POLL: New to me Ruger Blackhawk 45lc/45acp. Which loads first?

[jonp]

Just picked up an almost brand new convertable dated 1978. It still has the original poster of handguns on one side and rifles on the other, unopened. The 45acp cylinder is still in the red velvet pouch. Wanted one for a long time and when I saw this one I couldn't pass it up.
So, which cylinder should I try out first?

[SSGOldfart]

I'd start with the 45colt,and use a lightweight BP load,I have the same combo myself but remember those were made with black powder in mind,some guys report good rounds with Trail boss I'm going to try 5.2 grs of TB. I'm a fan of the Black Powder,even when you don't have to use it,I still 38 with BP.btw what make is your conversion cylinders?:coffeecom

[fecmech]

I bought one of the Lipsey's convertibles a couple years back to shoot .45 ACP's, the .45 Colt cylinder is still unused. The gun shoots the ACP's great, I will probably never use the other cylinder.

[jeepyj]

Even though I shoot a very large amount of 45acp through a 625 For me I'd tune it up with the 45 LC. I've been wondering if the acp cylinder is going to be as accurate as the longer colt cartridge. Please keep us posted with your testing results.
jeepyj

[jonp]

I'd start with the 45colt,and use a lightweight BP load,I have the same combo myself but remember those were made with black powder in mind,some guys report good rounds with Trail boss I'm going to try 5.2 grs of TB. I'm a fan of the Black Powder,even when you don't have to use it,I still 38 with BP.btw what make is your conversion cylinders?:coffeecom
What do you mean on the cylinders? They both are factory and the serial numbers match the gun. Oh, I see...both factory.
I have several pounds of trailboss im not using. I was going to start with red dot but you have a great idea on the tb

[contender1]

I own several of the Ruger 45 convertibles. If you've never tried either,,, I'd start with the 45 acp. Most any good load will do. But if you have more experience,,, I'd load up some medium loads in 45 Colt & not look back.

BTW; Those Ruger Blackhawks are built MUCH stronger than the black powder type guns of the 19th century. They will handle the loads listed as; "Ruger & T/C Only" section in your loading manuals. SSGOldFart enjoys BP, but those Rugers can handle any 45 Colt loads listed in any manuals.

[mozeppa]

I'd start with the 45colt,and use a lightweight BP load,I have the same combo myself but remember those were made with black powder in mind,some guys report good rounds with Trail boss I'm going to try 5.2 grs of TB. I'm a fan of the Black Powder,even when you don't have to use it,I still 38 with BP.btw what make is your conversion cylinders?:coffeecom


i do believe he said it was made in 1978....i don't think it was made with "black powder " in mind
i think they were made with modern smokeless powder in mind.

i know mine is built for smokeless ....as i have the same ruger.
mine came with both cylinders as well.
ya might scare the guy into thinking that he must only use black powder.

[Harter66]

Well I didn't get the ACP cylinder until last week for the 76' vintage BlackHawk.
It has Pachmar grips and at 1200 fps with a 262-265 gr bullet it stops being fun to shoot . I wouldn't want to shoot all day with the 1050s either .
Shoot the Colts 1 st .
Don't forget about Schofields , and Cowboys .

[Dale53]

I have the Ruger Bisley .45ACP/.45 Colt Convertible. When I got it, it wouldn't accept my cast bullet .45 ACP reloads and the .45 Colt leaded terribly with cast bullet reloads. I measured the cylinder throats and both cylinders had undersized throats. I borrowed a Manson Reamer kit complete with pilots (made for the job).

After properly reaming the cylinder throats, all problems ceased. Either caliber will shoot under an inch at 25 yards with my cast bullets and reloads. It has become a treasured revolver in both calibers.

P.S. I reamed the cylinder throats to .4525".

FWIW,
Dale53

[ReloaderFred]

I have two of the Ruger .45 Colt/.45 acp combination revolvers and both of them shoot tighter groups with the .45 acp cylinder. I've been shooting up the 200 gr. SWC loads I've had for years in the Blackhawks, and picking off clay birds on the 35 yard impact berm on our pistol range is easy with them offhand. If you're revolver is like mine, the .45 acp cylinder will get the most use.

For the .45 Colt, Trail Boss works just fine for range use. It won't produce the highest velocities, but it's easy to use and produces pretty fair accuracy. There are even loads for the .45 acp with Trail Boss, but I haven't tried any of them. I use either Bullseye or Winchester 231 for the acp loads.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[DougGuy]

Check your cylinder throats fellas, if a .452" boolit won't push through the throats from the front, then the cylinder is squeezing them down smaller, to whatever diameter the throats are. Some of those older convertibles are down to .450" and an occasional .449" is not out of the question.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I'd go with the .45 Colt's cylinder first, load 250 gr boolits over Unique. Then work up a load for the 270 gr boolit. I use 454190, 454424 and RCBS 45 270 SAA. Currently my RCBS 45 270 SAA's are loaded with AA#5 but Power Pistol also gives accurate results with this boolit. The RCBS is the most accurate boolit for my .45 Colt's.

Theres nothing like like the heavy push of a .45 Colt's.

[alamogunr]

I voted to shoot the .45 Colt first. That is what the gun is made for. The fact that the ACP's shoot well is a bonus.

