Post-2010 45LC Blackhawks and +P Loads

[jsh]

Let's all look at this on a positive note.
We have a gent among us that has a true reason to buy another SA!;-)
Jeff

 

[cas6969]

The "nearly invisible" is pretty damn visible to me.

 

[BrotherInArms]

...
To the OP,,, you tried to educate yourself,,, yet you failed to ask the serious Ruger folks by inquiring here. If your research had been done on this site,,, you may have uncovered the often discussed frame size discussions.
...
As our esteemed Flatgate is so often fond of saying; "Read the ****ing manual." And if you didn't have a manual to read,, a polite call to Ruger would have gotten you a free manual.

Thanks for the follow-up, contender.

As to the comments I excerpted, above: This is one of the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" things. I have literally dozens of web site credentials in my keyring. I subscribed to dozens of Usenet newsgroups before web forums existed. Have even played moderator. In many venues, firearms-related and otherwise, regulars grow weary of hearing the same questions, over and over again, from newbies. Particularly when it appears the individual put no effort into their own research. So, by habit, I always do my own research before asking. And so it was this time. I thought I had my answers. So I never asked here.

Turned out to have been a mistake not to have asked, this time. (N.B.: Wouldn't have changed my choice, but, I would've been aware of just what I was buying.)

The second mistake was not having counted to ten before posting. One would think that, with all that experience, I'd know better by now than to post while annoyed

Again: My apologies to the forum.

 

[contender]

No problem.

I had to chuckle at your comment about counting to 10 before posting. Oh,,, how I wish many folks would do just that!

Firearm terminology has evolved, been mis-used, and in general, all screwy for centuries. Add in the factories who add some confusion, followed by Hollywierd & their gross mis-representation of many firearm terms & things,,, it's no wonder many get confused. And it's not just Ruger,, S&W, Colt, Remington, & all the others who have a "history" have not helped by adopting a "standard" language. A 38 spl & 357 magnum use the same caliber bullet,,, but try explaining that to a class of new gun owning ladies. How calibers got their names is an excellent example of such confusion.
Throw in collectors,, who even here,,,, can not agree on one type of terminology for some guns & such. A few FUN examples; (No flaming please)
45 Colt or 45 Long Colt?
Clip or magazine?
Vaquero or New Vaquero? (Is the Vaquero an old model, or is it an original model?)

These are just a few examples I see here often.

I'm just glad you realized it was your mistake in your research,, & haven't taken a bad attitude for the chastising you got.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I think the smaller framed Flattop Blackhawks are still stout revolvers and able to handle a moderate increase in pressure over standard Colt 45 ammo. They are just like the New Vaqueros. I have seen charts showing the practical increase in pressure the two frame sizes can handle. This is also true of the 38 and 44 special guns. There is a practical increase over standard factory ammo that the gun and cartridge can easily handle. The caveat is some guns are stronger than others.

 

[CraigC]

Forgive me, but...

Since when won't the Flat Top Blackhawk in .45 Colt not handle +P?

While it will NOT handle the Ruger Only 32,000CUP loads, it is my understanding that it will readily handle the 'Tier Two' 20,000CUP load data available...

Bottom page 14:

https://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/HL%20246partial.pdf

Is this not true?

It is true but while there is no official designation, most folks are going to assume that ".45Colt +P" means 32,000psi "Ruger only" loads.

While I think many of the first responses to the OP were a bit strongly worded...

The tone of the responses 'may' have been due to the tone of the OP.

MANY people want a lighter to carry,, big bore handgun.

In this case the large frame gun is several ounces lighter.

Even if true: For a mere 7% muzzle velocity increase you're raising pressure by nearly half again (using the TiteGroup powder numbers for comparison, picked at random). Or am I off in the weeds? And that achieved with a 2% lighter bullet. So, while muzzle energy would be increased a bit, and it might shoot a bit flatter: Is it worth it?

It's up to the end user to decide if it's worth it. If you're just plinking, probably not. However, lots of folks use these guns for woods carry and/or hunting and for that, more is better. Standard bullet weight for the .45Colt is 250-260gr. Optimum loads typically yield the following velocities:

Tier I (14,000psi for all pre-war guns) - 900fps.
Tier II (21,000psi for post-war Colt's, N-frames, Ruger mid-frames, etc.) - 1100fps
Tier III (32,000psi "Ruger only" levels for large frame Rugers, Dan Wesson, Anaconda, Freedom Arms, etc.) - 1400fps
Tier IV (+50,000psi for Ruger Redhawks, custom five-shots, Freedom Arms, BFR) - +1600fps

 

[BrotherInArms]

It is true but while there is no official designation, most folks are going to assume that ".45Colt +P" means 32,000psi "Ruger only" loads.

Ha! Before I started reading up on lever-action carbines in 45 Colt, I never even know there was such a thing as "Ruger-only" loads.

I assumed, when I saw "+P" designations that they were standardized pressures.

I made several invalid assumptions. My bad... I guess.

The tone of the responses 'may' have been due to the tone of the OP.

It's been my experience that throwing fuel on fires is rarely conducive to putting them out

Tier I (14,000psi for all pre-war guns) - 900fps.
Tier II (21,000psi for post-war Colt's, N-frames, Ruger mid-frames, etc.) - 1100fps
Tier III (32,000psi "Ruger only" levels for large frame Rugers, Dan Wesson, Anaconda, Freedom Arms, etc.) - 1400fps
Tier IV (+50,000psi for Ruger Redhawks, custom five-shots, Freedom Arms, BFR) - +1600fps

Is there some way to know, when you see "+P" noted, if it's a Tier II, III or IV "+P" load?

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Tier I (14,000psi for all pre-war guns) - 900fps.
Tier II (21,000psi for post-war Colt's, N-frames, Ruger mid-frames, etc.) - 1100fps
Tier III (32,000psi "Ruger only" levels for large frame Rugers, Dan Wesson, Anaconda, Freedom Arms, etc.) - 1400fps
Tier IV (+50,000psi for Ruger Redhawks, custom five-shots, Freedom Arms, BFR) - +1600fps


Is there some way to know, when you see "+P" noted, if it's a Tier II, III or IV "+P" load?

The manufacturer of the ammo should explain the +P designation of their ammo. I know Buffalo Bore ammo usually has quite an explanation of their ammo online.

https://www.buffalobore.com/

 

[Rclark]

Enjoy the .45 Colt flattop. I know you will. It was one of the revolvers I was looking for from Ruger along with the .44 Special. I feel my 'trio' is really I need (want?) going forward ... .357/9mm, .44 Special, and .45 Colt... All medium frame flattops in 5 1/2" barrel lengths. Perfect for me. When the .44 Special came out on the medium frame, I felt like John Taffin (he had a longer wait though). "Victory at Last" . See when Ruger came out with the .357 in '55, they had 'intentions' (from what I've read) of rolling out a .44 Special and .45 Colt. That all changed with the .44 Mag introduction in '56 and the medium frame just stayed with the .357 until the New Model in '72-73' when the .357 was also put on the large frame. Anyway, again, enjoy some .45 Colt shoot'n!

Since there never was a +P SAAMI .45 Colt, I'd read the writing on box very carefully and when in doubt, call the manufacturer. I roll my own, so know what shoot.