194 gr Bradshaw-Martin SWC GC

Stainless Blackhawk .357 Maximum built in 1983. Serial number 600-14111. Bradshaw's notes on target indicate 410 series stainless steel, heat treated to Rockwell 30; round count 2,000; Federal .357 Maximum 180 JHP, 5x5=4" @ 100 yards. In David's hand, a Pachmayr grip. Ejector housing is blue-anodized aluminum. Stainless cylinder, darkened from shooting. According to Jack Coogan, Ruger made six stainless Maximums, three of which were destroyed; the other three in private collections.



Number 18, first assembled production Maximum (Southport 1982), 36 years later gets to shoot its own bullet. David thinks the Old Man would approve.



Ruger mainsprings: left, standard Blackhawk/SBH mainspring assembly. Blued mainspring, right, borrowed from Cap & Ball to prevent BLANKING in .357 Maximum, while reliably lighting small rifle primers.



Bradshaw-Martin 194 SWC GC, invited by Lee Martin and configured by David Bradshaw to compliment the .357 Remington Maximum as chambered in the Ruger Blackhawk Maximum. A single-radius ogive semi-wadcutter, gas checked to hold its heal against the furnace, a chopping shoulder and three substantial bands with two gutters for a country simple switch from powder coat to grease. A long nose with DEEP SEATED wheelbase. Intention to hold pressure, to track, sail straight and punch.



Hammer & trigger, padded, mounted on side of frame. Set for a clean break. Engagement for this SBH Bisley Hunter is exactly the same as for all Ruger single actions——engagement angles between hammer & trigger incline to REGAIN.



Ruger on rest for 100 yard firing with Bradshaw-Martin 194 SWC GC, deep seated over 18.5/IMR 4227. Zoom photo to see flag on target board, indicating stiff wind from 1 o'clock.



David's .357 Maximum 10-1/2" with short 11-degree cone. Lee bought a later, similar revolver for his work with the 194 SWC GC. Note the low front sight——tried for one session only----one of the experimental heights cut for SRM prototypes. The sight is too low for the 194 SWC, printing 4.6" high @ 25 yards (with rear sight on bottom detent).

More & more excellent history,,, and details. This is the kind of stuff that future generations will appreciate being shared & saved.

I'm with Contender and Wildcatter,

"Good to see you keep doing what you've done for so long,,, inspiring others, and making them understand, handguns are only efficient at short range if you choose to use them at that distance."

I couldn't agree more about our debt and history's debt to David. and I think Lee is pushing him into even higher strata. This is one fantastic thread for us junkies.

"wax Pavlovian".
and David does have a way with words.


Prescut

I was out the other day with a 40 S&W handgun,, and some odd bullets I'd picked up. I wanted to see how they truly performed. So, at 100 yds,,, I settled the sights on a steel plate, 12" diameter, with a few pieces of cardboard to each side. Several of them showed the extreme yaw mentioned above in how a bullet can fly. I just chuckled at this,,, as it made me think of this thread immediately. Then, I settled down with a different gun & caliber,,, with MUCH better results. I love it when folks question my sanity at long range handgunning. Yet,,, a while back,,,,, while discussing various subjects,,, a friend & I watched a crow fly in & light upon a tree limb,, about 50 yds out. I commented: "If he'll just sit tight for a few minutes & let me get my gun,,, to which I pulled my Ruger MKII Comp-Target out. At the crack, the crow fluttered to the ground. My friend,,, well,,, he's still telling that story. to me,,,it wasn't that hard. But it's nice when folks who have no clue are in awe of what "magic" you can do with a handgun. I call it "Myth busting 101."
This whole thread is PROOF of what can truly be done when a proper education is used,,, and actual field testing is done by the same folks.
I do enjoy the entire thread,, and ALL of the info!

A stainless Max... Go figure!!

Talk about GRAIL GUN!!

Hey Joe,

That stainless Blackhawk caught my attention as well. Unobtainium.
But the Seville in 357 Max with the stainless is awfully purdy and can be had with just money.

But the analysis here and the shooting pics are just outstanding and override all my other interests. I am continually amazed every day that everyone doesn't shoot the 357 Max. It is clearly my favorite caliber by leaps and bounds. The recoil just seems to fit me and the accuracy at 100 yards+ is like looking at Xmas morning.

Does anyone know the last manufacturer to make a 357 Maximum shooter. What year?
I am just so grateful that people like Lee and David are still involved. They are about the only thing keeping this caliber cartridge alive. and new choices for bullets are coming at us as a result !!!!!

Lee and David,
I would gladly donate whatever it takes to do some research with those bullets. I have a few different powders that will work well. I have several 357 Maximum shooters like the Magnum Research Lone Eagle. DW 740 and 40, Seville, T/C Contender 14" and Encore 26", and of course the Ruger Max. It looks like the two of you are fully ringing out the Ruger. If you guys need assistance going through all the different recipes and all the different guns, drop me a line.

