dsf
Member
A couple of Flat Tops, a Bearcat and a 30 Carbine -
Blackhawk?
- Thread starter Glenn R. McMannly
- Start date
Skyhunter
Member
Bought my 1st (6½" - .41 mag.) in 1971 while stationed at Ft. Sill. My last purchase was an OM in .357 mag. with a 6½ barrel. I prefer the OM's and there are a couple or three more hiding in the safe. I did relent several years ago and brought a flat top Bisley .44 Spl. with 4⅝" bbl. home. I've had a weakness for handgun Calibers beginning with a "4" and that Bisley just pushed all my buttons in spite of being a NM.
Yes Sir, there's no disparagement to my S&Ws or Colts, but Bill Ruger designed a winner in the Blackhawk.
WYT-P
Skyhunter
Yes Sir, there's no disparagement to my S&Ws or Colts, but Bill Ruger designed a winner in the Blackhawk.
WYT-P
Skyhunter
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I have an affinity for Blackhawks in .41 Magnum.
KO
KO
When you're working up loads for your Colt GM/45, and they make the Colt ring like the bells at Notre-Dame, get yourself the best bullet puller made, a Blackhawk 45 Convertible.
Any excuse, said the Mrs long ago.
Got a Winchester to keep the LC company.
Couldn't get a brass frame so I added a stainless one.
Balances the 7.5", tack driver, more better.
Ruger Smith worked on the cylinder/cone, and sent it back with a target of a 50yd offhand group, less than 2".
Dropped some 1911 slabs in the box when I sent it to him.
IIRC it was '81.
Any excuse, said the Mrs long ago.
Got a Winchester to keep the LC company.
Couldn't get a brass frame so I added a stainless one.
Balances the 7.5", tack driver, more better.
Ruger Smith worked on the cylinder/cone, and sent it back with a target of a 50yd offhand group, less than 2".
Dropped some 1911 slabs in the box when I sent it to him.
IIRC it was '81.
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Good Lordy Bigdog357 and ko41, both of you have great taste in grips! Who made those gems and what are they made out of! Thanks for sharing!I have an affinity for Blackhawks in .41 Magnum.
KO
Larry
Mmmm, kinda. And Single Sixes and Sevens, and others. There are more in other drawers, just not as conveniently grouped.
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I had been wanting a Blackhawk for years and finally found an unconverted Old Model 3 screw in .357 Magnum with a 6.5 inch barrel and in excellent condition with barely a turn line on the cylinder . It was the exact model that I had been looking for .
I prefer to see in person and handle any firearm I purchase ...if at possible.
This one was for sale at Cabela's in Hamburg Pa and at what I thought to be a pretty good price considering the condition it was in .
No buyers remorse here .
It's a lot of fun to shoot and I have been really enjoying it.
I prefer to see in person and handle any firearm I purchase ...if at possible.
This one was for sale at Cabela's in Hamburg Pa and at what I thought to be a pretty good price considering the condition it was in .
No buyers remorse here .
It's a lot of fun to shoot and I have been really enjoying it.
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First off, thank you to all for posting all the different variations of Blackhawks.
Like so many of those of similar vintage to me, I grew up watching westerns, first at the Saturday matinee , then on the tele. From that initial exposure, despite my youth, I quickly and correctly concluded that the SAA, in its various iterations, was/is the most beautiful revolver ever wrought by the hand of man, especially in nickel plate (now polished stainless) steel, with stag or faux stag grips.
Some years ago I purchased a used, but as far I can tell, never fired stainless .357 Blackhawk with a 7" BBL. I put on a pair of faux stag grips. I also stripped the revolver and polished it to look like bright nickel.
Then I put it aside without even firing it. I was just too busy. A few years passed and I decided to get it out and try it. I took an older buddy with me who was a life long cowboy mountain man and shooter. I brought along some .38 cal wadcutters, so we would be running target grade ammo through it. We measured off 25 yards from the truck and put up a PPC silhouette target. We formed a rest on the truck roof using a rolled up blanket. I shot the first 3 rounds. All 3 rounds were touching. My buddy fired the second three. He had 2 touching, and the third within 1/4" of the other two.
We then knew this one was a shooter. But only off a support as the trigger pull was heavy and gritty. Another friend insisted he could do miracles with my trigger, and had me feel a couple of his revolvers. What he did was amazing; light, crisp, reliable.
Since I was fairly new to town, but the local shooters knew I had/have a garage full of PPC trophies, if we were to have several of us out informally shooting, if I showed up with a PPC revolver, I would be accused of having an unfair advantage.
But with that Blackhawk I had an ultimate sleeper. Here was a very pretty SAA with PPC revolver grouping ability. Of course its sleeper status only lasted as long as no one else shot it. But i just could not let that go on very long, because this revolver is just so much fun to shoot. Anyone with any skill can look very good with this revolver.
Since this started out based on appearance, I've got some involvement there too. Some years ago, during the then-Tuolumne County Film Festival, my bride met a young leather craftsman who had been commissioned by the Roy Rogers - Dale Evans Museum to make a limited edition of Roy Rogers holster rigs. Without saying anything to me she ordered this as a surprise gift.
