357 Blackhawk Accuracy

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BearStopper

Blackhawk
Joined
May 16, 2008
Messages
787
Location
Oregon
I want a Blackhawk in an in between caliber meaning heavier than my Single six .22 and lighter than my .44 magnums. I have had two OM 4 5/8" in .357 and neither were very accurate with any of my .357 or .38 handloads. Both of my 44's are extremely accurate so I am wanting something to fill the gap that would make a good plinker/small game revolver that is also accurate and as i said above, larger than my .22/.22 mag. I prefer OM's as do most but I am curious of the accuracy of the .32 Mag vs a .357 with .38's loaded. Any input on the inherant accuracy or experiences of others with the Blackhawks in the .357 or .32 mag are appreciated.
 

EarlFH

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
361
Location
Montana
Why not one of the new 44 Specials? The 44 Special is known for it's accuracy. One of the small frames would be nice.

EarlFH
 

maxpress

Buckeye
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
1,280
Location
Central Washington
not sure why your om's in 357 arew not accurate. i shoot shotgun shells out to 25yrds. mostly use .38 158gr swc handloads over reddot.

sounds like you just got bum guns or wernt use to them. did you try them off a rest at a bench? mine are 4 5/8 to
 

DGW1949

Hunter
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
3,916
Location
Texas
BearStopper":2liw6ydr said:
I want a Blackhawk in an in between caliber meaning heavier than my Single six .22 and lighter than my .44 magnums. I have had two OM 4 5/8" in .357 and neither were very accurate with any of my .357 or .38 handloads. Both of my 44's are extremely accurate so I am wanting something to fill the gap that would make a good plinker/small game revolver that is also accurate and as i said above, larger than my .22/.22 mag. I prefer OM's as do most but I am curious of the accuracy of the .32 Mag vs a .357 with .38's loaded. Any input on the inherant accuracy or experiences of others with the Blackhawks in the .357 or .32 mag are appreciated.

Some OM-357's are in better mechanical condition than others...so naturaly, some shoot better than others.
I've got one that has .3585 throats and a very poor forcing cone, if you could even call it a forcing cone.
Perhaps the two you had had simular problems.

It pays to look beyound "perty" when buying a gun intended for using/shooting/hunting....and that goes for new guns too.

DGW
 

Eli Chaps

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
18
My NM Blackhawk and my best friend's NM "Convertable" Blackhawk, both with 4 5/8" bbls are both superbly accurate. Although I dinked around with my rear sight last time we were out (no, I don't know why!) and mine is off a bit right now.

He and I both have repeatedly hit a milk jugs at 75yds with factory .38's and .357's. The 9mm's don't seem to perform as well for him.

And with "instinct shooting" at short ranges, say popping a can on the ground over and over "from the hip" becomes quite easy with a little practice.

My BH is unquestionably the most accurate of my personal handguns.
 

Rodfac

Blackhawk
Joined
Mar 11, 2009
Messages
691
Location
Kentucky
I bought a new 50th Anniversary .357 three weeks ago for a great price at a local gun show ($390 OTD). I've run about 200 125 JHP's through it for an average gp size of 2" at 25 yds. Today I tried some commercial cast 158 LSWC's at 900 fps for an average gp size of 1.75", again at 25 yds. Offhand I got six into just over an inch from the 50' line. It''s a good revolver, tight with a good finish.

Lifting one leg of the trigger return spring off the post reduced the trigger pull to a manageable 2-1/2 lbs, with just a bit of creep to it. The stocks were too thin so I've replaced them with some of my own making.

My only comment in a negative sense is that the front sight was way too high, especially with the 125's. My load for that bullet is well over 1250 fps and they shot very low. The rear sight had to be raised almost to the limit...like 3/32" before they would print 1" above the pt of aim at 25 yds. The fix of course was to file down the front sight height, then re-slope the back edge to get a pleasing contour. The only problem now is that the knurled surface is gone and even with a good cold blue job, it does reflect some light making sight alignment harder.

Mine has the 4-3/4" barrel of course and it's a good packin' pistol to use Taffin's term. I like it a lot. It would be a good intermediate choice between the .22's and your .44's. In the center-fires I also own and shoot one of the Lipsey's 4-3/4" barreled .44 Specials which is my personal favorite Ruger, as well as another .44 50th Anniversary Flat Top model, a "New" Vaquero in .45 Colt and a Bird's Head Single-Six in .32 H&R.

Your game, your choice, but I think, if it were me, I'd get the short barreled .357, either the standard BH or the 50th if you prefer the Flat Top look. I do note that in a belt holster, the flat top rear sight ears grab at my sleeve cuffs or occasionally scrape my forearm where the standard BH with it's protective sight ears only slides by with hardly a tug.

Just checked my loading notes for the Birds Head Single-Six in .32 H&R and it'll shoot sub 2" gps on demand with any of the six bullet types I"ve tried and that's with a hog wallow rear sight notch and 63 yo eyes doing the steering. It's very light so if you're thinking of using it with inexperienced shooters, it might make a good choice if you can find one though I suppose a .38 Spl with wad-cutters is about as recoil free as anything else you might try and far easier to find factory ammunition too.

P7240437.jpg

That's my Lipsey's .44 Spl with the S-Six .32 but it's the same size as the .357 50th Anniversary and gives a good comparison of relative size. Love those hot cocobo stocks, just a bit oversize for better control.


HTH's Rodfac
 
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Messages
9,933
Location
missouri
I sighted in a 2.5 power scope on my 6 1/2 .357 BH and got about 1" groups at 25 yards using some handloads. Prior to this, the best it showed was 2-3" range. I guess I hit the sweet load. Another identical 357 has never really performed well so I intend to try it with the same load.
 

res45

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Messages
9
Location
North Carolina
I have the Ruger NM Blackhawk in 357/9mm convertible love both side of the pistols,the 38/357 side has always been a dream to load and shoot from it seem to handle about anything for target loads to full house Mag. loads,I love the way the revolver rolls back in your hand with the full house loads.

For all those that have the 9mm convertible I've just recently started shooting the 9mm side a lot more due to all the free brass lying around at the range and friends that don't reload leave behind,I had put a few boxes of CCI Blazer ammo through it when I first purchased the revolver over 20 years ago it was ok with commercial ammo but nothing to brag about,but it responded excellent to reloads,still working on my cast bullet load on the 9mm but the Berry's 115 and 124 gr plated bullets shot just as good as the 38/357's do.

9mmBerrys-1.jpg


Berrys124.jpg


Picture024.jpg
 

Bucks Owin

Hunter
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
3,196
Location
51st state of Jefferson
EarlFH":27hjjusp said:
Why not one of the new 44 Specials? The 44 Special is known for it's accuracy. One of the small frames would be nice.

EarlFH
No more accurate than the .44 mag IMO, I think the .44 Spl is just easier for most "weekend shootists" to handle is all. I'd stick with the .357 in a BH any day. (or better yet an OM .357 if one can find a nice one unaltered! :roll: :lol: ) Properly dimensioned, the accuracy will be superb...FWIW, Dennis :wink:
 

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