Prescut

Lee will have to answer as to his intention in asking me what I would do, given the challenge of designing a bullet for the .357 Maximum. I am sure implicit in his curiosity he had in mind the Ruger Blackhawk .357 Maximum revolver as the vehicle. That expresses the way Lee and I communicate on ballistics----specific intention. As I no longer shoot silhouette and my ambition to track & slay from the leather takes on less importance, nevertheless these acts resonate beneath my skin, thus a bullet for all seasons must paint that spectrum.

There is no way around the importance to advanced marksmanship of the SOCIAL FACTOR, getting together with hard corps performers to shoot straight. PROVE & IMPROVE. Ultimately, we compete against ourselves. Yet, to shoot with a sharpshooter advances anybody's skill. To awaken each morning in that realm is planetary. Two shooters of skill may individually plateau; put them together and they soar. This is a stage in growth which forces refinement, the making of a sharpshooter.

Folks of mediocre talent worry about "beating" somebody. Forget that. Fire each shot like it's the only one you have.

I am probably a little ambivalent about every bullet made. None do all things perfectly. As I am by diet & spirit omnivorous, the bullet I drip into a .357 Maximum chamber should be capable of a reckoning.
David Bradshaw

Martin Shooting Session #5
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I tried IMR 4198 with the 194 gr Bradshaw-Martin and it performed well. I expected ignition impulse to be slower, but it felt pretty much like 4227.

22.0 grs averaged 1,435 fps
23.0 grs averaged 1,489 fps

Lab Radar results for the 23.0 gr load:

Muzzle = 1,489
25 yards = 1,413
50 yards = 1,349
75 yards = 1,280
100 yards = 1,237

The velocity drop as a percent of muzzle speed was more than my Blue Dot load. The bullet was still faster at 100 yards, but showed quicker deceleration. I also tried 13.0 grs of Blue Dot and averaged 1,282. Accuracy was ho-hum. Most five-shot groups were in the 7 to 9 inch range. However, 4198 printed very tight.





22.0 grs of 4198:



23.0 grs of 4198 - one of the best groups I've had from this revolver. You'll notice POI is about the same as 18.5 of 4227.



Another group using 18.5 grs/IMR 4227:




To recap my hold, I put the front sight on the bottom edge of the plate. The blade is narrow enough to give a slither of light on either side of the post. This enables fairly precise holds shot-to-shot.

Good show. I'll have to think about this 4198.

What made you decide to use that? And would it work with, say, 180 gr bullets, cast and jacketed?

Joe.... not sure when I first loaded the .357 Maximum with IMR 4198. The breakout came with a slightly compressed charge of the skinny stick powder under the Speer 200 grain Total Metal Jacket (TMJ) silhouette bullet, firing it the Dan Wesson Arms M40 V8S for a revolver record. Problem was, L-O-N-G BARREL TIME, which is unforgiving of any deviation in FOLLOW THROUGH. Apparently I was hot that day, for over the next couple matches accuracy went to hell. Recoil is a "whoosh" sensation, not the jolt of normal mag recoil. Accuracy is 100% attributable to perfect follow through, no disturbance of revolver between trigger break and bullet exit.

The Speer 200 TMJ has a long bearing surface for ample holdback to develop burn with slow powder. Never tried 4198 under a 180 grain bullet. Were I to try it, I would use a compressed charge. And, as always, the small rifle primer.

Lee basically used my recommendation to lightly compress IMR 4198 and did not experience the "whoosh" recoil sensation. He says recoil is normal. The Bradshaw-Martin 194 SWC GC has good holdback. Expect the Ruger to produce better velocity than the DWA M40.
David Bradshaw

Bradshaw Report #6
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After changing sights, first shots are fired @ 25 yards. Load we've shot the most of: Bradshaw-Martin 194 SWC GC, 18.5/4227, small rifle primer.



Front sight sketched on pig to show size as it appears @ 25 yards, and POI (Point of Aim).



….. Followed by two shots @ 100 yards.



Front sight sketched on pig approximates size as seen on target @ 100 yards. Point of Impact (POI) error 4x greater @ 100 yards than at 25 yds.



After change of sights, POI shifted left.



Targets compared, 25 and 100 yards.Note change in elevation hold. No sight adjustment (elevation & windage) made between targets.



4x4 into 1.8-inch group @ 100 yards.



Notes for previous target. Sights for this target are: Front----.107" wide x .440" high; Rear——.091" wide x .060" deep. Elevation screw is old type with 8-clicks per revolution, up 24-clicks (from bottom detent). Headwind blew over target board as David lined up for a fifth shot.



