Ruger .45 Colt

[Capt. F.]

My latest purchase, a replacement for a 4 5/8” version, I bought new in 1972, that was stolen recently.
Unconverted 3 screw .45 Colt but with a 7 1/2” barrel and extra .45 ACP Cylinder.
As soon as I get some 260 grain Keith’s cast up, we’ll give ‘er a test run.

 

[Golddollar]

My latest purchase, a replacement for a 4 5/8” version, I bought new in 1972, that was stolen recently.
Unconverted 3 screw .45 Colt but with a 7 1/2” barrel and extra .45 ACP Cylinder.
As soon as I get some 260 grain Keith’s cast up, we’ll give ‘er a test run.

I have 4 of those without the second cylinder, 1 pair blued and the other pair stainless. At a weekend match I would shoot one pair the first day and the other pair the second day. Didn't want any of them to feel neglected.

 

[CH4]

Very cool piece!
Everyone knows the best BH is one chambered for the 45 Colt and 45acp.

 

[bigmtnman]

One my all time favorite guns. Sorry to hear you lost your 4 5/8"
Years ago, I had mine (4 5/8") on my hip when out cutting up and gathering fallen trees for firewood. A bear cub came tearing through the woods and ran right past me. I thought ... "Uh-oh, what's chasing him and where is mom " ? .... As I pulled out the Blackhawk, my thought was ... "I wish I had the 45 LC cylinder in with my heavy loads instead of the ACP cylinder with hardball". Fortunately, no "trouble" followed the cub .... Maybe he was running back TO mom

 

[max]

I had one many years ago and sent it back to have the ACP cylinder fitted. Ruger fitted the cylinder and also installed a new 45 Colt cylinder as they said they found something wrong with it for no charge.

I found I never used the ACP cylinder and sold the gun.

 

[diyj98]

I had one that was very accurate with 45 acp loaded with Bullseye target loads. With the 45 Colt cylinder, I loaded and shot it with hot 2400 loads until it finally started loosening up. I'd defiantly stick to standard 45 Colt loads if I ever had another.

 

[Shark Bait]

Great guns and it's great that you got both cylinders. I have a 4 5/8 inch gun with the MR-3DB brass frame. Mine is not one that came from the factory with that frame originally. Those are getting pricey. I think just the frames are around $350 or more now.

 

[Imissedagain]

Brass frames were not available, out of stock, when I was looking for one, so I bought a stainless frame for the old Blackhawk 45C.
With the 7.5" barrel, the balance is now great.

 

[Shotguncoach]

Very cool piece!
Everyone knows the best BH is one chambered for the 45 Colt and 45acp.

I agree! I have a 7 1/2" Super Blackhawk, but the 7 1/2" Blackhawk in .45 Colt is much more fun to shoot. When I'm using the ACP cylinder I "feed" it from 1911 magazines by pushing the top cartridge out of the magazine into the loading gate with my thumb. That gets some really strange looks from other shooters until they figure out what I'm doing.

My .45 Colt loads run just over 1,000 fps with a 255 grain LSWC Keith style bullet from Missouri Bullet Company. Accurate, controllable, and hits hard.

I sent a slab of buckeye burl wood to this guy and he made matching stocks for my .45 Colt/.45 ACP Blackhawk and my 3-screw unconverted .357 Blackhawk.

 

[bananaman]

My 45, convertible is newer, but really like it. Of course I like all 45's! Bob

 

[PALADIN85020]

This is my old model Ruger Blackhawk convertible. It's built like a tank and will handle .45 Colt reloads that rival the .44 magnum in clout.

John


(Click for larger image)

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have 4 Old Model 45 Colt Vaqueros. One pair of 5.5" Blue Beasleys and one pair 4" Stainless normal model. They can handle anything the Blackhawks can, but with fixed sights POA and POI can get further apart than I prefer.

My Beasleys have about 20,000 target loads each, without needing any major repairs. (I had Italian SAA clones that were trashed in 5000 light loads!) Cowboy loads are not much harder on the gun than dry firing on snap caps. (Just keep the fouling cleaned out of the guts!) The Stainless Vaqueros are at 5000 +/- each. Depending on how I cleaned them last, you would think they are almost new!

Ivan

 

[Capt. F.]

I agree! I have a 7 1/2" Super Blackhawk, but the 7 1/2" Blackhawk in .45 Colt is much more fun to shoot. When I'm using the ACP cylinder I "feed" it from 1911 magazines by pushing the top cartridge out of the magazine into the loading gate with my thumb. That gets some really strange looks from other shooters until they figure out what I'm doing.

My .45 Colt loads run just over 1,000 fps with a 255 grain LSWC Keith style bullet from Missouri Bullet Company. Accurate, controllable, and hits hard.

I sent a slab of buckeye burl wood to this guy and he made matching stocks for my .45 Colt/.45 ACP Blackhawk and my 3-screw unconverted .357 Blackhawk.

If those stocks are ever looking for a home…….

 

[pharmer]

I've had this one (Old Model convertible .45 Vaquero) since the end of the 20th century. I'm not a big S/A fan so it's still unshot by me. Joe

 

[Capt. F.]

This is my old model Ruger Blackhawk convertible. It's built like a tank and will handle .45 Colt reloads that rival the .44 magnum in clout.

John


(Click for larger image)

Those ivory colored stocks just make the gun look royal.
I may have to start the quest to replace my 4 5/8”.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

I shot my friend’s three screw 4 5/8” .45 and I told him how special it is being only a year or two in production until the safety change. I would think some of these had been shot with extremely heavy hand loads when they first came out.

 

[Shark Bait]

There is some bad info out there about some of the Rugers, especially the Vaqueros and Blackhawks in 45 Colt. The earlier guns had larger frames and could handle the Ruger-only loads. Those loads are not recommended for the newer and lighter framed guns. The way to tell the difference is the serial number prefix. A 2 digit prefix indicates the large frame and a 3 digit prefix indicates the lighter frame. I owned a gun marked as a New Vaquero that was chambered for the 44 Magnum and it had the 2 digit prefix.

I have seen some YouTube videos where people are shooting heavy 45 Colt loads out of their super-strong Ruger Vaqueros and I can clearly see a 3 digit prefix. Ruger has not done a very good job clarifying the frame size issue.