Long Barrel

[David Bradshaw]

Ale-8(1).... Keep looking. Just remember that the .45 Colt Smith & Wesson cannot remotely approach the M-29 in handloading capacity. With moderate loads, the .45 Colt remains the meatball that earned its reputation in the first place. Shooting meatballs out of a revolver at distance provides an education akin to shooting the .45-70 at long range. You come to respect gravity and to appreciate the consistency of heavy bullets in the wind.

Oil the rear sight and don't be afraid of a screwdriver. While the S&W sight lacks tall elevation adjustment, elevation and windage adjustments tend to be consistent.

Probably telling you stuff you already know,
David Bradshaw

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Indeed you are, but that's OK. It's all good.

We treated the Model 25 with due respect. No loudenboomenwhackers for us.

We shot the 25 alongside my .45 LC Blackhawk with the 7-1/2" tube, and had way more fun than is probably acceptable in polite society. We agreed that if we could see it, we could hit it . . . eventually. We had both read Elmer . . .

;)

 

[flatgate]

Mr. Bradshaw, Sir, I'm humbled by your kind words.

Years ago I made a brief try at Silhouette shooting. I travelled over to Idaho Falls, ID to see what was going on at a match. I got there late and found one of the "workers" who said everyone but himself and another helper were there. Rats, day late/dollar short as usual. I asked if I could take a few shots just to see what I was in for.....
The very helpful gentleman explained a few things to me and offered to "spot" for me. He asked if I had brought a revolver or some sort of single shot. I replied, yes, I have a revolver. OK, he lined me out and after a few shots I actually was "ringing steel". I was a bit confused by the dust cloud even though I heard a distinct "ring". Oh, bullet splatter..... duh. Most of the rams were already down so the gentleman suggested I shoot at the far left target, the welded down "practice" target. After a few shots it fell over. The gentleman hollered to his partner
"Hey, Ralph, this guy's .454 killed the practice ram!" My face was covered by a huge grin...... :D
I just couldn't afford to travel back and forth to the shoots and my silhouette career vanished in the dust.....

One question, if I may? Do you know anything about this image :D

Sincerely,
flatgate

 

[David Bradshaw]

Flatgate,
That is me with the first Hawkeye .357 Maximum. Photo taken by Bill Ruger, Jr., with my Nikon F2 at the range above the barn-house of Bill, Sr., and Bill, Jr.'s house. Obviously cold out, as I'm wearing my cutoff sheepskin gloves.

I'll have to look again, but I believe the load is Speer .358 180 FP rifle bullet, over a stiff charge of Winchester 680.
David Bradshaw

 

[David Bradshaw]

Flatgate,
That's good writing style, to save for after you broke the ram "swinger" the little detail about, heh, heh, your .454 Casull.

Wayne Baker showed up at the 1985 Internationals in Idaho Falls (much larger, less attractive range), packing plenty Freedom Arms heat. Which were all .454 Casulls, as Baker wouldn't countenance building a lowly .44 magnum. Wayne Baker wasn't thinking about the cumulative recoil of 80 shots of precision fire when he said, "The .454 Casull will blow those rams right off the rail!"

Great to hear you threw lead at the range scraped out of volcanic rock in Idaho Falls.
David

 

[David Bradshaw]

Flatgate.... am told the pistol in above photo is the ONLY Hawkeye .357 Maximum.
David Bradshaw

 

[flatgate]

David,
The Ruger Collector in me just HAD to ask about the Super Blackhawk with the odd looking cylinder. A "3 screw Super" as well! I don't suppose you know the serial number of that ol' Super Blackhawk. We Collectors get all excited about all this stuff.
I have a early 10-1/2" .44 mag. Super with the thinner and lighter "tapered barrel". It shoots quite well but I'm no "pro" shooter, that's FOR SURE. :D

The rimfire is a lot of fun, as well.

flatgate

 

[David Bradshaw]

Flatgate.... the "Vol. V" photos with the Rugermobiles are January 2013. I mention this because you are interested in the Hawkeye .357 Maximum. According to Bill, Jr., he built only one, the one I shot, the one pictured in my Guns & Ammo March 1983 write-up

Back to the first stainless SBH's... Bill Ruger, Jr., made two, with 7-1/2" and 10-1/2" tapered barrels, ramp sights, and stainless short ejector assemblies. I performed a trigger job on the 10-1/2", possibly the 7-1/2" also. Shooting the 10-1/2" Creedmoor at 100 yards, I squeezed a 5-shot 2.7-inch group on a pig silhouette painted on cardboard. Bill spotted very cooly as I shot, not letting on that the first three shots punched one hole. "Pretty good" (or something to that effect) is all he said. I leaked my fourth shot----"That one's a little out." Shot-5: "That's back with the others." (Shot five cut the first three, four iron sight .44 magnums in 0.7-inch @ 100 yards.)

The prototype stainless SBH's had shorter-than-standard cylinders. Bill, Jr., did not articulate a reason. I wondered if he was thinking of the short cylinders fitted to custom PPC revolvers to shorten bullet jump with .38 wadcutters.

