Blackhawk in .30 carbine

[richhodg66]

My Dad was rather enamored with the concept despite the fact he never owned an M1 Carbine and generally had a low opinion of them. Anyway, I inherited one from him, actually seems to be built on a Super Blackhawk frame, big gun. Looking for light load ideas, yesterday I shot some of the Lee soup cans, sans gas checks and 4 grains of 700X and was a little surprised how well it shot with just casual plinking. I might have to sand bag it and really see what it'll do. Looking for light load experiences like this, I don't want a full power .30 carbine round in a pistol.

[Burnt Fingers]

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?27-CB-Loads-Military-Rifles

I'm sure you'll find something in that section of the forum.

I'm not sure how light you want to go but the Lyman Cast Bullet handbook has some nice loads in the handgun section.

[contender1]

Ruger built the .30 Carbine Blackhawk in both an Old Model & the New Model. 1968 was the first year of production.
in 1973, they switched to the NM design.
Excellent handguns.
If using "normal" .30 carbine rifle type loads, with ball powders,, the fireball & noise are always an attention getter on the range.
As for lighter loads,, study the manuals,, as there is a lot of good data out there. I never recommend any of my loads,, as mine all were developed for my guns, and directly from loading manuals for accuracy in my guns. Your gun can be quite different than mine.

Remember,, developing a load is half the fun when working with a new gun.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

They've been cussed and discussed here on this forum many times in the past. Seems like there's two opinions, "I love mine" or "I hated it." I had one of the very early ones, serial no. 4406 I seem to recall. It went down the road after only two sessions. Wear ear protection!

DG

[Divil]

I would like to own one someday along with an M1 Carbine. I would definitely consider that pistol best shot with ear plugs and a headset.

[richhodg66]

I've had a Carbine for 30 years or so, haven't shot it in a long time. Never did much experimenting with it, just basic stuff with jacketed bullets and 296 or 2400.

I have no desire to shoot such loads in this. Plinking or small game. Lyman's 3rd edition gave a load of 6.5 grains of Blue dot for a similar bullet at about 900 FPS, might give that a try, though it seems a waste of Blue Dot, thinking 700X or Unique will be better. I also have a lot of these soup cans and I think a six cavity mold for it.

I went to the trouble of trimming the brass I used, normally. I wouldn't have bothered but kind of figured in this case I should. Did have two fail to go off in the first batch, seated the next batch out a little farther and no failures, kind of thinking that it was a head space issue and maybe the bullets being into the throats made the difference.

[Outpost75]

In my opinion the .30 Carbine round makes a better handgun cartridge than a rifle round. My .30 carbine Ruger is more accurate than my WW2 Inland DCM carbine. Two-inch 50 yard groups, fired from sandbags with iron sights firing hand loads are easy, as are 4-5 inch groups off sandbags at 100 yards! The .30 Carbine cartridge is outstanding as a flat-shooting varmint or small game cartridge, fired from the Ruger Blackhawk or T/C Contender.

Firing “full charge” loads is unpleasant without adequate ear protection. Lake City 1944 Ball ammo chronographed 1586 fps from my 7-1/2” Blackhawk, versus 1981 fps from the Inland US Carbine. Cast bullet loads in the Ruger, using the minimum charges which cycle the Carbine, gave 1300-1500 fps. Fired from the M1 carbine they approximate full charge .32-20 loads suitable for the Winchester 1892, giving 1600-1700 fps.

The same powder charges and bullets used successfully in the 7.62x25 Tokarev perform well in the Ruger. A charge of 7.4 grains of Olin Auto Comp, measured with the RCBS Little Dandy Rotor #9 tames muzzle blast to moderate levels, functions the carbine reliably, gives excellent accuracy, and drops the empty brass from the carbine at your feet. Plainbased cast bullets of 14-15 BHN give good accuracy up to 1500 fps in the revolver without leading and 100 yard groups of 3-4 inches with iron sights, versus 5-6 inches for WCC44 and LC44 Ball ammo. My cast bullet loads use Accurate 31-100T cast 15 BHN and sized .310” with Lee Liquid Alox and 7.4 grains of Olin AutoComp, metered with the RCBS Little Dandy Powder Measure Rotor #9. A satisfactory full-charge load with 31-100T is 14 grains of IMR4227, measured with RCBS Little Dandy Rotor #18. This approached the velocity of factory ammunition, shot to the same point of impact as factory loads and didn’t lead, but was not the most accurate load.

Since the 30 Carbine headspaces on the case mouth, case length is critical. Cases which are too short fail to give reliable ignition in the Ruger revolver, because the hammer blow simply drives cases more deeply into the chambers. If cases are too long, their heads bind against the recoil shield and impair cylinder rotation. Failure to pay attention to case length causes problems. Ignition problems in the Ruger are avoided by eliminating cases shorter than 1.28,” or trimming any longer than 1.285.” New Starline brass is held within 1.280- 1.285 inches and I recommend that you do likewise with yours! If your .30 carbine brass is uniform, and of correct near-maximum length, there should be no issues.

