Ruger 30 Carbine

[Johnch]

About 2 weeks back I saw a used Ruger BH 30 carbine pistol in a friends case

This afternoon on the way back from a 5 day stay in the hospital I stoped into his place to get a new front sight for a 45 colt Redhawlk
I saw the Blackhawlk sitting on the table with a couple of other pistols he has for sale

Well I had no plans on another blackhawlk , but he made me a offer I couldn't turn down

Other than needed to be partly reblued , it is in perfict shape



My question , what is a easy shooting load for a 125 gr cast bullet ?( not a 296/110 load , to much crack )
I have a 125 gr GC mold cut on a Lyman mold block
Not sure who made up this mold , but it drops a nice shooting .310 dia bullet

Also will a Ruger Blackhawlk in 30 carbine stablilize a 150 gr bullet at plinking velositys ?
As I also have a single cavity mold cut on a Idea block that drops a nice .310 plain base bullet

Thanks
John

[9.3X62AL]

I see you have heard about--or heard--Ruger BH 30 Carbine report.

I use the Lee Soup Can (C309-113-FN) for my full-throttle loads in the BH. 1500 FPS, moderate recoil, and tumbleweed-withering report. The Lee 100 grain RN ahead of 3.0 grains of WW-231 is more docile, but still fairly loud. Any of the 30/32 caliber handguns running above 850-900 FPS are very barky, even the 32 ACP at full-tilt.

I have yet to try any bullet over 120 grains in the 30 BH. Even that one is pretty short and blunt in profile. I think the revolver is pitched with a 1-20" twist just like the Carbines. Measure your intended bullets' lengths and plug the values into the Greenhill Formula. (Google this if need be). GhF uses a "constant" of 150 for 1800-2200 FPS, and a "constant" of 180 for 2600-3000 FPS. Given the lower speeds of the 30 Carbine revolver, I would use 120-130 as the "constant".

[dg31872]

Read Beagles article in Castpics. Very informative. I printed it out and have it handy.

[Buckshot]

............Yes, shooting the BH in 30 M1 at a public range will have a lot of folks looking at you. At one time after I grew weary of full power loads, cast OR jacketed I simply wanted to plink without all the fuss and bother. I bought a Lyman mould (311252 I think it is) for their little 77 gr RN intended for the 32 ACP. Being a lite load in the 38 Special with a 148gr WC was 2.7grs of Bullseye, I figured with a case of much smaller capacity and a lighter slug I could easily reduce that load. Without going out to the shop to retrieve my load book for that pistol to quote exact loads, I'll let you know it STILL delivered a piercing eyeball rattling report! :-)

.............Buckshot

[cbrick]

I use 311410 HP at 130 gr with 10.0 to 10.5 gr SR4759. It's a little louder than you would expect considering the 1050 fps but not nearly as obnoxious as some loads can be. I've never bothered to group it on paper but at 50-60 yards it is minute of ground squirrel. The Ruger liked the HPGC boolit so well from my Lyman mold I got 2 four cavs from MP, one PBHP and one GCHP, the PBHP works so well with this load I haven't even tried the GC in it yet.

Rick

[gandydancer]

The Ruger BHR with factory loads is louder than my Casull with full loads. and they shoot great. a fun revolver.

[9.3X62AL]

The ensemble is pretty cool, when ya think on it--Casull noise and moderate recoil.

[Multigunner]

A friend who'd spent a lot of time in rural South America in the 70'-80's told me of ranchers having revolvers custom made for a number of the smaller rifle cartridges, such as the .22 Hornet. A photo he had showed what looked to be a medium frame S&W, or clone of one, that had the frame lengthened by cutting two frames at different points and welding them together. I suppose the cylinder was made from scratch, and aside from ejector rods all other parts were stock.
Once the practice caught on revolvers in .30-30 Winchester and .223 started showing up. More as a Macho thing than for practical use.

While not very practical if using factory rifle ammo these were very handy for those who mainly depended on handloads where components for modern pistol cartridges were not available.

[9.3X62AL]

I have an old Colt "coffee table book" by James Serven from 1954. In the section devoted to swing-out D/A revolvers it shows what I believe is an Army Special or Official Police chambered in 25-20 WCF. I suspect one of these might do a "case setback" trick like the 22 Jets were prone to do, perhaps not so badly as that slope-shouldered little monster did. None of my 32-20 revolvers have had this quirk to date, though its slope/shoulder is pretty vestigial.

If I ever get to the point that Money Is No Object (yeah, RIGHT) I could be talked into reworking a revolver of some description into a 25/26/27 Hornet. Straightwall case, shortened a bit, and running a 60-75 grain bullet at a healthy clip to strafe rats and song dogs with. For now, the 30 Carbine BH handles the business I send it on--which is very similar in mission statement content. And--it has factory ammo available. Or did, before the ObolaNation's onset.