I have a .45ACP cylinder for my Freedom Arms. The one time I used it was to check some loads with a surplus powder that I wasn't sure of the burn rate. I knew that I couldn't (?) blow up the FA with .45ACP rounds. It turned out to be a good way to go. Those ACP rounds clocked at between 1250 & 1300 FPS. Very accurate though(within my limitations).

[flyingmonkey35]

Yes. Both.

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

[Earlwb]

Actually it depends on which ammo you already have on hand. That would be the first type of ammo to use. Now if you have neither then I would likely go with the .45 LC first.

[MT Gianni]

I believe it is much easier to find an accurate load with factory throats in 45 acp than LC.

[SSGOldfart]

What do you mean on the cylinders? They both are factory and the serial numbers match the gun. Oh, I see...both factory.
I have several pounds of trailboss im not using. I was going to start with red dot but you have a great idea on the tb
Sorry I miss read the OP, I was thinking Ruger Old Army,which was made on the 44 spl flat top frame,for black powder, many have been converted to 45 colt or 45acp I have a pair of them with conversion cylinders made by Krist cartridge Konverter,but the Ruger Old Army was built on the ideal of using Black Powder,so even if converted to cartridges they should still us black powder

[robertbank]

Love my convertible. I shoot more 45acp than 45 Colt. I have not noticed any difference in accuracy. I load my 45acp with 200 gr LSWC and bang away. I use a lot of Unique in my 45 Colt loads. 8 gr of Unique under my 200 gr cast LSWC 800 fps and is very accurate using 45 Colt cases. 5.3 gr of Win 231 pushed the same bullet along at 800 fps using 45acp cases. Close to the same POA for both.

Incidentally I use 8 gr of Unique under a 260 gr LSWC in my 45 Colt cases. Load is stiff enough and accurate.

Take Care

Bob

[Tackleberry41]

I picked up a blackhawk convertible a while back. Dont think the ACP cyl had ever been used. I have gotten more use out of the ACP cylinder. It will inhale cheap FMJ all day. I was using 45 super in it, and have since gone w the 460 Rowland brass, cut it back to ACP length, use the min rowland data. Works beautiful. I like 45 colt, its just alot cheaper to shoot ACP.

[Ed_Shot]

I take both cylinders with me every time I take my Blackhawk 45 Convertible out of the house. The loose cylinder stays in a heavy rolled up sock in the pistol case. Both cylinders will consistently shoot a "very tight" one-ragged-hole group from a supported position and a not-as-tight one-ragged-hole group unsupported. I size to .452 using WL 2500+. Right now my favorite loads are the Lyman 452424 over Promo 6.0 gr in 45 LC and the Accurate 45-200E over Promo 4.5 gr. Unique is also very promising.

I cannot push either boolit thru the forcing cone of either cylinder by hand and I have not slugged the bore. Last week at the local range I fired 200 ea. LC and 200 ea ACP. Again there was no hint of leading in the forcing cones or in the bore. I didn't even need to use a brass brush to clean it.

The question I'd like to ask you Blackhawk 45 Convertible users is "What boolits are you using the ACP cylinder and at what COAL?". Mine does not like any shoulder forward of the case mouth. I have the Lyman 452630 (200 gr.) and have to seat to 1.120. I got the Accurate 45-200E because it has a bearing surface of .270 and I can load to 1.175.

[robertbank]

My experience with your 200 gr bullet is the same. I do like the bullet though and find it very accurate using 231/HP38. I seat it deep to bury the shoulder for the same reason you do. I size my bullets .452. I had to ream my cylinders out as they both were to tight. Accuracy improved after reaming them out.

Take Care

Bob

[Bigslug]

Seems like the main purposes of the ACP capability would be to test questionable loads, get rid of ones that aren't reliable in an auto, or shoot more for the buck with that particular gun simply because it's easier to find range brass. All good selling points.

Aside from that though, the gun was built to thump big, so you might as well thump big. Since I've got the auto ammo pretty well refined, I doubt the ACP cylinder would get much play.

[robertbank]

Bigslug the gun is not the large frame Ruger so it would not be the gun to take Ruger Only loads. Personally I would not be going much beyond standard 45Colt loads. Not saying you can't, just not sure I would want or need to.

Just to add keep my 45acp brass meant for the Ruger separate from my 45acp destined for my autos. Once the rims are banged up a bit the cases are not much use in the Revolver.

Take Care

Bob

[jonp]

"Seems like the main purposes of the ACP capability would be to test questionable loads"

Ding Ding Ding.....I make reloading mistakes like everyone else and instead of pulling the bullets or boolits I can fire them in the revolver. Besides just always wanting one of course

[jonp]

My experience with your 200 gr bullet is the same. I do like the bullet though and find it very accurate using 231/HP38. I seat it deep to bury the shoulder for the same reason you do. I size my bullets .452. I had to ream my cylinders out as they both were to tight. Accuracy improved after reaming them out.

Take Care

Bob

The .452 200gr is one I use in both 45LC and 45ACP over some Promo for practice. Makes a great and economical plinking round

[jonp]

Sorry I miss read the OP, I was thinking Ruger Old Army,which was made on the 44 spl flat top frame,for black powder, many have been converted to 45 colt or 45acp I have a pair of them with conversion cylinders made by Krist cartridge Konverter,but the Ruger Old Army was built on the ideal of using Black Powder,so even if converted to cartridges they should still us black powder

Yes, with the mention of black powder I caught what you were talking about. Unfortunately I don't have an Old Army but I've always wanted one with the conversion cyclinder.