.45Colt BlkHk Heavy Loads; why ?

[Missionary]

Back in the late 70's early 80's when many revolver shooters were blasting steel critters the long barreled Rugers started out the king of the game. At least some were. There were two Ruger shooters who yearly bought 10 Ruger 44 mag 10 inch barreled revolvers. Those 10 were tested for accuracy.
The worst 6 were sold. the finest shooters became match guns and the better 2 were for practice.
It was about that time we sold our 44 mag Ruger and bought a 10 inch barrel for the Dan Wesson .357. Following year bought the 41 mag Dan Wesson with no regrets.
But our 45 Rugers near all have Bisley grips. Very shootable with any sane load.

 

[Walks]

I still have My SBH -10 1/2" bbl.
Except I cut it back to ejector rod length; 5 1/2". Makes a handy holster gun too.
The 10 1/2" SBH's had heavier bbl's then the std 7 1/2" revolvers. And longer ejector rods. Complete ejection of mag cases.

 

[CZ93X62]

I have never owned or fired a revolver with barrel length exceeding 7.5". I have 5 of those, 3 are Bisleys, all are Rugers. My longest S&W or Colt is 6.5", several of those. Four 5"-barreled S&W and Colts, plus a 4-3/4" Bisley 32/20. Several 4"-4.25" barrels, and a 2" 38 Special.

 

[Walks]

CZ,
You have missed out. Nothing steadies down better the an 8 3/8" S&W or a 7 1/2" Colt SAA.
I can still remember shooting My Dad's Colt Official Police Match Target w/ the 7 1/2" bbl. Shot my 1st 1 hole group at 25yrds using his carefully cast #358395 HBWC over 2.8grs Bullseye.
Heck I used to hit a tennis ball 6 out of 6 at 25yrds with My RH Ruger Vaquero .45Colt - 7 1/2" bbl.
I was a good shot with a six-gun once upon a time. A loong time ago.
And before I cut down that SBH it would group under 4" at 200meters.

 

[Charles Graff]

Back about 1966, I traded into an 8 3/8 in Model 27 Smith. It had been the shop for quite some time, so I received a very good deal. The darn things was so unwieldy that I put it up and never fired it. It finally went down river in some long forgotten deal. I wish I had kept it and just learned it's weird

CZ,
You have missed out. Nothing steadies down better the an 8 3/8" S&W or a 7 1/2" Colt SAA.
I can still remember shooting My Dad's Colt Official Police Match Target w/ the 7 1/2" bbl. Shot my 1st 1 hole group at 25yrds using his carefully cast #358395 HBWC over 2.8grs Bullseye.
Heck I used to hit a tennis ball 6 out of 6 at 25yrds with My RH Ruger Vaquero .45Colt - 7 1/2" bbl.
I was a good shot with a six-gun once upon a time. A loong time ago.
And before I cut down that SBH it would group under 4" at 200meters.

ways.

 

[CZ93X62]

Yeah, maybe so. A slung rifle might be easier and faster to bring to bear, double entendre intended.

 

[Rick H]

Yep, at some point handguns get so big, well, they just aren't handy anymore. For me, that point is somewhere around a 5" bbl. Much more that that and I might as well carry a rifle. Your use may vary, but if I am planning to hit something with authority at ranges north of 100yds, I will take a rifle every time.

 

[CZ93X62]

The 5" barrel is well-nigh perfect. Having 6 of them on hand kinda gives that away. Subtle I'm not.

 

[Walks]

I like 5" bbl's, I like a Colt SAA 5 1/2" better.
Shot a pair of them Cowboy Shooting for 25yrs.

 

[GGibbs]

I know I'm going to start something here.

Here goes?.?....

Why load the Ruger Blackhawk in .45Colt with Hot Loads ?

