Ha Dan Walker

[HEAD0001]

I have been reading over your post on my thread about a new revolver. You suggested a few things to do to a Ruger Black Hawk to "accurize" it. Would you please take a few minutes and go over(again, I am sorry) in a little more detail what you did. I do not know what some of the things are that you recommended. Any additional information would be nice. Thank You.

I tried to call Mr. Munden three times, but no one answered. I wanted to ask him about the things you talked about.

I am also looking at the short cylinder BFR. But you can only get it in 454-not available in 45 Colt. But the price seemed decent, and I have heard alot of good things about the BFR.'

I am trying to determine the best way to go. I think the 45 Colt is more than ample for what I want to do. And I have tons of 45 Colt components. I know FA says not to shoot 45 colt cartridges in their 454, but would accuracy suffer in the 454 if I shot 45 Colt loads only?? I even heard one person say to buy a 454 sizer die and size the brass to the 454-since it is suppose to be .002 larger than 45 Colt??

I am trying to determine the best way to go. Or which way would be more cost effective. In other words $450 for the BlackHawk + custom work pricing. OR $800 for the BFR out of the box?? Thanks, Tom.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
If the 45 Colt is up to your needs then get the BLackhawk. I have had one for years and just a little ateention you will have a fine shooting tool.
But the BFR is a mighty nice step up. You can easily shoot 45 Colt loads in the 454 brass. And if by chance you wanted to up that loading you would already have on hand a revolver to do it. That´s why I bought one.

[HEAD0001]

I am really not interested in buying 454 components. My goal is to shoot the 45 Colt cartridges in the revolver I buy. If I buy the BFR in 454 I will only shot 45 Colt cartridges from it. IF BFR made a 45 Colt short cylinder then that is what I would buy. But they only make the revolver in a 454 configuration.

I want to be able to use the same loads I am shooting in my Low Wall. Tom.

[Dennis Eugene]

Tom,check the weight of the BFR against the weight of a good Ruger BH in 45 and you'll find that if you plan on packin' it much you'll not want to be packin' that much extra weight. just my humble opinion. Dennis

[HEAD0001]

I have been looking closely at the weights. That is one of the reasons I am thinking about doing some custom work to the BH. The short cylinder BFR is lighter than the bigger revolver. But still heavier than the BH. So you are definitely right about that. The FA's are really heavy.

Lots of things to consider when buying a revolver.

Personally I do not mind the revolver being a bit heavier. I think I can get better control with a bit heavier revolover. And I already have a light weight 44 magnum in my 629PD. This makes a great sideram when just walking through the woods.

This one I am buying now is going to be a primary hunting weapon. So a little heft should be helpful. Tom.

[HEAD0001]

I called Bob Munden again today to talk about some action work on the BH. Still they did not answer the phone?? Anybody have a new #?? Tom.

[DanWalker]

I have been reading over your post on my thread about a new revolver. You suggested a few things to do to a Ruger Black Hawk to "accurize" it. Would you please take a few minutes and go over(again, I am sorry) in a little more detail what you did. I do not know what some of the things are that you recommended. Any additional information would be nice. Thank You.

I am trying to determine the best way to go. I think the 45 Colt is more than ample for what I want to do. And I have tons of 45 Colt components. I know FA says not to shoot 45 colt cartridges in their 454, but would accuracy suffer in the 454 if I shot 45 Colt loads only?? I even heard one person say to buy a 454 sizer die and size the brass to the 454-since it is suppose to be .002 larger than 45 Colt??

I am trying to determine the best way to go. Or which way would be more cost effective. In other words $450 for the BlackHawk + custom work pricing. OR $800 for the BFR out of the box?? Thanks, Tom.