Carbide sizing dies eliminate the need for case lube. Any residual oil or greased not removed causes cases to set back upon firing and bind against the revolver recoil shield. Chambers of the Ruger revolver absolutely must be kept free of oil. Most reloading manuals recommend using Small Rifle primers for full-charge loads in the .30 carbine. While this is necessary in maximum loads to prevent pierced primers or cylinder lockup due to primer flow, I prefer to use standard small pistol primers in the Ruger revolver and limit revolver velocity to 1500 fps with 85-100 grain bullets and to 1400 fps with bullets over 100 grains. Using standard small pistol primers gives a reliable visual indicator when pressures exceed about 30,000 psi, which seems to be the point problems at which problems are more likely to occur. With proper bullet fit, moderate loads, and using a taper-crimp die, inertial dislodgement of either jacketed or cast bullets is not a problem. Cast bullets weighing more than about 130 grains are not properly stabilized at realistic revolver velocities in the Ruger’s 20-inch twist of rifling.

Cylinder throats of some Ruger .30 Carbine revolvers may be found as tight as .307-.308” diameter. Cast bullet diameter is limited by chamber and brass dimensions to no more than .310” when using .30 Carbine brass. Some users hone their cylinder throats to .312,” which enables using the same bullets as for the .32 H&R Magnum or .327 Federal. This requires use of Starline .32-20 brass, which is thinner walled to provide adequate neck release clearance for the larger bullet diameter. The New Model Blackhawk .30 Carbine cylinder does not have recessed case heads as did earlier guns. There is adequate head clearance for Starline .32-20 brass and this adaptation works very well for those users.

I find it most appropriate to view the .30 Carbine Ruger as a “rimless .32-20.” I do not use .32-20 brass for assembling full-charge loads in my .30 Ruger. This is because I own several older .32-20 revolvers so I limit all loads in .32-20 brass to standard pressure loads which are safe in the old revolvers. It is absolutely necessary to have a fail-safe method to distinguish “hot Ruger loads” if you also own an older and weaker .32-20 rifle or revolver. Doing so avoids the risk of putting a Hot “Ruger Load” in a nice old gun and either ruining it or injuring yourself.

My Ruger revolver dates from 1977 and came with .310 cylinder throats from the factory. I find this ideal. Cast bullets which “fit” give excellent accuracy. While the .310 cylinder throats are not “optimum” for the .307-.308 jacketed bullets found in factory FMJ or soft point .30 carbine ammunition, my revolver still groups about as well with GI ammunition my WW2 Inland carbine! Best grouping of jacketed bullets is with the .309” diameter Hornady XTP, intended for the 7.62x25 Tokarev or .30 Mauser. The jacket thickness, skiving and cavity geometry of the XTP jacketed bullets enables them to perform well at the full range of velocities obtained from the .30 Carbine Ruger and the M1 carbine.

AutoComp doesn’t give the highest velocity in the longer M1 carbine barrel, but equals the velocity of full-charge loads, when fired from the Ruger revolver. It does so with less muzzle flash and blast, and better accuracy using less powder. So, what’s not to like? K.I.S.S. Principle!

[FredBuddy]

Some years ago, I researched the subject
as I also found factory loads highly objectionable.
I settled on the Meister 30 Carbine boolit (.308)
with 4.5 grs of Unique. Very pleasant and very
accurate in the Blackhawk.

Since then I've been learning the art of
casting and one day will try other boolits
with a softer alloy for serious groundhog
work. And I'll stick with Unique !

[richhodg66]

Just shot some more of these with 5.7 grains of Alcan 7, seemed to do as well or better than the 700X loads.

I'll keep messing with it. I might try some hotter loads with some gas checked bullets dad cast up, I have a coffee can of those which are all checked and lubed, not sure the bullet, I think it's a Saeco design, but still about 110ish grains, should be a good candidate for this.

[dg31872]

I have had a New Model for fiver years. Just used for plinking and hog hunting.
The best that I have found is the 311008 with Unique in 32-20 brass.
A lot of fun!

[Wally]

Have been shooting a .30 Caliber BHK for 25 years. I load/shoot Lyman 311008 & 311410 both sized to .309" and us a charge of 4.0 Titewad or 4.5 Promo...I get 1,075 FPS w/ the '008 and 1,040 for the '410. Both are very accurate. Never trimmed brass & I use brass sized with a steel sizer die. I do use a Lee TC die to remove the bell onn the case mouth. Never had a round not fire nor any case mouth splits.

