1972 Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum...Proper cast bullet size

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Joined
May 4, 2005
Messages
59
Location
Pineville, Louisiana, USA
***See Corrected Information***
I have a 1972 Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum. I am starting into reloading and bought up some ***(HSM did not make these bullets. Rim Rock Bullets made them) Rim Rock hard-cast 240 grain LSWC bullets http://www.rimrockbullets.net/catalog/ which measure at .430 ***(NOT .429 as marked on the box but actually .430). THEN, I was told that Ruger Super Blackhawks are known for "sloppy" standards on cylinder throat and barrel sizes. That they normally were measuring .431-.432. And, that I should have the cylinder throats measured and the barrel slugged to determine a proper fit.

Now, understand, I love Ruger guns. I have 7 Ruger handguns and 1 Ruger rifle. So, I am NOT trying to bash them. Anyway.........

Can anyone verify or refute this claim??

What am I to do? Give away the .430 sized bullets and buy more after determining the proper size?

Thanks
 

ra

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Messages
264
Location
Tennessee
I would load some up and try them out before I did any thing. If they shoot good I would not worry about it, if they don't then try something else.
I have 2 Super Blackhawks and 2 44 Specials and a Hornady Factory jacketed bullet will slip in the throats but a cast at .431 will not.

ra
 

Kanook

Buckeye
Joined
Aug 7, 2009
Messages
1,123
Location
FL
Since you are a reloader

Take your calipers and check your cylinder to see what it measures

Somebody will chime in a what size sinker to use to slug your bore with soft lead
 

captainkirk

Blackhawk
Joined
Jul 30, 2002
Messages
538
Location
Abilene, TX
I would think .429 (cast)is going to be a little loose in any 44 mag and give you leading unless the bullets are soft and velocities are low. Otherwise gas cutting and leading are soon to follow. I use/ have used 430-432 for all the 44s I have owned (Ruger, Winchester, Marlin) and have been pleased with that dia range in all of them.

YMMV


captainkirk
 

TiteGroups

Blackhawk
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
513
When starting out reloading don't buy a bunch of anything until you try it out. I'd load some up and see how they shoot first to be sure there is a problem before trying to fix it. You can read all you want but there's no substitute for hands on. Results may vary.
 

Sugar River

Buckeye
Joined
Aug 25, 2008
Messages
1,084
Location
S Florida
You can check your throat diameter by passing bullets of known size thru them. If your .429s drop thru easily, then find some 430s and 431s and see what happens. It's a lot easier to accurately measure a bullet dia. then the throats themselves.

Pete
 

JSimpson65

Bearcat
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
24
Location
Houston, TX
On my Old Model Super, a bullet sized at .430 drops through without even touching the throats, and a .431 slug goes through with very little resistance. Accuracy is decent, but I'm sure it would improve with .432 or larger.
 
Joined
May 4, 2005
Messages
59
Location
Pineville, Louisiana, USA
Ok, I took out the Blackhawk cylinder and dropped in the .429 bullets...one in each chamber. NONE of the bullets fell freely through the throat. All had to be pushed through. Now, there was not much resistance...but, NONE fell freely through the cylinder throats.

This was repeated several times with the same bullets rotated to different chambers. Still the same results.

Then, this was done several times with several new selections of bullets from two different boxes of the same HSM brand bought a month apart. Again, same results. NO bullets fell freely through the cylinder throats. Not much resistance...but, a small amount felt when pushing the bullets on through.

Input? Advice?

Thanks
 

yankee7809

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
197
Location
Powell,TN,USA
A .430 cast bullet will drop straight through the chambers of all my .44 Magnums, Smith & Wessons included. No rattle, straight to the floor! I haven't bought any .431s but I suspect they would go through fairly easily as well. The .430s always have shot fine by matching bullet hardness with velocity with very little leading. Can't say the same for the .45s in my life.
 

xtpshooter

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 11, 2010
Messages
100
Location
Houston, TX
You really need to slug your barrell first. Your cyclinder throats need to be about a thousand over that measurement for cast bullets. Slug your cylinder throats as well and measure the slugs. This will give you the information you need to select a properly sized cast bullet. Its hard to properly measure the cylinder throats accurately with a caliper. Measure the slugs.
 

surveyor47

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 29, 2001
Messages
312
Location
New Orleans, LA
For most revolvers, cast bullets should be 0.001 larger than their nominal jacketed bullet diameter. In the case of the 44 Magnum nominal jacketed size is 0.429 and cast bullets are 0.430. But this is not always the case. Remington offers jaceketed bullets in 0.429 and 0.430 and its hard to know which is the proper size for your gun except by slugging the barrel.

I own a 1st year Super Blackhawk that came with a 0.4325 diameter barrel, just a tad out of spec. Ruger replaced the barrel with a wonderful new barrel that shoots like a laser. The first barrel literally couldnt hit the broad side of a barn with a 0.430 diamter cast bullet or a 0.429 diameter jacketed bullet. The new barrel shoots them just fine.
 
Joined
May 4, 2005
Messages
59
Location
Pineville, Louisiana, USA
I just received a response from Rim Rock Bullets concerning these particular bullets I purchased.

"Bradley, these bullets have a brinell hardness of about 15 and the alloy
used is 2% tin-7% anti-91% lead. This is the mix HSM wants us to use.
But I believe they are sized to .430. Frank"


If they fit my cylinder and barrel well, what could be possible velocities this bullet could be pushed? By the way, these are beveled-bottom bullets. http://www.rimrockbullets.net/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=141

Thanks
 

robertkirksey

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 12, 2006
Messages
637
Location
Alabama
Now that you know that the bullets will go through the holes, why not load up and go shooting? In magnum cases, I just tried a load of 23.6 Grs. of Lil' Gun behind a 250 Gr. Keith and CCI 350 primer for 1300 FPS out of my 4 5/8" Vaquero and it shot clean as a whistle. No leading to speak of.

Personally I get a lot more leading with light to mid velocity loads than those with enough clout to slug up the bullet to fill the bore and seal against excessive gas cutting. Oh yeah, use a good crimp! Robert
 

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