When it arrived, in its fitted shadow box display case, I was blown away by its beauty and craftsmanship. An adult version of the rigs I had been emulating in my youth.
There was a flaw however. The holster set came with a pair of replica SAAs. These crude replicas clashed with the beauty of the leather rig. I decided to order a pair of high polish stainless Vaqueros in .45 LC (the same as the cartridges in the belt). Their appearance was flawless. I added sambar stag grips, which are the ideal (to me) finishing touch.
This rig is now on a living room wall in our western decorated home.
So my involvement Ruger SAA clones has a lot of meaning to me. Never once, watching those B westerns in my youth, did I ever foresee that something I had so admired so long ago would now be there to shoot as well admire.
We can mature. If we are fortunate enough we can grow old.
But God willing, we won't ever have to grow up. We can keep those memories that link us to where we started. There is something of value there.
SAAs, especially Ruger SAAs, have had a part in all of this.
Like so many of those of similar vintage to me, I grew up watching westerns, first at the Saturday matinee , then on the tele. From that initial exposure, despite my youth, I quickly and correctly concluded that the SAA, in its various iterations, was/is the most beautiful revolver ever wrought by the hand of man, especially in nickel plate (now polished stainless) steel, with stag or faux stag grips.
Some years ago I purchased a used, but as far I can tell, never fired stainless .357 Blackhawk with a 7" BBL. I put on a pair of faux stag grips. I also stripped the revolver and polished it to look like bright nickel.
Then I put it aside without even firing it. I was just too busy. A few years passed and I decided to get it out and try it. I took an older buddy with me who was a life long cowboy mountain man and shooter. I brought along some .38 cal wadcutters, so we would be running target grade ammo through it. We measured off 25 yards from the truck and put up a PPC silhouette target. We formed a rest on the truck roof using a rolled up blanket. I shot the first 3 rounds. All 3 rounds were touching. My buddy fired the second three. He had 2 touching, and the third within 1/4" of the other two.
We then knew this one was a shooter. But only off a support as the trigger pull was heavy and gritty. Another friend insisted he could do miracles with my trigger, and had me feel a couple of his revolvers. What he did was amazing; light, crisp, reliable.
Since I was fairly new to town, but the local shooters knew I had/have a garage full of PPC trophies, if we were to have several of us out informally shooting, if I showed up with a PPC revolver, I would be accused of having an unfair advantage.
But with that Blackhawk I had an ultimate sleeper. Here was a very pretty SAA with PPC revolver grouping ability. Of course its sleeper status only lasted as long as no one else shot it. But i just could not let that go on very long, because this revolver is just so much fun to shoot. Anyone with any skill can look very good with this revolver.
Since this started out based on appearance, I've got some involvement there too. Some years ago, during the then-Tuolumne County Film Festival, my bride met a young leather craftsman who had been commissioned by the Roy Rogers - Dale Evans Museum to make a limited edition of Roy Rogers holster rigs. Without saying anything to me she ordered this as a surprise gift.
When it arrived, in its fitted shadow box display case, I was blown away by its beauty and craftsmanship. An adult version of the rigs I had been emulating in my youth.
There was a flaw however. The holster set came with a pair of replica SAAs. These crude replicas clashed with the beauty of the leather rig. I decided to order a pair of high polish stainless Vaqueros in .45 LC (the same as the cartridges in the belt). Their appearance was flawless. I added sambar stag grips, which are the ideal (to me) finishing touch.
This rig is now on a living room wall in our western decorated home.
So my involvement Ruger SAA clones has a lot of meaning to me. Never once, watching those B westerns in my youth, did I ever foresee that something I had so admired so long ago would now be there to shoot as well admire.
We can mature. If we are fortunate enough we can grow old.
But God willing, we won't ever have to grow up. We can keep those memories that link us to where we started. There is something of value there.
SAAs, especially Ruger SAAs, have had a part in all of this.
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Same here. Ruger SA revolvers are the best IMHO. S&W DA revolvers are the best IMHO.
No conflict there
Clayguy
Member
I recently sent my New Vaquero to Ruger for repair. It came back in 5 days with a fabulous new re-blue and beautiful new grips in addition to the repair. I am seriously impressed with Ruger.