A more typical target from 100 yards.

Bradshaw Report #6 Continued
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About to swap grips. Grip frame of Blackhawk .357 Maximum held by forward guard screw only. In event grip screws loosen, lugs projecting from "ears" of older Ruger grip frames engage slots in frame to prevent from dropping.



SBH Bisley Hunter with grip frame held only by front guard screw. Grip lacks lugs, and frame lacks cuts to receive lugs. Thus, grip frame droops when held by front screw only.



Bisley grip frames compared. Newer grip frame (left) without lugs. Older grip frame frame, with lugs projecting from "ears."



Lugs prevent old style Bisley grip frame (left) from fitting new style frame (right).



Bisley and Super Blackhawk grip frames.



Gripping Super Blackhawk grip frame. Note relief between middle finger and trigger guard. David prefers HEEL INDEX grasp for all single actions.



Even HEEL INDEX grasp of Bisley grip frame fails to allow air gap between middle finger and trigger guard. Nevertheless, heel index goes a long way to protect middle finger.



Bisley frame with Maximum mainspring . Bill Ruger, Jr., incorporated Old Army cap & ball mainspring to eliminate primer BLANKING and consistently ignite rifle primer.



Bisley grip frame frame headed for Maximum frame. Note indexing lugs at bottom of grip frame "ears." Maximum mainspring in place.



Bisley grip frame attached to Blackhawk Maximum by forward guard screw only. The lugs help speed trigger tuning.



Bisley grip frame installed. Bill Ruger wanted to introduce the .357 Maximum with a Bisley frame. Bill asked David, "What do you think of the Bisley grip frame?" To which David pronounced the Colt Bisley "an abomination of Victorian design." To which Bill replied, "It doesn't have to be like that." While the concept borrows from the Colt Bisley, the Ruger Bisley is 100% Ruger. Bill Ruger did not think much of Keith's Number 5, considering the aesthetic clumsy. Ruer wanted Blackhawk/SBH and his Bisley to match up at the hump in a continuous arc. Didn't work out in production.



Bisley Maximum ready for work.



First group with Bisley grip @ 100 yards. First 3-shots (right) into 3.1-inches. Heavy 3 o'clock wind catches shots 4 & 5, which nevertheless hold 1.4-inch. Note wind flag. Point of Impact (POI) nearly interchangeable between SBH and Bisley grip. Sights: Front .107" wide x .440" high; Rear .091" notch x .060" deep.

Very well written Lee, as usual. I like that Bisley grip frame on the Maximum, might have to look into one myself. Really enjoy the photo's that you always supply. I need to get some bullets cast up for myself & also for Onegoodshot!

Dick

Just when I think it can't get any better,,, I see this latest test. While the normal g/f on my maxi's are fine,, and the recoil is comfortable,,, I can see where this may help some shooters too. And as Dick says,,, very well written & shared.

"Very well written Lee, as usual."
----Dick

*****

Dick,
Bradshaw Report #6, and others under my name, have photos and text supplied by this shooter. We're trying to keep these distinctions clear. Confusion arises as Lee posts my material under his byline, as he has been doing with the Volume series of my photo essays.

The Bradshaw-Martin 194 grain SWC Gas Check most certainly is a collaboration; it would not have happened without Lee asking me to design a bullet for the Maximum. We are stoked to see you, and others, throw in.
David Bradshaw

David, thanks for clearing that up! Lately I haven't been throwing many bullets, I'm out until I get more cast up & I've been busy making handgun stocks. I need to get back shooting. I'm going to order one of those Old Army cap & ball main springs for my gun.

Dick

I'm going to order one of those Old Army cap & ball main springs for my gun.
----Dick

*****

Dick.... The Blackhawk .357 Maximum was shipped with the Old Army cap & ball mainspring. Unless a previous owner changed it, your gun has it. Thicker wire, blued, like the rest of the gun.
David

Thanks David,

Dick

Dick.... was just thinking of you. Opened computer and screen saver photo si closeup of Remington Experimental .357 Maximum. Label on box says:

CAUTION
STOE AT ROOM TEMP
DO NOT HAND FIRE

Our 4227 loads are mild compared to that stuff. And I suspect the Bradshaw-Martin 194 SWC GC will prove a more meaningful hunting bullet than the Remington 158 JHP at any velocity. Was shocked that we fired their experimental ammo all day long, hand held in the SRM sixguns, while folks at the Lonoke, Arkansas ammunition plant did their shooting from a test receiver with a lanyard.
David Bradshaw

David, I do have 8 rounds still loaded that I'm saving for a Badger if one happens to wander into sight in the next few days before I cast more bullets. Wonder if I should use a lanyard.......thoughts?

Dick