Ruger BlackHawk


Recommended Posts

I just inherited a BlackHawk and have a couple questions

for you pistol pro's. It was purchased new in the late '60's

and my Dad called it the .45 Long Colt. The receiver is

labelled simply "Ruger .45 Caliber New Model Blackhawk".

Iowa regs state that the .45 Colt is legal during shotgun deer season.

In your opinion, is it feasible to use this pistol on

deer?

What would be the optimum load in this pistol for

deer, i.e., powder/bullet/primer combo?

I remember shooting this gun as a teenager and it

shot 3" groups @ 30yds for me with the factory sights.

BUT I have no recollection of the ammo we used in it

at that time.

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Ruger BlackHawk

The Blackhawk is a strong revolver and can take some stout loads. The New Model came out in 1973 so your gun was made after that.

As for ammo, much of the factory ammo is designed to be used in the Colt SAA gun. The SAA will not withstand the pressures the Ruger or T/C Contender or Encore will. You can get hotter loads like Corbon's .45 Colt +P (higher pressure).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Ruger BlackHawk

Thanks for the age correction, AJ. That was around my

Army years, and cronology in the ol' mind is not always

accurate. grin.gif

I do have the set of reloading dies for it (have reloaded

rifle since teenager) and plan to reload.

Anyone know of a good deer hunting load for this

pistol?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Ruger BlackHawk

Never was "gutsy" enough to use Lil'Gun, especially after

seeing RB's pressure traces comparing a heavy load of it

to a much milder duplex load which outperformed the LG.

(After trying the duplex in my own rifle, I was turned into

what many consider one of the "duplex idiots".) grin.gif

After viewing Steve's Pages, I see that I do have four

different powders for the .45 Colt, and the pages list

the "low" and "high" loads. Also have a whole box of

230gr .451 XTP's, so that will more than get me

started!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.