Tom,
No problem at all.
I bought my blackhawk 5 or 6 years ago, brand new. It's a 5 1/2" blued gun.
I found that in stock form it only wanted to shoot hot loads well. As the loads lightened, the groups spread, and as you pushed them faster, the groups shrank. After much head scratching and conferring with the wise men who inhabit this website, it was thought that I was among the many sufferers of undersized revolver throats. I sent the cylinder off to http://WWW.cylindersmith.com who opened the throats. I think it cost me 30 or 40 bucks total to get this done. The result was a gun that now shoots loads it likes into nice tight groups, irregardless of how fast or hard I push the boolits.
I had no trouble getting in touch with Mr Munden when I had him work on my revolver. It was a couple years ago, but I found him to be VERY friendly on the phone and his wife was very nice too. http://www.bobmunden.com/custom.htm
I had him do his action job to my gun and also had him perform some trigger work. My goal was to get the trigger as creep free as possible, then see how light the pull could be safely reduced to. My trigger is under 2 lbs and you cannot discern any movement in it before the shot breaks.
I think his work cost me 185 bucks.
I installed a belt mountain locking base pin in my gun because the factory pin kept popping out under recoil. This was during my "45magnum" phase when I thought only 300 grain or heavier boolits, pushed to wrist snapping velocities would be effective killers in this gun.
I had a 454 bfr for a short while, earlier this year, and sold it to another member of this forum. It was a fine gun, but offered me little real utility over my blackhawk.
I had been bothered a bit by the sharpness of the recoil of my hunting loads, so I replaced the aluminum gripframe and ejector rod housing with stainless steel parts from MidwayUSA. This added just enough heft to the gun to soften the recoil to a VERY tolerable level.
I'm not knocking ANY of the custom gun makers or the fine products made by BFR or Freedom Arms. I'm just saying that for ME and MY PURPOSES, this is the perfect gun. I could spend a lot more money, and am not likely to end up with anything better than what I have.
I hope this answers your questions. If not, please feel free to ask. I don't mind trying to answer them. I'm no guru, but I've made TONS of mistakes, and hopefully others can learn from them as well.

[HEAD0001]

Thanks. I will try to get ahold of Mr. Munden again. Maybe he is just out of town. I like that 7-1/2" Ruger Bisley in 45 Colt, I think it would make a nice hunting revolver.

Have you considered magna-porting your revolver??

I will need to order the revolver. I would probably just have the revolver shipped directly to Mr. Munden. That would save me a little money. Thanks, Tom.

[DanWalker]

Thanks. I will try to get ahold of Mr. Munden again. Maybe he is just out of town. I like that 7-1/2" Ruger Bisley in 45 Colt, I think it would make a nice hunting revolver.

Have you considered magna-porting your revolver??

I will need to order the revolver. I would probably just have the revolver shipped directly to Mr. Munden. That would save me a little money. Thanks, Tom.
No sir, can't say I've considered porting. I'd think that for me they'd actually make the recoil more unpleasant. I've found that I handle the rolling of single action revolver much better than the straight back recoil of semi auto's, single shots, and double action revolvers.
That straight back recoil really drives into the web of my hand and I struggle to shoot them well.
Those bisleys are nice guns. I've owned a 7 1/2" blackhawk, and it worked great as a hunting gun. Only sold it because I wanted the packability of a 5 1/2" gun. A 7 1/2" gun is just a bit too much for me to pack.

[EDK]

I'd put a HUNTER grip frame on a Blackhawk...and possibly a Super Blackhawk hammer...and get a trigger job and grips that fit my hands. I'm shooting several 44 Blackhawks and Vaqueros on a daily basis. I liked the DRAGOON for years, but the HUNTER and BISLEY grip frames are the way to go if you shoot a lot.

Since you are going to purchase a gun, investigate the HUNTER model with the grip frame you like. IIRC there are some limited edition 45 HUNTERS available on gunbroker, etc.

I had a 44 magnum conversion done on a 4 inch model 58 S&W....wish I hadn't sold it!...that was magna-ported. I would rather put up with the recoil than the muzzle blast from the limited number of hot loads I used in it. If you shoot your 45 regularly, you'll drop down in power a little bit on practice loads. Most of the guys who praised and used the wristwreckers are paying for their fun now with carpal tunnel and other ailments. A full wadcutter 45 weighing 250 grains at about 1000 feet per second will make a lasting impression on most things I'm going to shoot.

:Fire::cbpour::redneck:

[HEAD0001]

I have a 44 magnum BH Hunter. I bought one of the first ones they made when they came out with them. And my 44 BHH shoots very well. However I do not want to put a scope on this revolver that I am going to buy in 45 Colt. And the prices on the BHH are a premium. So if I do not want a scope I see no reason to pay the higher price over the Ruger Bisley. Tom.