Ruger Blackhawk convertibles

Dsiwy

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Just curious on who owns ether the 357/9mm or 45ACP/45LC version and how do they shoot?

I would only like to hear from actual owners and not a friend of a friend
 
Just curious on who owns ether the 357/9mm or 45ACP/45LC version and how do they shoot?

I would only like to hear from actual owners and not a friend of a friend

A short while ago I picked up a 4 5/8" SS convertable in 45ACP/45LC at a gun show in Naniamo.



And a local guy made up a Bianchi style Lawman holster for me.



Shooting, it seems to be very comparable to an old model Ruger Vaquero I have in 45LC.

.

Keepers, both:).
 
I have the Ruger New Blackhawk convertible.. shoots 38 Spl extremely well.. It will do 357 & 9mm of course a very flexible gun and built like a tank.

I changed out the wooden grips for a Hogue and it's a delight to shoot.
 
Hi
Here is one you won't see often. It is a Ruger Blackhawk in 38-40 and 10mm.




My buddy has the 45 colt/ 45 ACP and I have used it lots and it works just fine. As for the 36/357/9mm I have owned 2 and shot a few more and I have never got one that works good with 9mm. They all seem to work good for 38 and 357 but not the 9mm

My 38-40 and 10mm works very well no matter what you shoot out of it.

Graydog
 
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I'd love a 10/38-40 but won't even guess what they go for if they ever come up.

I've just started playing with a 357/9 and so far the 9mm is the most consistent.

Now this could be because my 38 specials are pretty under powered, my initial batch of .357 are pretty hot cast loads and so lead up kinda badly, and for 9mm I'm shooting cam pro 124grainers somewhat below max loads.

I have some cam pro .357 158 grainers to try, and I'm going to hot up my .38 just a few tenths of a grain (bullseye).

I will say that right now both my 38 and 357 loads are doing better in a GP100, but that's hardly apples to apples.

The 9mm has a pleasing snap to it, without the ca chunk motion of a reciprocating slide.

I'd say that a 45colt/ACP would be on my radar, but I might do something different and look at a 45 colt Bisley style instead, in a Blackhawk. I really have no pressing need to shoot 45 auto in a revolver after all.
 
Hi
Here is one you won't see often. It is a Ruger Blackhawk in 38-40 and 10mm.




My buddy has the 45 colt/ 45 ACP and I have used it lots and it works just fine. As for the 36/357/9mm I have owned 2 and shot a few more and I have never got one that works good with 9mm. They all seem to work good for 38 and 357 but not the 9mm

My 38-40 and 10mm works very well no matter what you shoot out of it.

Graydog

Very nice piece..
 
As for the 36/357/9mm I have owned 2 and shot a few more and I have never got one that works good with 9mm. They all seem to work good for 38 and 357 but not the 9mm
Graydog
Is that because the 9mm is 0.002" smaller than 38/357? (0.355" vs 0.357") Not the first time I've heard this.
 
I know you only want personal stories but I have read threads by owners that loaded their own 9mm with .356 to .357 "as cast" bullets and gotten good results. So if you reload already you may be able to solve your own size dilemma.
 
I know you only want personal stories but I have read threads by owners that loaded their own 9mm with .356 to .357 "as cast" bullets and gotten good results. So if you reload already you may be able to solve your own size dilemma.

A 9mm/357 convertable is in my plans for acquisition in the not too distant future. To much the same end you can go with cast bullets for both the 45ACP & 45 LC, sized to 0.454". Assuming the barrel slugs out at or measures 0.454", another consideration for the 45ACP cylinder is to check the throat opening size for each chamber. Not much to be gained in sizing 45ACP bullets to 0.454" if the chamber throat is 0.452".
 
I've had both the 9mm/357 and 45 convertibles. I still have the 45. It is the more accurate of the two. In 45 Colt it will put a cylinder full into a fist sized group at 25m standing, which is about as well as I can do. I also have a cylinder in 45 Win Mag for it which is also very accurate but does make it a bit of a handful. - dan
 
I've had both the 9mm/357 and 45 convertibles. I still have the 45. It is the more accurate of the two. In 45 Colt it will put a cylinder full into a fist sized group at 25m standing, which is about as well as I can do. I also have a cylinder in 45 Win Mag for it which is also very accurate but does make it a bit of a handful. - dan

I'm :redface:starting to get the urge to begin a quest for a Ruger SS 4 5/8" 9mm/357 convertable. The 'need' has been stirred;).
 
I have the .22LR/.22WMR, the 9mm/.357, and the .45LC/.45ACP convertibles. Since I am a lousy pistol shot I won't comment on how accurate they are. I will say that if you shoot back to back, say .45 rounds in .45ACP than .45LC the point of impact will be different with the same gun/sight settings. Is this a bad thing? It is what it is, you cannot expect the two different rounds to impact at the same point. Can the hand loads be made to compensate for the difference, maybe? I like the .22 gun the best, the .22Mag is too cool, a nice round to fire, would be even better in a 10 inch bbl, mine is 6 inch. I like the idea of no moon clips, I find the moon clips a PITA to use. The bang for the buck is good with the Ruger Convertibles. They are solid guns. I have added Houge grips to my guns, that helps me a lot.
 
Is that because the 9mm is 0.002" smaller than 38/357? (0.355" vs 0.357") Not the first time I've heard this.

I shoot the Lee 358-125-RF sized to .358" in 9mm Winchested brass. With a light load of green dot it shoots every bit as well as my favorite 38 special load in the same Blackhawk. (148 grain Lyman WC pushed by 2.9 grains of the some old Hercules Hi-Skor)
 
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I shoot the Lee 358-125-RF sized to .358" in 9mm Winchested brass. With a light load of green dot it shoots every bit as well as my favorite 38 special load in the same Blackshowk. (148 grain Lyman WC pushed by 2.9 grains of the some old Hercules Hi-Skor)

That would fit with the stories of upsizing the bullets to better fit the compromise bore size.

Now the trick question. Do the cartridges made with the oversize bullets still feed and shoot from a 9mm semi OK?

Of course all of this does assume that one is willing to reload to suit the gun. If one is looking at the size difference between FACTORY .357Mag and 9mm only then that's where one will find the stories about the poor accuracy in this particular size Convertible.

It makes sense that the .45 size will not have this issue since both rounds can use the same size bullets.

Hey, rustynut. The different rounds will hit at different spots due to differences in bullet weight and muzzle velocity. If you work to match them up then you should see both hitting the target at the same elevation. The key to this is the control you get through reloading your own ammo.
 
Hey, rustynut. The different rounds will hit at different spots due to differences in bullet weight and muzzle velocity.

Velocity is the only factor, actually. The only force that causes a bullet to drop is gravity, which is always -9.81m/s^2 (meters per second squared. Which is an acceleration, not velocity). Which means for every second its in the air, a bullet will accelerate downwards 9.81m. So at 2 seconds, its velocity is -19.62 m/s, ect.

So a faster projectile will drop less than a slower one, because it has less time to be accelerated downward before it hits the target. A heavier bullet wont drop any faster than a lighter one if they are fired at the same velocity, because they will both have the same amount of time to be accelerated downward by gravity.

If we were talking rifles, we could talk about ballistic coefficients which effect how quickly the bullet sheds velocity, but at handgun range I dont think that would be a big deal, plus basically all handgun bullets have terrible BCs anyways.
 
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