[Ickisrulz]

I have had a New Model for fiver years. Just used for plinking and hog hunting.
The best that I have found is the 311008 with Unique in 32-20 brass.
A lot of fun!

I find the 32-20 cases split too soon. I think I lose 5% of the cases on each firing. I bought some Starline 30 Carbine brass and found that they hold up much better. I also found that even after loading cases 10x, they still do not require trimming. Of course, I don't load them very hot either.

[DougGuy]

Cylinder throats of some Ruger .30 Carbine revolvers may be found as tight as .307-.308” diameter. Cast bullet diameter is limited by chamber and brass dimensions to no more than .310” when using .30 Carbine brass. Some users hone their cylinder throats to .312,” which enables using the same bullets as for the .32 H&R Magnum or .327 Federal. This requires use of Starline .32-20 brass, which is thinner walled to provide adequate neck release clearance for the larger bullet diameter. The New Model Blackhawk .30 Carbine cylinder does not have recessed case heads as did earlier guns. There is adequate head clearance for Starline .32-20 brass and this adaptation works very well for those users.

These are notoriously tight and it is the norm for them to be rather egged. They respond quite well to honing throats, accuracy is tweaked very noticeably afterwards. Most of what comes into the shop goes out at .3125" for use with .312" boolits and I have not heard of issues with the chamber walls interfering. Although they can be honed to any diameter, it seems users prefer .312" and to a lesser degree .311"

[Lloyd Smale]

had one. It shot great but with miltary surplus ball it was an EAR SPLITTER. A 357 sounds like a 38 specail after shooting one. Sold mine back when the cheap ball ammo dried up. To hard to find brass for and there isnt near the molds there are for 32s and 357s

[JoeJames]

Had one on a trade. But after reading about it requiring muffs and plugs at a minimum, I sold it without firing it.

[Thumbcocker]

Shoot mine with boolits and 2400. No more noisy than any other magnum .

[Norske]

Yup, muffs and plugs were needed when a college friend owned one. And the plugs and muffs both had to be high quality.

[richhodg66]

No plans to load anything close to standard .30 carbine levels. If I want power, I have .357s that do that better.

Brass isn't hard to find and I already have a lot of it. I also have a lot of appropriate cast bullets for it, so it's cheap and easy to shoot. I'll play with it for a while, but it sure is a massive gun for what it is.

[smkummer]

Yep, Lyman 311008 115 grain and 4.5-5.5 unique was fun accurate load for a friends Blackhawk. Can’t remember what he settled on. My mold drops at .310 so shot as cast. Way more pleasant than factory 110 ball ammo. The 30 carbine Blackhawk is a standard Blackhawk but since the cylinder and barrel are only bored to 30 cal. it’s heavier.

[richhodg66]

This one has that Super Blackhawk square trigger guard. I own several Blackhawks, pretty sure this one is on the bigger frame.

Pretty fun so far, I'm sure as I mess around with it, it'll do better.

[green mountain boy]

john goings did a great article on using 32-20 cases instead of the30 carbine, it has worked for me for about 8 years now. look it up it is on this site.

[Nueces]

john goings did a great article on using 32-20 cases instead of the30 carbine, it has worked for me for about 8 years now. look it up it is on this site.

My 4 digit Blackhawk 30 Carbine won't take rimmed cases, as the early models had longer cylinders, nearly flat against the recoil shield, as did all of them. Since the New Models (without rebated case heads) are now nearly 50 years old, this does not come up often, but must be considered if looking at an older revolver.

[richhodg66]

I actually sat down and shot it off bags this evening at 25 yards using that Alcan 7 load, the gun is pretty accurate, probably more accurate than I am with a pistol.

[beagle]

I had a lot of fun writing that article on the .30 Carbine Blackhawk. You can do so much with them from plinking to full throttle loads. I've even shot the 150 grainers is them. My advice on getting one is to sit down and trim all the cases you have as they're all over the place in length. Look at my article on castpics on Cast in the .30 Carbine Ruger./beagle

[FISH4BUGS]

I had one many years ago and the surplus 30 carbine loads were a blast to shoot. Pun intended.
The muzzle flash was impressive to say the least!
It usually cleared out the lanes either side of me.

[frkelly74]

I have wanted one ever since I first saw one in the shop I was working at after school.

[9.3X62AL]

Over the years I have had 3 of these 30 Carbine BHs, still have one made ~ 2013. Dimensionally perfect--.3085" throats, .300" x .308" barrel. Castings sized .309" drive tacks, from 800 FPS to 1500+FPS (#311419 and 2400). W-W 30 Carbine brass throughout, CCI 500 for light loads and Rem #6-1/2 in the blasters. Don't say "Obnoxiously loud" like it's some bad thing.