Blackhawk 45 lc

firemn260 · Feb 27, 2020

So I have pretty much given up on my search for a model 29. Maybe some day if a killer deal comes along but for now a nice one is just out of my price range.

Anyway a good friend of mine let me shoot his Blackhawk in 45 colt the other night and with his rather warm handloads, that thing had some decent horse power. For some reason he is not a fan of the 44 mag and says he can get 44 mag performance out of his handloads. He cast his own bullets and all so I figure if I can pick up a decent Blackhawk for half of what I was seeing for a decent 29 go for, I’ll just go for the 45.

I also see some decent prices on the super blackhawks in 44. I kinda dig the old single action design to be honest. My purpose will be mostly shooting light target loads and if Maryland ever allows strait walled center fire in shotgun counties for deer. What do you wheelgun guys think?

rseymorejr · Feb 27, 2020

I LOVE my Blackhawk 45LC, I also have a spare 45 ACP cylinder for it. My wife bought it for me our first Christmas we were married. This reminds me I need to take it out and shoot it a bit.

metalman3006 · Feb 27, 2020

I dont have one in 45lc but do in 44 mag and .357. Love the 44 mag and both are CNR to boot. Looking to get one in 41 mag.

Uncle Duke · Feb 27, 2020

firemn260 said:
So I have pretty much given up on my search for a model 29. Maybe some day if a killer deal comes along but for now a nice one is just out of my price range.

Anyway a good friend of mine let me shoot his Blackhawk in 45 colt the other night and with his rather warm handloads, that thing had some decent horse power. For some reason he is not a fan of the 44 mag and says he can get 44 mag performance out of his handloads. He cast his own bullets and all so I figure if I can pick up a decent Blackhawk for half of what I was seeing for a decent 29 go for, I’ll just go for the 45.

I also see some decent prices on the super blackhawks in 44. I kinda dig the old single action design to be honest. My purpose will be mostly shooting light target loads and if Maryland ever allows strait walled center fire in shotgun counties for deer. What do you wheelgun guys think?

Your mention of the straight wall speculation has to do with rifles presumably. Not sure how they would handle handgun regs, cuz Maryland, but...

You can hunt deer with handgun in Maryland in rifle approved counties now, so long as your barrel is at least 6 inches in length, and your load is generating at least 700 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle.

Both 44 Mag and 45 Colt can meet that spec with appropriate ammunition. And yeah, the Ruger single actions are indeed fine hunting handguns.

firemn260 · Feb 27, 2020

rseymorejr said:
I LOVE my Blackhawk 45LC, I also have a spare 45 ACP cylinder for it. My wife bought it for me our first Christmas we were married. This reminds me I need to take it out and shoot it a bit.

That’s a nice looking rig

metalman3006 said:
I dont have one in 45lc but do in 44 mag and .357. Love the 44 mag and both are CNR to boot. Looking to get one in 41 mag.

I’ve always thought the 41 was a neat cartridge. My friend growing up had one and that’s all he hunted with.

Uncle Duke said:
Your mention of the straight wall speculation has to do with rifles presumably. Not sure how they would handle handgun regs, cuz Maryland, but...

You can hunt deer with handgun in Maryland in rifle approved counties now, so long as your barrel is at least 6 inches in length, and your load is generating at least 700 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle.

Both 44 Mag and 45 Colt can meet that spec with appropriate ammunition. And yeah, the Ruger single actions are indeed fine hunting handguns.

I guess I was assuming that any breech loading firearm that met the power parameters would be permitted but your right.... it’s MARYLAND. Kinda like you can use a muzzle loading hand gun as long as it was a certain caliber making enough energy. I haven’t looked at that part of the refs in a long time so I can’t remember. I would love to be able to let my wife use a 44 or 45 lever gun for deer where we hunt at.

The deer at my back yard stand would be perfect range for a handgun kill. Just out of curiosity I wonder what’s with the barrel length limitation. I can’t see there being a big difference in velocity with a 5.5” and a 6” tube.

slsc98 · Feb 27, 2020

Several choices here (they had quite a few more choices weeks ago, as well as some 629’s but, they musta got snapped up): https://www.cdnnsports.com/firearms...MITH & WESSON&caliber=44 MAG,44 SPECIAL,45 LC

Best o’ success!

Zorros · Feb 28, 2020

I shoot two colt SAA in 45 colt and like it a lot. Power without body abuse. I don’t know to what extent the long hammer drop affects accuracy, compared to a sw 29. And the sw could be shot DA. The ruger is more robust than the colts for hotter loads, but i don’t know how close u can get to mag energy with the .45. I think you would like a good quality SA a lot, and shoot it often. And they can be a bargain on the used mkt. someone might come along and say what to look for in a used one. Also, some of the ruger 45 colt revolvers may have a fitted 45acp cyl, something i would like to have.

Uncle Duke · Feb 28, 2020

firemn260 said:
That’s a nice looking rig

I’ve always thought the 41 was a neat cartridge. My friend growing up had one and that’s all he hunted with.

I guess I was assuming that any breech loading firearm that met the power parameters would be permitted but your right.... it’s MARYLAND. Kinda like you can use a muzzle loading hand gun as long as it was a certain caliber making enough energy. I haven’t looked at that part of the refs in a long time so I can’t remember. I would love to be able to let my wife use a 44 or 45 lever gun for deer where we hunt at.

The deer at my back yard stand would be perfect range for a handgun kill. Just out of curiosity I wonder what’s with the barrel length limitation. I can’t see there being a big difference in velocity with a 5.5” and a 6” tube.

There is much in Maryland law that is arbitrary. Hunting law is certainly no exception.

