Ruger New Model Blackhawk Single Action Revolver

I picked up the gun, some snap-caps, a box of .357 Mag, box of .38 special, and a box of 9mm. And some earplugs.

$495+change.

:eek:

So I'm ready to do some plinking tomorrow. I had planned to grab a box of clay pigeons, but then I spaced it.

Now I'm just tryiing to decide if I should bother to bring my 1911 .45's too...

:rolleyes:

Mike
 
Congrats on the Ruger, Michael. I'm a big fan of single action revolvers; I love the sound and feel of the mechanics of SAs. I recently picked up a Cimarron (Uberti made) "cowboy gun" in .45lc. What a pleasure to shoot. Ruger makes a fine revolver- I'm sure you'll have many hours of shootin' bliss with that puppy....
 
I greatly enjoyed shooting my Super Blackhawk in 45 Colt. Used to stoke up cast 250gr bullets over, as I recall, about 10 grains of Unique for a standard load.

Once, I got a wild hair and loaded up 50 rounds with black powder, using the same charge normally issued in the 1800s. Can't remember the charge weight, but it was a compression load.

Quite impressive! Recoil was equivalent to the heavier smokeless powder loads I'd been shooting, and I rapidly came to the conclusion that the guys on the frontier were not under-gunned! I recall Elmer Kieth saying that some of the old-timers preffered black even after smokeless had been introduced, since in close quarters you could hide pretty well after a couple of rounds had been fired. Hard to imagine what a Civil-war era battlefield might have looked like on a still day, must have been total fog.

Of course, then I had to clean the gun....No stainless back then, and pyrodex had just come on the market.
 
The frame is stamped ".357".

I went through a couple cylinders of 9mm -- but I'm ashamed to say I didn't read the owners manual first. I didn't know about the ejector, and was downright pissed off that the spent shells didn't just fall out. I wound up pulling out the cylinder and using a Leatherman on several of them.

So then I went to the .357 magazine, with some .38 special rounds. Same thing.

:mad:

Then with .357 -- wow, I was surprised the difference, since they look so much like .38.

Anyway, it didn't really see that much use. We mostly shot my CZ75B 9mm, the Browning Buck Mark and the S&W 317 .22 revolver a little. A friend also brough his S&W .38 & a S&W Tactical double-action-only .45ACP.

I sat down last night and read the manual. First thing I noticed in the exploded parts diagram was something labelled an "ejector" -- aaaaaaaaaaaah. Now I get it.

:eek:

I'm taking it up to MN next weekend to show my dad. I'm thinking it's going to be a heck of a lot more fun now.

:D

Mike
 
I don't know if any film footage exists of a fellow named Thell Reed or not, but he was quite a wizard with a SA sixgun.

He could reload a SAA (Single Action Army) with amazing speed, whipping the ejector back and nearly following it back with the fresh cartridge. One of the gun magazines (this was back in the 70s, as I recall) did a piece on him when he joined the marines.
They had him out to the .45 "familiarization" course, and were expecting the usual inept-recruit-with-a-pistol action. Reed put on a little show for the instructors. (he was equally adept with the autopistol)
 
Michael,

I'm glad you went with the Blackhawk. I like to reload, and the Blackhawk will handle those hot loads just fine, and shoots straight every time. Let us know how the 9mm shoots in yours.

By the way, I have several of the single action Rugers, and no problems with any of them. 2-.45LC's, 1-.357Mag, and 1-.44Mag.
 
We were just "plinking", so I can't say how accurate the 9mm was.

I'll have to sit down next time and really work on getting it sighted in.

I expect to shot mostly 9mm in it, with the occasional "wow" of .357.

Funny thing -- I bought my the S&W 317 .22 for my GF, and was thinking she would really like the Blackhawk in 9mm (low recoil). And she does like the Browning Buckmark.

But when all was said and done, her real favorite is the CZ75B in 9mm!

:D

Mike
 
Reminds me; back when Dirty Harry hit the screen, you couldn't buy a S&W M29 for love or money. My "I must have everything" buddy went through all sorts of hell, and finally found one in Texas that was shipped to him. He loaded up 500 rounds of full-house loads, 250 gr. cast bullet over some huge pile of 2400 pistol powder. (21gr..can't remember..)
We were going to shoot this beast in proper fashion. We also brought along my wife, and another recent aquisition, a .22 conversion kit for his .45 Auto. He had 500 rounds of .22LR, and told my wife to "shoot it all up, I want it broken in good."

Well, he stoked up the .44 and cranked off six rounds, then handed it to me. We bravely fired about 12 rounds each, then went looking for the wife. "Oh, darling...could we shoot the .22 for a while? Please?"
Hehe- the .44 with the stock grips was absolutely brutal! I think we tried one more cylinderfull each, then he went home and pulled all the bullets; then loaded them down to about 1000 fps.
Also replaced those fancy-looking but godawful Smith grips with something smaller and more rounded. The result was a superb shooter, accurate and pleasant to shoot.
 
Congrats on the Ruger! I have a lot of experience with this model in several calibers, and love them. So far, they have all been more accurate than I am, which is how I like it!

PS - A little white fingernail polish on the top of the ramp and around the inside rim of the rear sight can do wonders for the sights...
 
I suspect i'll mostly shoot it in 9mm.

The .357 ammo is expensive ($11.99-$15.99/50rds) whereas the 9mm is $9.99/100rds.

Now that I've got the EJECTOR figured out, I need to get it sighted in.

Mike
 
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