Ruger Super Blackhawk

[exile]

I was at the gunshop yesterday and a Ruger Super Blackhawk, blued, 71/2 inch barrel caught my eye. I don't need it and can't afford it. I have a S & W Mountain Gun already. But just in case money should fall from the sky, i thought this might be a great gun for long-range target shooting and/or deer hunting. In NE your deer hunting load must be 400 foot pounds of energy or above. I don't know how hot that is, but a 240 grain cast bullet and 10 grains of Unique is about all I care to shoot through the Mountain Gun. Mostly I shoot .44 specials in it anyway.

So my question is two-fold. First, I have heard so many good things about the Super Blackhawk. Any positives or negatives anyone would like to share? Secondly, would anyone know what load would be necessary (minimum) in the Mountain Gun to achieve 400 foot pounds of energy with a 240 grain cast lead "boolit" or (forgive the sin) also with a 240 grain Hornady XTP, hopefully also using Unique.

My reason for these questions is that I love the Mountain Gun, but recoil with hotter loads can be rough. So, I thought I could handle hotter loads in the Super Blackhawk because of the extra weight (39 oz. Mountain Gun, 48 oz. Super Blackhawk) and longer barrel (4 inch Mountain Gun, 71/2 inch Super Blackhawk.) I have never hunted deer before, only prairie dogs and coyotes, so I don't know much.

I also considered getting a 45 Colt just for something different, however. on this forum I have heard so much about varying chamber dimensions etc., with the .45 Colt that I thought I would stick with the .44 magnum. I also wanted a single-action since I don't have one, and like the Super Blackhawk for the non-fluted cylinder and especially the "dragoon" trigger guard. The Blackhawk with the rounded trigger guard looks like it would smack your finger.

This may all be theoretical, I may not go deer hunting, but I thought I would ask. I suppose it goes without saying, but I do reload, however as yet have not cast my own boolits. When I start that I would probably want to use the Lee 310 grain boolit in the Super Blackhawk for hunting. Again, I felt that combination would have too much recoil in the Mountain Gun.

There are a lot of questions and thoughts here, maybe too many, but any thoughts and ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Exile

[dubber123]

Well, I won't answer all your questions, but for sure, getting 400 ft. lbs of energy out of a .44 mag is easy. I am quite sure your 10 grs. Unique load does that.

Negatives on the Ruger are likely a crappy factory trigger compared to the Smith. Pluses are: easier to shoot due to the longer sight radius, and single action grip. 10 grs. of Unique in a 7-1/2" SBH is a real pussycat.

I do have both guns by the way. The Mountain Gun really kicks for a .44 with hot loads.

[targetshootr]

The square trigger guard is the one that smacked my fingers good. Till I sold it. The big 45 colt can do the same thing a 44 can with 80% of the effort. Hard to go wrong either way though.

[44man]

Put Pachmeyer condom grips on the SBH and enjoy! :Fire:

[454PB]

Yup, that square backed trigger gaurd is hard on the middle finger knuckle. I owned one once, put 30K rounds through it before a guy offered me way more than I paid for it. It was one of those sales we all regret.

[EDK]

You might consider that IF you mostly carry your Mountain Gun, you would want another similar double action hunting gun with a longer barrel. In moments of stress, you revert to muscle patterns you normally use....one h--- of a double action pull on a Super Blackhawk! I'd consider an 8 3/8 Smith & Wesson with the Endurance package and full lug barrel for strictly hunting use. Enough weight for recoil and fairly durable.

I like Ruger Single Actions....most of my guns are VAQUEROS/BISLEY VAQUEROS and their adjustable sight siblings....they are what I shoot 40 rounds daily. My recently acquired S&W 624 is nice, lighter than my elderly model 29 or 5 inch 629 Classic, but it's a different feel from the VAQUEROS. The single actions get shot and the double actions sit in the safe 90% of the time.

PS A 5.5 inch Super Black Hawk with ivory grips and some light engraving is my project for retirement. A brass grip frame would be the frosting on that cake.

:Fire::cbpour::redneck:

[fecmech]

A 240 gr bullet at 875 fps gives you your minimum 400 ft lbs. of energy. That should not be too hard to take in a Mountain Gun.

[exile]

Thanks for the advice guys. I always figured that small trigger guard on the Blackhawk would hurt your finger more than the square one on the Super. Thanks for the information about the foot pounds of energy. That should be fine. Just out of curiosity how do you figure that? Do you need a chronograph? The gunshop had a blued Super Blackhawk and a stainless one for the same price. I guess I am like everyone else, just can't stop looking at new guns once in a while.

I like the quote about fools and their folly. Pretty much explains the housing market / slash financial crisis.

Exile

[fecmech]

There are a number of calculators on this site.
http://handloads.com/calc/quick.asp

[AZ-Stew]

The one really big difference for me between the Rugers and Smiths is that if you shoot Smiths thousands and thousands of rounds, you'll find that when you pick up a Ruger it seems that it takes about an hour for the hammer to fall after the trigger breaks. Very long lock time compared to a Smith.

As to ruggedness, there is no difference if you run loads within factory specs. In my book it's pure foolishness to load above factory specs, and the deer will never know the difference.