I have had a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44Mag about as long as a .45Colt Blackhawk. 40yrs +
I can load .44Mag Full Power Loads, so why "Magnamize" the .45Colt ?
I currently have SBH's in a 7 1/2" bbl and 5 1/2" Heavy bbl's.
And a .45Colt Blkhk in a 4 5/8" bbl.

And while I have loaded a few RCBS 45-270-SAA over a stout charge of Unique.
I haven't done so in a very long time.

So why turn the .45Colt into a .44Mag ?

I Really do want to know ? as I see no reason for it.
Or for bullets heavier then 285grs. And I only mention that weight in particular because that's the weight the mold drops in 20/1.

As far as that goes, why load the .44 Magnum heavy? Jiminy Christmas....folks are using the .44 Magnum loaded with 300 gr. bullets running over 1200 fps for deer. So far, every deer and hog I've shot with .44 and .45 caliber revolvers, using 250-290 gr. bullets running 950-1000 fps has been penetrated completely by said bullets, and trajectory is plenty flat out to 75 yds., a distance which is about 50 yds. further than most of us need to be shooting handguns at game.

So if you can answer why one needs a .44 Magnum with heavy loads, then you can answer why one needs a .45 Colt with heavy loads.

 

[Bret4207]

CZ,
You have missed out. Nothing steadies down better the an 8 3/8" S&W or a 7 1/2" Colt SAA.
I can still remember shooting My Dad's Colt Official Police Match Target w/ the 7 1/2" bbl. Shot my 1st 1 hole group at 25yrds using his carefully cast #358395 HBWC over 2.8grs Bullseye.
Heck I used to hit a tennis ball 6 out of 6 at 25yrds with My RH Ruger Vaquero .45Colt - 7 1/2" bbl.
I was a good shot with a six-gun once upon a time. A loong time ago.
And before I cut down that SBH it would group under 4" at 200meters.

I disagree. I have a Ruger SSM 9 1/2". It's the ONLY 32 Mag I ever found up here so I grabbed it. It's ridiculously long and if not on a rest of some sort it's unwieldy. I also have a Colt Officers Model with a 7 1/2" barrel. It's no more well balanced nor does it "hang" any better than my 6" Army Special. I have a feeling the whole thing is an exercise in personal preference. To each their own and be happy with your choice.

As far as the OP, some people only have 1 gun. Asking why they go for more power is like asking why some people use cast instead of factory jacketed. Again, personal preference. I have no idea why people get all ga-ga over the 350 Legend or the various Creedmors and Blackouts, etc. But, if that's what floats your boat, have at it!

 

[waco]

The 5" barrel is well-nigh perfect. Having 6 of them on hand kinda gives that away. Subtle I'm not.

Yep. My M29 has a 5” and my RedHawk is 5 1/2”
Very good compromise.

 

[Ian]

My M29 is 10.5" and wears an UltraDot. It came that way, not my choice, but it does shoot well.

 

[waco]

10 1/2"......Do your arms get tired by shot number six?.....

 

[Ian]

I don't think I have ever fired it offhand.

Remember that scene in City Heat where the gangsters were one-upping one another by pulling longer and longer revolvers out of their trench coats? It's THAT kind of ridiculous unless you need the extra velocity for knocking over steel at extended ranges.

 

[waco]

I owned a Rossi Cyclops .357 Mag. years ago with an 8" barrel and that was pretty crazy. Can't imagine 10 1/2"

 

[RBHarter]

I have a 24" .451 blank anybody want to build a Ruger BlackHawk based Buntline special ?

 

[CZ93X62]

I have four single-action Rugers with 7.5" barrels. They hold reasonably well, but "handy" they are not.

 

[RBHarter]

I like the 7.5" but I think 6" flat would be better for everything I do with it .

 

[John]

Up until recently I had two 44 Mags, a 5.5" Redhawk and a 14" Contender. My 45 Bhwk at 4 5/8" was a whole lot easier to pack in the woods and could be loaded for defensive purposes against a 4 legged creature. I don't push it hard but I do respect a 250 gr bullet @ 1200 fps.