Larry, my grips were made by Chigs Grips, I send him the grip frame and he makes them custom to my gun. They are all made out of Maple
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My Blackhawk story began when I got my Super Blackhawk at age 17. I got a box of heavy .44 loads and started blasting away, giddy with the massive noise and recoil. Oh, the wonders of youth. Anyway, after about halfway through the box,I noticed that my trigger finger was bleeding from the serrations in the tigger. That was enough of that. I took it home and stripped it down. I then removed the serrations and polished up the trigger smooth and shiny. I then did the same with the hammer, rounding the back corners and blending the front corners of that square pad with the hammer body. Then I did a trigger job removing all of the creep. I was very happy with the results for about a year. Then the boss on the trigger for the transfer bar broke under heavy recoil. I ordered a new trigger from Ruger and while I waited, I wenttowork on the rest of it. I removed the barrel and re-cut the forcing cone at a little shallower angle and polished it. I also reconfigured the front sight slightly. Then I turned down andshortened the cylinder pin to look like one from a Colt. This let me fully remove the pin without removing the ejector rod housing. Next I polished the pins and cut screw slots in them, purely for looks. Next I did a high polish on the grip frame and added some larger faux blackmore grips to it to fit my bighands. By the time all this was done, the new trigger arrived... for a Bisley?!? They said "oops, sorry that won't fit. Send it back." I said "NOPE, I'm going to make it fit!" They said "That won't work, it can't fit." I said "Watch me!" So I ground,andtweeked and worked that metal until I got the most gorgeous trigger in my gun. I LOVE the way it feels. When I got it fitted, I had found an article on a Gunsmiththat had installed an adjustable trigger stop inside the frame of a SBH. Well, if he can do it, so can I, and I did. I wound up with a triggerthatbreaks like the proverbial glass rod at 2 1/4 lbs. People said it was too light and unsafe, but it was perfect for what I was using it for. 40 years and over 40,000 rounds of magnum silhouette loads later,it still blasts gallon jugs of water off hand at 100 yards so reliably it gets boring. I've had many Blackhawks, Vaqueros, Single-sixes and Old Armys coand go, go, but that Super is a lifelong companion. Sorry for that long post, but I hope someone enjoyed it.
I have several, some new some old. Here's a few of my favorites.
Three screw 45 Colt with the MR-3DB brass frame
A custom Super Blackhawk with a 5 inch barrel, custom front sight, loaded chamber cut outs, and I added the MR-3DB brass frame because the XR3 frame it came with was too small for my hands. This gun was customized by Bob Baer.
Nice Bravo, 1.5?
I have owned a bunch of Ruger single actions and one Security Six. Most have passed through my hands, though I still have an SBH and the first handgun I ever owned, a 3 screw Single Six.
Patrick L
Member
You know, the single action revolver thing just never appealed to me. This is not a knock on them in any way. I just never really had the desire. And it's strange, because I absolutely love westerns. Half of my time on the treadmill I'm just watching Grit TV or Me TV. I just prefer a DA revolver, even though 90% of the time I shoot them SA. Go figure...
Anyhow, that doesn't blind me to the fact that the Ruger is a fine piece of kit. I actually have a Ruger Single Six listed on my permit. It's my brother's, back in the day my Draconian state allowed people to have other people's guns on their permit, it just seemed like a good idea. God forbid anything happened to him, there would be no need to dispose of it, or at least any rush to do it to stay legal. (As I understand it now, that is limited to spouses.)
Anyhow, the dozen or so times I shot it, it always hit right where I aimed it. Like I said, very nice piece of kit.
Anyhow, that doesn't blind me to the fact that the Ruger is a fine piece of kit. I actually have a Ruger Single Six listed on my permit. It's my brother's, back in the day my Draconian state allowed people to have other people's guns on their permit, it just seemed like a good idea. God forbid anything happened to him, there would be no need to dispose of it, or at least any rush to do it to stay legal. (As I understand it now, that is limited to spouses.)
Anyhow, the dozen or so times I shot it, it always hit right where I aimed it. Like I said, very nice piece of kit.
I grew up in western SD and a handgun was a tool like any other tool you had to respect in order to be safe. My mom was far more paranoid about power take offs and augers than firearms.
But both my parents were far more comfortable with my teenage self carrying a single action revolver on a horse or dirt bike than a semi auto handgun.
A Single Six in .22 WMR was pretty standard in that role among my peers. Loaded with a CCI snake shot round it was effective (out to about 6’) on the rattle snakes we’d find under bales and a with a 40 or 45 gr bullet it was sufficient to drop a steer for slaughter with a carefully placed shot to the forehead. It was also a great small game round on rabbits and for coyotes, and worked well as a trap line handgun. It was and remains a very versatile handgun. The ability to load a revolver with a combination of snake shot and ball rounds and rotate th cylinder to select what you need continues to be a major advantage of a revolver.
Later on I upsized to a Blackhawk in .357 a magnum although it was quite frankly overkill.
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Top L to R
Grashorn-Elk, Unknown-Maple, bigmtnman-Moose, BearPaw-Buckeye burl, Unknown-Giraffe bone, Unknown-Maple, BearPaw-Amboyna burl, BearPaw-Spalted maple
Bottom L to R
Ruger-Walnut, Ruger-Walnut, Nill Griffe-Walnut, BearPaw-Buckeye burl, Unknown-Walnut
The Unknown makers I believe were on the RugerForum and eBay.
KO
p.s.
What's up with imgbb? My photos aren't displaying ATM.
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Buick
Member
I have the same gun..
I love it but it doesn't seem to like the cheap cowboy loads I've put through it. I've gauged all the cylinder throats and they are all .430, about perfect, so I assume it is the shooter or the ammunition.
Do you have a preferred load for your .44 spl?
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