[cbrick]

Here ya go Al, just what your looking for. Enjoy. Rick

Custom Ruger 25 Hornet Old Model Blackhawk By: Glen E. Fryxell

http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell25Hornet.htm

[runfiverun]

32-20 loads will settle the thing down.
I'm using 3.5grs of 700-x and a rcbs 32-098 rnfp boolit, and sr primers to good effect.
odd side note.
that 3.5 gr load is the same one I am using in my 300 bo with the lee 230 boolit and it shoots best with sr primers there too.

[nighthunter]

Jonch ..... I have a Ruger 30 Carbine that I shoot 155 gr cast in. It does shoot well and is quite accurate out to 100 yards. I load them with 14.0 gr of Reloader 7. The bullet has to be a bore rider design to fit in the cylinder throats. I've tried some other bullet designs and they just don't work. My mold is from the first group buy I ever got into quite a few years ago. It is a FN with GC and has 3 crimp groves for use in various cartridges. It was made by Lee. I'll post a pic.

Nighthunter

[Johnch]

Thanks
Now I have a lot of test loads to try

I tryed a load of 800X originaly for the 32/20 with some of the 125 gr bullets
Not a bad group , but s...l...o...w , oh I think heavy cardboard targets may have caused bounge backs
I have a thousand or more to play with before I need to cast
So I am sure I will find a load I like

John

[9.3X62AL]

CB Rick, I knew I could count on you or another of the usual bevy of enablers to help cobble up a Dream Gun. Nice article on the project, and thank you for passing it along.

R5R--It is at about the 32-20 standard pressure level that 30 Carbine revolver loads start getting obnoxious. I put up Lee Soup Cans in Carbine brass with 6.0 grains of SR-4756, and while these weren't as bad as 14.0 grains of 296......they were still pretty snarly at 900 FPS. The mid-bores are just eardrum drills, once you achieve respectable velocity. All of them.

[cbrick]

CB Rick, I knew I could count on you or another of the usual bevy of enablers to help cobble up a Dream Gun. Nice article on the project, and thank you for passing it along.

Did ya get started yet? [smilie=1:

Rick

[tonyjones]

Al,

You need to get your hands on the book "The Custom Revolver" by Hamilton S. Bowen. You will then feel truly enabled.

Best regards,

Tony

[9.3X62AL]

You guys are too kind. I have to avoid any material concerning Hamilton Bowen or Alan Harton, lest I take up residence in a tent inside a KOA campground to enable those sorts of goodies.

[leadman]

I used 4grs of Unique in the Ruger that I sadly sold. Been thinking of getting another.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Loadings with a 120 grain (or thereabouts) bullet and 5.0-5.5 grains Unique is a lot quieter than stuffing the case with slower burning stuff like 4227. You eliminate most of the muzzle flash and roar. With 30 carbine cases things go well but you will need a slight taper crimp..not too much as the case still needs to seat on the mouth and still prevent setback. The use of 32-20 cases works fine....the round then seats on the rim and the accuracy is very good. Suggest reading in cast-pics the original article done by our own "Beagle" (aka John Goens) who did the original workup and writeup; he used other bullets such as Lyman 3118 and 311359 and others. It adds a whole new dimension to the Ruger. LLS

[BruceB]

As a newcomer to the Ruger .30 Blackhawk ( only about two or three weeks since mine arrived), I am frankly amazed at the number of shooters who either have, or have previously owned, this Ruger model.

Where have I been, to be so unaware of the popularity of the .30 Carbine revolver?

Whatever..... the discussions on this and and another thread are very timely and interesting for me. If I happen across some .32-20 brass, guess what I'll be doing!

Can .30 Carbine dies be used with the .32-20 cases? From the discussions, I believe they work fine..... if so, all a man would need beside the brass is a shell-holder. Seems like an inexpensive route, compared to some of the more-arduous treks I've gotten into over the years.

This is a fascinating thread for me.

[cbrick]

32-20 brass is thinner and needs to be re-sized with the 32-20 die returning it to the bottle neck. Don't know how many times it can be sized this much but my brass has been loaded 5 times or more and I haven't lost any yet.

Rick

[Poygan]

I had problems with the carbine round binding until I trimmed the brass. I've used the 32-20 brass as well but carbine works well once it is trimmed.

[cbrick]

I had problems with the carbine round binding until I trimmed the brass. I've used the 32-20 brass as well but carbine works well once it is trimmed.

Yep, any brass that headspaces on the case mouth has to be kept properly trimmed. That explains my using 32-20 brass, this is a fun plinking gun and I don't need to jump through the hoops that I do for match brass. Just a lazier way to handload.
Rick

[Airman Basic]

Anybody know the physics of why it's so loud?

[cbrick]

Anybody know the physics of why it's so loud?

Small hole, slow powder, short barrel.

Rick

[dg31872]

I use 3.5 grains of Bullseye and a 311008, with 32-20 brass, and is still hurts other people's ears. I guess my ears are too far gone to hear it.

[Jared]

Pretty much any .32-20 load works fine. I have to size anything with much of a shoulder to .308" to ensure it will chamber. A 311008 sized accordingly with 4.5gr Unique works well.