels. just too long for me i guess. as for the value? what value are we talking about with a ruger super blackhawk? 450 dollars will replace any super in a used gun so if a feller was to cut one down to exactly what he wants ... i guess i dont see the harm.

now an old origanal Colt? now we are talkin but i still prefer the shorter barrel lengths myself.

my view from my standpoint is that if you hanker for something you can build yourself with a firearm that is yours ... what the heck ... go for it. chances are slim that anybody else is going to have to put up with it but the owner and if he is happy ... where is the rub?

some of the current models of firearms are from the do it yourselfers cutting and whittling to get what they wanted ... and the new offspring held ground and some manufacturer made a legitimized model out of somebodys dream. kinda like the 25-06 or 35 Whelen or the different wildcats based from the good ol 06 case ... plenty folks griped about the "whats so wrong with the 30-06 as it is" standpoint but folks kept rite on changing till we got the different calibers like 25-06, 270 win, 35 whelen. just like creating the 44 mag and 338 and so on from existing firearms and calibers.

ok i will step off my stool now and suffer with the stir i just caused. 8-)
OK, you got me there. can I admit something? I put a Weigand base and a red dot on my Ruger Old Army for deer hunting. Yeah, I did because nobody else will get it until I die.
Let's listen to the stir that can cause! :kidding:

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yeah: people have a hard time assigning a meaningful value to someone else's modified gun. If a gun is modified in a professional way and the result is something you can't buy and is desirable, then, What the hey? I say it's worth more.

Also we are talking about Generic Guns that are not rare in any way. There are plenty of used Ruger SBH's out there, and there are plenty of brand new ones available as well. I could replace my SBH for $475 in about 20 minutes, but this one is one of the last guns I will part with simply because I had it modified the way "I" wanted it.

I doubt I will have any problems selling it for top dollar when I get ready.

This subject comes up in the Military Forum all the time, with guys not wanting to modify their not so pristine Mauser, Enfield, Springfield etc. due to the "Collector Value". Which is in 99.999% of the cases,,, is not present! [smilie=b: There is always someone warning them to not modify that gun because of it's "Collector Value." OMG! What they have is a shooter, and nobody cares if a shooter is modified in some way to make it a "better shooter." I don't care if I modify an ex military weapon because there are 6 million others that are just like it, and there is nothing special about the one I have. Other than it's mine! Same goes for Generic Guns that you can buy at the local Hardware/Sporting Goods Store.

I tend to like this type of gun "Specifically" because I "can" modify it to my liking and not decrease it's resale value. In fact in a lot of cases I have sold guns I have reworked for a lot more than I paid for them. I do real well with Marlin Rifles that I rework internally and refinish externally. They start out rough as a cobb, and end up being a joy to handle and shoot.

A few months back I sold a Marlin 1894 Carbine 44 that I paid $275 for. I spent and hour deburring the inside of the action, and another 3 hours over three days refinishing the wood. Got $575 from a Club Member and he is happy as a clam. The gun came out nice.

Randy

[dubber123]

Also if you prefer belt carry like I do, have you ever tried sitting down in a car with a 7.5" barreled revolver on your belt? :) I've got a 9.5" F/A that might meet the hacksaw some day.

[Jeff H]

Yeah: people have a hard time assigning a meaningful value to someone else's modified gun. If a gun is modified in a professional way and the result is something you can't buy and is desirable, then, What the hey? I say it's worth more......................Randy

I had a 7 1/2" OM Blackhawk .45 Colt cut to 5 1/2" in '07 or '08. Installed a $100 screw-on front sight (Jim Stroh?) and added an OM Super Blackhawk hammer and "un-converted" it.

Since I only paid $300 for the gun, the additional expense was worth it for what I feel is the single best handling SA I have ever owned. When Ruger came out with the 5.5" .44 Special, I traded the .45 to a collector who'd been bugging me about it and who knew everything about the gun. He even researched who bought it originally (new) because the SN was reserved for someone.

Anyway, it handled better than the new .44 Special and I only miss that gun for that reason. The guy that got it was very happy to get it. Even though he's a collector, he appreciates the handling of that particular piece as much as I did and that is why he wanted it.

Now, before anyone goes off on me about hacking up an OM .45 Colt, first, it was MY OM .45 Colt and, second, it had been ported. I was please that it had been ported by the previous (second) owner because I could cut it without feeling any guilt. He had also had the B/C gap reduced to .002" and had the throats reamed. All the work was so well done you wouldn't have noticed it (except the porting) without noticing "correct" dimensions and having been advised of the work.

He had it done his way and enjoyed it. I had it done my way and enjoyed it. Now, a fourth owner is very, very pleased to have it.

[Jeff H]

If you go from 7.5" to 4.625" you'll probably have to change the ejector housing, too.


I am not 100% certain on this, but I think he'd be OK. If I remember correctly, the 10" model had a longer ERH. I know my OM .45 Colt was the "standard" length because I replaced it with an aftermarket steel housing. I did have to cut the shoulder at the rear of the housing slightly because the previous owner had the barrel set back a bit to close up the B/C gap. Funny thing - when you shorten it from the back end, the screw hole moves!;-)

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i was thinking about shortening my 7 1/2 SBH 44 mag but then i found a NMBH 4 5/8 barrel in 41 mag for $300
that looked like it was new in box so for me i'm glad that i didn't have it cut down

[pull the trigger]

I have a 41nmbh and a SSS both, and swapped out of a NMBH 45colt all with the 4 5/8 barrels and really like that length. Also have a 4" barrel GP100 and love it as well. I would not have bought the SBH with the long barrel except it was a screamin deal

[EDK]

I bought a shortened barrel gun and the front sight was off center so that adjustment was really weird. It got sent to Ruger for a new barrel...back when shipping was under $20. Problems solved.
I'd contact Ruger...and they might basically rebuild the gun on their dime. Do some searches on repair jobs at factory.