For the production stainless 10-1/2", I suggested it be fit with an untapered "bull" barrel, the long SRM ejector, and target sight. As a mock-up I asked Bill, Jr., to re-barrel my second "Silhouette Super" in said configuration, which he did.
David Bradshaw

 

[David Bradshaw]

Flatgate.... just looked at my .357 Maximum report in March 1983 G&A. Photos of guns include:
* Bill Ruger, Sr., shooting SRM-2, w/Leupold 4x EER, at 100 yards.
* me shooting 600-00018, braced against white birch tree.
* me shooting SRM-4, Creedmoor.
* regular SRM prototype & SRM long-flute prototype.
* me shooting SRM-2, w/Leupold 4x EER, "dead frog" position.
* stainless SRM prototype.
* prototype blue SBH w/10-1/2" bull barrel, long ejector, undercut Patridge sight.
* prototype transfer bar Hawkeye .357 Maximum, untapered 10-1/2".


Somewhere I may have photos of prototype stainless SBH's. Is the shorter cylinder of these two SBH's the "strange" cylinder to which you refer?
David Bradshaw

 

[Danny]

Ok,
So, I should hang onto my Blued 10" Super Blackhawk? If so, I'll need another handgun with a shorter barrel. I was thinking about a GP 100, but might go with another Blackhawk or Super Blackhawk. I'm just not sure I should go with a .357. I'm all set up to reload for .44 Magnum and not at all for .357. I'm afraid that I'll regret the .357 if I go with that over the .44 Magnum. The .44 will do all that the .357 will do..and more.

Danny

 

[oldmanruger]

Hi David! i'm a newbie here, but boy was I pleasantly surprised to see and read your posts! you were my IMHSA hero when I first joined back in the 80's. Took a 25 year break from shooting, but ready to back in with my son and his boy. Now I've finished the admiration statement....... My first handgun was bought from my neighbor, a Marion County Oregon deputy. It was his carry gun before they switched to Smith nines. A really nice 4 inch Colt Trooper MKIII. When i wanted to start IMHSA, I had an 8" put on it. It served me well with 158's and 180's on Rams. Thank goodness i hung on to all my firearms from the day.... I'll post pics when I get the process down. I love this forum, but it cuts my slee time :-) Dan (IMHSA # 33475 back in the day)

 

[oldmanruger]

Shoot, my brain worked better 25 plus years ago too! IHMSA , NOT IMHSA! Found the box from Numrich for the 8" colt barrel.... only $40.00! I need more sleep.......

 

[David Bradshaw]

Danny.... Reckon by experience I'm something of a .44 man, but you'll never hear me say there aren't other excellent cartridges, the .357 being one. The .44 mag doesn't do quite everything the .357 does; the .357 shoots pretty flat, recoils less, and shoots .38 Specials----the last two attributes unavailable to a forty-four.

Nor am I the one to tell you to abandon your 10-1/2" Super Blackhawk. Since you already handload .44 magnum and sound resistant to expanding your die collection, get yourself a 4-5/8" or 5-1/2" .44 and load it thusly:

Cast 240 SWC
5.5/HP-38 or 231
standard primer
.44 mag case
Deep seat bullet so front band is roughly .030-.040" below case mouth, for a COL=1.500".

This 800+ fps load is accurate enough for rabbits from half a football field, and a top load for instructing new and old shooters.
***

IHMSA Dan.... thanks, and welcome back. If your Colt MK III is a shooter, better keep shooting it. My experience with the MK III was nowhere near as cheery. I think the last one I shot belonged to my nephew, whom struggled unfairly with it against IHMSA silhouettes. Finally, I lay down with it at Precision Valley, Vermont, and kicked up all kinds of dirt trying to hit steel. Defiant chickens pigs turkeys and sheep laughed out loud. My spotter watched my bullets corkscrew through the air. The wave of a magic wand turned the MK III into a Super Blackhawk.
David Bradshaw

 

[mooshoo]

here's my my 357 3 screw rebored with a colt 10'' barrel in 45 colt

SUPER COOL!!!!!!!!

 

[David Bradshaw]

mooshoo.... you have an exciting revolver! Best give a few details on the work. What work to match Colt barrel to Ruger frame, etc?
David Bradshaw

 

[WESHOOT2]

You have oh-so-eloquently described my inability to sell/trade-off my 7.5" 357 Redhawk.......

 

[mooshoo]

mooshoo.... you have an exciting revolver! Best give a few details on the work. What work to match Colt barrel to Ruger frame, etc?
David Bradshaw

we used a colt saa 3rd gen 10'' barrel it has the same thread as the ruger blackhawk, brother Bill then punched the cylinder out to 45 colt, the ejecter housing and ejecter rod are uberti, we then installed the grip frame that is the xr3

 

[oldmanruger]

Here's my Colt TrooperMK III 8" I used in IHMSA long ago..... Recently shot it for the first time in over 15 years. Still a sweet shooter!! I'm not, but the Colt is LOL

 

[Hooch]

Ive always enjoyed long range shooting (or the attempt to) after being a long time reader of Elmer Keith. Read this post and now I have a longing for a long barreled 44mag blackhawk. Might just be my next acquisition after I get the 44spl done ;) I bet a 10 1/2" barreled version is a real ringer in the right hands..... One question I do have on the 357 maximum. I have heard countless horror stories that the topstrap would eventually get cut bad from shooting due to the round or something or rather? Is this true? Lots of myths and wivestales in shooting etc :)