Ruger Blackhawks and additional cylinders

I was asked a question the other day about this, and really didn't have an answer so I thought I would ask those here who have more knowledge on the subject than me.

The Ruger Blackhawks with the conversion cylinders, in particular the .357 with the 9mm cylinders, are those cylinders specifically timed to those guns or can someone buy a 9mm cylinder to go with a .357 that didn't come with one? Also, does this apply to both the Old and New Model Blackhawks?

I have purchased a used .357 cylinder to replace the one lost for my old model .357/9mm Blackhawk. You will need to determine the overall length of the distance between front and rear of the cylinder "window" in your frame, or use your existing cylinder as a guide. I had to work my replacement cylinder over with a stone to relieve about 0.0005" in order for the cylinder with loaded shells to rotate freely. I only touched the stone to the bearing surface on the front of the cylinder where it rotates about the pin, and watched the cylinder/barrel gap to make sure it did not disappear completely. I ended up with about a .003-.004" gap after fitting. Checking the cylinder/barrel alignment with a tuning rod shows good alignment, so I had no issues with timing. As long as it is the correct cylinder for your model, I suspect the cuts for the bolt in Ruger cylinders are all within an acceptable tolerance. Also, differences between old models and new models exist, so be sure you are getting the correct length cylinder to begin with.

I have done this on 45 Colts with 45acp cylinders purchased separately.

FWIW I also did this on a Model 29-3 recently. I found a recessed 29-2 cylinder to put in it. I had to modify the frame stop for the longer cylinder but once I got that done it worked perfectly.

Thank Eli Whitney for parts interchangeability

If this is true how can a new revolver come with the cylinder to barrel alignment off?

Possibly one of the bolt cuts is off, or maybe all the slots are not clocked to the chamber holes... Stranger things have happened.

I purchased a New Model 45 convertible 5.5" blued around 2001/2. I purchased it with the idea in mind to shoot the cheaper 45acp & just shoot the 45 colt when hunting. That didn't work out because I started hand loading for it after I purchased my 1st box of factory 45 colt. Later on around 2014/15 I purchased a SS Bisley Blackhawk. One day I had them both out shooting them & just swapped cyls to see if they'd fit. Got lucky I guess because they swap around & work just fine. Before I shot them I took them to my local smith to have him look'm over. He put all 4 eyes on both of them & said they'd shoot fine. I took'm home & tried them out, he was right. Stainless in blued shoots good & blued in stainless shoots good, acp or colt either way. I hear a lot of talk about the long jump on the acp, going through the throat & into the forcing cone but the acp is more accurate for me, in both guns. Maybe it's the recoil, bullet type, load, I don't know but it just shoots dead on w/a 230gr lrn cast bullet & 5.3gr of 231.

I have a Bisley SS Blackhawk .45/.45 ACP convert. and it too shoots well with either cylinder.
However I will be shooting mostly .45 Colt with it. Great shooting gun!

David LaPell said:

I was asked a question the other day about this, and really didn't have an answer so I thought I would ask those here who have more knowledge on the subject than me.

The Ruger Blackhawks with the conversion cylinders, in particular the .357 with the 9mm cylinders, are those cylinders specifically timed to those guns or can someone buy a 9mm cylinder to go with a .357 that didn't come with one? Also, does this apply to both the Old and New Model Blackhawks?

Click to expand...

Although most owners will never notice it, Ruger aint all that precise about "timing" their SA revolvers, and never have been. That's why slowly cocking most OM's will result in 5-clicks instead of 4. With the NM action, they simply let the latch release early enough that it can't help but eventually "find" the cylinder notch...hence the infamous "Ruger Ring". And to make matters worse, almost every Ruger SA that I've ever tested exhibited the possibility of being cocked/fired without it's cylinder being latched...OM, NM, new or used, might-near all of 'em will do that if you cock the hammer slow enough.
The good news there is that there's so much over-travel designed into the hammer movement that Ruger's lack of precision get's masked during normal use...so yeah, assuming that the OAL is correct for your particular revolver, might-near any replacement cylinder you can come up with will "fit and function".

All that said though, don't be surprised if you find a difference in B/C gap between the two, meaning that although the OAL lengths may be the same, the bodies of the two may not be. Plus, I've observed as much as .001 difference in ratchet-tooth height from one cylinder to another, so ya have to watch for that too, because that will not only cause a difference in B/C gap between two otherwise identical cylinders, it's also the end which effects head space.
Am I cutting a fine line with all of that?...yeah, you bet...but hey, that's just me and how I approach things. The next guy could probably just install the cylinder, eye ball the B/C gap, let her rip, and be just as well off as me despite all of my fidgeting around with details. :lol: :lol: :lol: .

DGW