Regards,

Stew

[targetshootr]

I have trouble going back and forth shooting Smiths and Ruger SAs for the same reason. It takes awhile to get used to each one. Smith triggers can feel really light which is nice once you're used to it and Ruger triggers feel like a bag of rocks until you have it tuned.

[exile]

More great input. The comment about lock time is interesting. Had not thought about it, but that is the way my single-six feels. Seems to take forever for the hammer to fall. As far as using very hot loads, I have no intention of that. Quite the opposite actually. My trouble with the Mountain Gun is that recoil with magnum loads seems like it would be excessive. Like I said, the most I have ever put through it is ten grains of Unique. Another question, any experience with scoping a Super Blackhawk? I know they make a Blackhawk Hunter, but I was not planning on spending that much. Thanks.

[beagle]

Put a set of rubber grips on it that guards that finger smacking trigger guard and shoot it until YOU wear out as it won't. I liked mine so good that I bought another one and have a pair.

The triggers smooth in after a while from my experience and I have no complaints.

Fed a diet of WC820 and 429421HPs, these give mw alot of good shooting./beagle

[IcerUSA]

B-Squared makes scope mounts for the SBH's . I got the 7 1/2" SBH Hunter and like it alot , use the Lee 310gn boolit in it for hunting with a good load of 296 , a little stiff but managable for me . The Hunter has a built in ring mounts for the Ruger rings and are well made , haven't seen the B-Squared mount so no input for them.
I practice alot with my 5 7/8" SBH with about anything that fots in the case , so when I got to the Hunter with the scope it takes a bit to get used to it .
Haven't shot a S&W so if my triggers are hard I don't know it . hehe But so far I am pleased with the SBH's overall performance .

Keith

[skeet1]

I owned a Super Blackhawk once the only problem I had with it was under recoil the base pin would slip forward allowing the transfer bar to hook on the firing pin when cocking the hammer. Never did get it fixed just sold it.

Skeet1

[44man]

Skeet, that is not a common problem and can be fixed. Mine is going on 59,000 heavy rounds and it never moved.
I don't like the B Square stuff. Weigand makes the best base for the SBH. Warne makes the best rings.
Don't go over 2X for hunting, get a light weight scope. Better yet, get the Ultra Dot.
I put the Ruger and BFR hammers on my grinder, then stone and polish to get 2# triggers that still work with the transfer bars. I go to 1-1/2# on mine but have to make longer transfer bars. Ruger's and BFR's are EASY. No need to accept the factory trigger pulls or pay a fortune to have them done. I never charge my friends.
If a lot of you lived close I would do it for you.

[exile]

More great info, thanks. I bet those Weigand mounts are expensive. Take care.

[fecmech]

The Weigand mout is $30. and needs 2 6-48 holes drilled and tapped in the top strap. I have one on my SBH and also my GP100 ruger. I did both myself at home using my drill press, piece of cake!
http://www.jackweigand.com/raswms.html

[exile]

Went back to the gunshop today and looked at the Ruger Super Blackhawks again. The stainless one appeared to have a pin in the front sight base that could be drifted out, the blued one did not. I like the looks of the blued one better, but if you could change out the front sight like my Smiths I would prefer that, particularly on a gun that I might shoot at long range.

They also had a Ruger SP-101 in .327 Federal, but I am not sure what I would do with that.

Exile

[44man]

Buy both! [smilie=1::drinks:

[Dale53]

My first .44 magnum was a used Ruger Super Blackhawk. Mine was used and a bit worn (apparently lots of quick draw practice). I made the minor repairs and did a trigger job. I have a nice trigger pull and it shoots extremely well. I bought the revolver in the late 50's and still have it. It is still as tight as a drum.

Dale53

[44Magnum]

I live in NE and own a Super Blackhawk. It's my best, most accurate, .44 magnum revolver I own. I kept the wood grips because the gun is comfortable to shoot with them.

http://members.cox.net/nkpiano/Blackhawk1.jpg

[Snapping Twig]

It's all about the grips.

I shoot a home made 3" 629-2 with 265g cast @ 1200fps and wood grips - no discomfort.

Ahrends, Spiegles, Hogue, etc all make a fine grip. Check them out and give them a try.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a51/SnappingTwig1/P8180025.jpg

[dukers65]

exile there are some sbhs out there with rounded guard.as for the trigger
with the wolf spring kit and a bit of stoning that trigger will smooth & lighten up.

as for s&w a good finesse gun, hard to beat the ruger s/a for huntin.mor than likely you probably shoot that mountain gun s/a anyways.

[cajun shooter]

I have both the Smith and SBH in stainless. Better finish for our Louisiana weather. Recoil is quite different with both with the SBH being less felt. Like all feedback you have received the lock time on the SBH takes forever. A good hunting round is the cast performance 300 gr GC LBT bullet driven by Ramshot Enforcer. Better than Unique and I like Unique. Get rid of the wood stocks as said already. This gun can be shot and handed down to the next generation without any poroblem.

[44man]

Lock time is little concern and has never affected me. Just NEVER change to a lighter mainspring. I use Wolfe over power variable springs in all of my SA's. I changed the factory spring once a year when I shot IHMSA but Wolfe springs last forever.
If a few milli seconds difference in hammer fall makes you miss, you are not shooting right to start with.
Time to practice with a match lock! :bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2: