My "New" NM Blackhawk in 45 Colt

[philthephlier]

Just picked up my Blackhawk after 10 day wait. Will head to the range tomorrow for some testing. I'll follow up with a range report.

 

[flatgate]

Sounds like fun to me!

I'm curious about the cylinder's throat dimensions....

flatgate

 

[philthephlier]

I was able to tap a sized .452 bullet through and when miked the bullet measured .4515. I'll shoot it like that for now and see if it performs well as is before opening up the throats to the .4525 most shooters take them to. Now that I know the throats are not the .450 so many complain about I am more concerned about the bore constriction at the barrel-frame joint that I read about often. Maybe ruger has addressed both issues with later revolvers. One thing I was very pleasantly surprised about was the attention the chambers received. All six were reamed with no visible tooling marks left. They are as good as any I've seen on any revolver. In an earlier post about this gun I mentioned that I had stopped in to the shop to check it out while I waited for the ten day wait to end. I initially remarked after only holding the gun for a minute or two that the trigger had no creep. that was sadly not the case. It wasn't bad, but it was there. It is gone now after about 15 strokes on the hammer and trigger on a superfine diamond lap. I'll let it break in the rest of the way as the trigger pull is still 3-1/2 to 4 lbs. It would be nice to have it about 2-3/4 to 3 but we'll shoot it for awhile first. I'll post a range report in a day or so.

 

[Rclark]

Need to tap through all 6. Looking for 'throats' not only smaller but 'different' or even out of round...

Anyway, have a good day at the field tomorrow! Enjoy!

 

[philthephlier]

Need to tap through all 6. Looking for 'throats' not only smaller but 'different' or even out of round...
They are out of round and different. They vary by up to a thouandth in dia. & by .0005" in roundness. What should I expect?

 

[Three50seven]

Is this business about throat dimensions and roundness a concern only in BRAND NEW blackhawks, or is there a serial # range where this occurs? I have an older NM blackhawk and was just wondering.

 

[c.r.]

I've heard it said many a times "a bore scope has ruined many a good rifle barrels".......meaning the barrel shot just fine till somebody looked down it with a bore scope and noticed some irregularity, then all of a sudden the barrel was not good.

if the gun is shooting to your liking and not leading, then i doubt it really matters if there is a variance. If the gun isn't shooting to your expectations or it's leading severely, then I would look to have the throats opened up/uniformed.

I know this is easier said than done, but........

just my two cents,
c.r.

 

[Rclark]

If the gun is shooting to your liking and not leading, then I doubt it really matters if there is a variance. If the gun isn't shooting to your expectations or it's leading severely, then I would look to have the throats opened up/uniformed.

Yes, shoot it first, by all means. If it doesn't shoot well with , then possibly look at options.... or loads. What I was after was whether the holes appeared to be drilled by one drill or six. Just curiousity as it seems we have an unending discussion on how Ruger now drills cylinder holes .

 

[philthephlier]

My first attempt to include an image in a post. Target of first 10 shots from my NM Blackhawk in 45 Colt, 10 shots in 2-1/8" at 20 yds.[/img]

 

[philthephlier]

Shots 11-15 into 1-3/8" at 20 yds. Should it be capable of better and if so what do I need to do?[/img]

 

[philthephlier]

[/img]

 

[steelheadnw]

I would be quite happy with the way your .45 is shooting, Wish mine was doing as well, and hope the one I have on the way shoots that well too.. Have you chronographed that load? Just curious, looks like you have a winner.
James

 

[philthephlier]

Don't have a chronograph, best guess the load is about 850 FPS.

 

[J Miller]

philthephlier,

1 3/8" groups at 20 yards is very good accuracy. My "average" with Ruger .45 Colt SA's used to be around 2".

Were that my gun, I wouldn't touch it till I'd shot a lot more though it. It doesn't look like it needs anything to me.

Joe

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I've had several .45 cylinders reamed, both Old Models and New Models, since they were all undersize. Turns out most of them were all different sizes, too, and out-of-round.

If you are satisfied with the performance you get, perhaps it's not worth the hassle, as already pointed out.