Why the six inch barrel requirement? Who knows? As you correctly note, velocity loss between 5.5 inch and 6 inch would be negligible. My guess is that someone set that standard with an eye more toward sight radius than toward velocity, but I don't know that to be a fact.

Speaking of arbitrary, the 45 Colt cartridge itself really comes to mind. As loaded in its lightest original form, the cartridge doesn't meet Maryland's 700 ft. lb. handgun energy spec hunting standard. Now the penetration characteristics of this cartridge are such that there isn't a deer on this planet that the cartridge won't kill. But they've used an energy spec, and they've put the energy number where they put it. All of which means that 45 Colt hunting loads, as well as the handguns used for hunting, require an eye toward the more heavily constructed modern revolvers that can easily digest the heavier loadings. Think the heavier Rugers you are eyeing. They are built with heavy frames and lockup, as opposed to the great but lighter built SAA and similar clones of yesteryear.

Virgil Co.C · Feb 28, 2020

Have 44 mag super redhawk and 357 vaquero. Also have black powder 44 colt walker and an army and navy models. . Black hawk are nice because of sights the Vaquero doesn’t have . Went with a Redhawk also because I wanted the option of double action although I very seldom use it that way .Muzzleloaders are fun but suck to clean.Bought the redhawk for hunting.

Bisleyfan44 · Feb 28, 2020

Go for it. A 45 Colt Blackhawk is a great choice. And if you find one with the auxiliary 45acp cylinder, even better. Cheap practice ammo can be used, but also you can shoot 45 Super and 45 SMC in the ACP cylinder. Way more power than you'd think.

http://www.doubletapammo.net/index.php?route=product/category&path=303_354

https://www.underwoodammo.com/collections/handgun-ammo/cartridge_45-super

dist1646 · Feb 28, 2020

metalman3006 said:
I dont have one in 45lc but do in 44 mag and .357. Love the 44 mag and both are CNR to boot. Looking to get one in 41 mag.

I have the .45lc, 44 mag, 41 mag and 357 mag in my collection. All three screw versions. Second year production for each caliber was completely by accident. The 357 has been rode hard over the years.

Park ranger · Feb 29, 2020

The Blackhawks take some serious loads. A 325 grain bullet at 1130 fps is no joke. 23 grains of IMR 4227.

firemn260 · Mar 1, 2020

I’m leaning more towards a 44 for the horsepower and then maybe somewhere down the colt saa for fun.

What’s the difference with some blackhawks having a square black trigger guard and some round? Seems like the square would be a finger killer for us fellas with the bigger mitts.

I’m going to be honest. I dig the excitement of blasting some hand stingers ever once in a while. That’s why I think I’d be better off with the 44 rather than running the 45 up to max pressure.

dist1646 · Mar 1, 2020

The square trigger guard is called "Dragoon style", it is almost always found on the Super Blackhawk 44 magnum. There are exceptions though and collectors pay premium prices for them. The Dragoon style trigger guards are known to be hard on the knuckles during recoil. Ruger has finally started producing those guns with the standard round trigger guards. I have one of those in my newest Super Blackhawk Hunter. The Super Blackhawk still has the old Dragoon style and they are easily recognizable because of this feature.
If you want power, the 44 mag is the best way to go. You can run lighter loads or 44 specials. The .45 LC is an older cartridge and even though modern handguns like the Blackhawk are strong enough to handle increased pressure loads, the case is the limiting factor. 45 LC brass is thinner than 44 mag brass. The 45 LC was designed way back when black powder was used. The 44 mag is designed for modern smokeless powder and the accompanying higher pressures that go along with it. NEVER use high pressure loads in Colt SAA or other SAA style frames! Most loading manuals will have references for modern loads and loads for what are the old SAA style guns.

DutchV · Mar 1, 2020

It's also avalable in a Bisley frame.

https://ruger.com/products/newModelBlackhawkConvertible/specSheets/0472.html

dist1646 · Mar 1, 2020

DutchV said:
It's also avalable in a Bisley frame.

https://ruger.com/products/newModelBlackhawkConvertible/specSheets/0472.html

Yep, forgot about those since I don't collect or shoot that style. :thumbsup:

rseymorejr · Mar 1, 2020

Just came across a picture of the entire Ruger SA family

Beefcube · Mar 1, 2020

Where are you at ?
I know of a 29 just hanging in a store.
I don't remember the price and can't get back there till the weekend.

Magnumite · Mar 1, 2020

FWIW, Ruger NEW Vaqueros are sized close to Colt SAA dimensions. They don’t tolerate increased pressures like the Blackhawks.

Biggfoot44 · Mar 2, 2020

Dist1646 wind ! Don't have 3 screws in .44 or .45 ( yet) .

Yes , the Blackhawk family are fine revolver family .

The " Dragoon" grip frame both has bigger/ longer grip panels , and the squareback triggergaurd . 2/3 of people like the Dragoon , 1/3 get their knuckles smacked . Most 7.5in SBH have the Dragoon , most 5.5 and 4.625in have round . ( The Hunter variation has unique grip frame , with the SBH grip panels , and round trigger guard .

There are multiple formulas for estimating " game smacking power " . Ft Lb of energy by itself isn't a good predictor . That said :

1. Published handloads, safe for Rugers can match the ft lb of generic 240gr .44mag factory ammo .

2. Properly loaded .45Colt or .44Mag is way more than adequate for mere Whitetails .

3. Maryland hunting regs are indeed very arbitrary , and partly for that , I do most of my handgun hunting in neighboring states ,where their requirements are a much more realistic 4in bbls , and 350ftlb minimum .

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