Ruger Super Blackhawk

[Ronson]

My super blackhawk has a 7.5" barrel and I am interested in a 5" or 5.5 barrel for it. I have never heard of a factory barrel for this and I am wondering if I will need to cut what I have to accomplish this. Any ideas or companies selling what I am looking for would be appreciated. The gun was built in 1998 and is blued but does not have the gloss finish. Thanks

 

[Jim Puke]

You will have to have your barrel cut to get either of those lengths.

I think there may have been some limited runs of 5.5 barrels...but if so, they are few and far between.

 

[jbntx]

I also want to shorten my 44 magnum Bisley's 7.5 inch barrel to 5.5 inches.
I want it done right, and not in some one man shop with a hacksaw.

Where is the best place to have this done?

I found Bowen Classic Arms on the internet and it appears to be the best option so far.
Would Ruger shorten my barrel, or even just put a new 5.5 inch barrel on it?

 

[Mohillbilly]

Ronson Ruger did indeed make a blue SBH 5.5 with a round trigger gard ala blckhawk . I'd call and see if they will do it if they have the parts . jbntx ruger made no 5.5 bisleys in blue only an Acusport special run s and some clean up guns in ss . IF I remember right .

 

[jbntx]

Ronson Ruger did indeed make a blue SBH 5.5 with a round trigger gard ala blckhawk . I'd call and see if they will do it if they have the parts . jbntx ruger made no 5.5 bisleys in blue only an Acusport special run s and some clean up guns in ss . IF I remember right .

You're right.

Most all the special run Acusport guns are sold, or are very hard to find.
I just bought an Acusport Bisley 45 Colt with a 5.5 barrel. It's probably one of the last new ones available.

I like it so much that I want to shorten the barrel of my Bisley Blackhawk 44 magnum to 5.5 inches also.
I love that Bisley grip.

I think I'm just going to send mine to Bowen and have them shorten it.

 

[onehandgunner]

I have 2 SBHs that where 7.5" and cut to 5.5". One was done in the late 70's by a gunsmith for $50.00 and the other was done last April for $75.00 by the friend of a friend. Unless you are a machinist of sorts with some proper tools, don't do it yourself. Yes you could cut and square and file and crown but can you drill at the end of the barrel for the sight locating pin and then silver solder the sight. A competent machinist may do it or a gunsmith. Just keep asking around. I had contacted Ruger sometime back about doing a barrel swap and they wanted hundreds of dollars. Some of the well known gunsmiths are willing but for how much and how long will it take. Good luck.

 

[onehandgunner]

jbntx, Do not be afraid of a one man shop. Both of mine where done that way. First one was a gunsmith and the 2nd one was by a fellow in his garage, his full time job is machining fuel injection components and building the pumps for a major BIG truck manufacturer. He also builds guns as a hobby. These fellows are craftsman.

 

[mhblaw]

I had Bowen cut the barrel of an OMBH to 5.5", color case the frame and blue grip frame, cylinder and barrel. Turned out very nice.

 

[jbntx]

I had Bowen cut the barrel of an OMBH to 5.5", color case the frame and blue grip frame, cylinder and barrel. Turned out very nice.

How long did it take?

 

[Mus408]

I wanted to shorten up my BFR .45-70 from 7 1/2 to 5 1/2.or as short as I could go to the end of the ejector rod housing.
I have never done this but with my Toolmaking background and my shop equipment I went for it.
I set it up in the lathe and cut a groove where the end would be. Then cut with a sharp hacksaw blade till the gun end slowly came loose from the stub end.
Then after a couple of machining and finishing setups in my Bridgeport mill...it was done,including relocating the front sight screw hole.
Turned out really nice and now draws better out of my shoulder rig and still pumps out a Hornady 325 gr. Leverevolution round at over 1460 FPS. without any pain to the wrist!
I need to get on photobucket and post some pictures here,uless there is a easier way.

 

[k22fan]

Bronson started this thread asking about shortening his SBH to 5 or 5 ½”. Starting with the first answer the thread drifted to Bisleys. Bronson did not write that his SBH is a Bisley.

As most of you know, blued standard SBHs are cataloged in 4 5/8” and 5 1/5”. Usually when you would prefer a different cataloged item over the one you have it is more economical to trade guns. However if I were in Bronson’s shoes I would not give up the Dragoon grip frame. Also I do not like Ruger’s current version of bluing. Even if he could find a private party trade for an older 5 ½” the cost of replacing its BH grip frame with a Dragoon then rebluing would exceed the cost of shortening his barrel. Consequently I’d take his SBH to the Smith down the road who’s been in business 25-30 years. Shortening a barrel is a simple job that does not require an expensive nationally famous gunsmith.

 

[mhblaw]

jbntx, as I recall less than two months at Bowen.

 

[jbntx]

Bronson started this thread asking about shortening his SBH to 5 or 5 ½”. Starting with the first answer the thread drifted to Bisleys. Bronson did not write that his SBH is a Bisley.

His question was about shortening his barrel. I believe every post has given him a little more information.
Bisley or not is irrelevant.

A lot of people want information on shortening Ruger barrels.

 

[jbntx]

jbntx, as I recall less than two months at Bowen.

Thanks, I'm going to go with them.

 

[BearBio]

Is price an issue? Have you checked Gary Reeder?? This my SBH with a 5.5"". This is a full-house job but Gary does less intensive work as well.

 

[Varminterror]

If it's a 1man shop that's an actual gunsmith, then they know how to properly cut back a barrel. If it's your buddy with a hacksaw and a 3/4" drill bit, then not so much.

The real challenge setting back a Super Blackhawk barrel is that you have to locate and silver solder the front sight base, which in itself, really isn't that hard either.

Piloted barrel facing and crowning cutters are readily available, so even if a guy does cut it with a hacksaw, you can produce nearly as good of quality of face and recrown job as what can be done on a lathe. It'd cost you more to buy the tools and do it yourself than having a qualified smith do it, but I wanted to point out that pretty much anyone can produce proper results on a cut and crown job.

Since yours is blued, you'll naturally have to reblue the barrel, as the face/crown will be raw, and soldering on the new front sight will damage the finish on top of the barrel and the front sight base. Not really a big issue for most smiths, either they have the equipment and can blue themselves, or they send out for bluing, so either way you end up with a quality job.

HERE'S THE PROBLEM YOU'LL FACE WITH THE BIG REVOLVERSMITHS LIKE BOWEN.....

A $100 cut and recrown job with a $50 sight replacement and a $100 bluing job usually isn't enough to entice them to do any work on your revolver. They stay busy enough with "standard work," meaning larger scale action jobs and custom rebuilds, such that they don't have to nickel and dime projects together to pay the rent. They'll readily tell you that there are plenty of other gunsmiths (i.e. any qualified gunsmith) out there that can cut and crown a revolver. So if you want a small customization done by one of the masters, you'll likely end up paying around $800-1,000 for an action job plus the small customization you actually wanted.

 

[jbntx]

HERE'S THE PROBLEM YOU'LL FACE WITH THE BIG REVOLVERSMITHS LIKE BOWEN.....

A $100 cut and recrown job with a $50 sight replacement and a $100 bluing job usually isn't enough to entice them to do any work on your revolver. They stay busy enough with "standard work," meaning larger scale action jobs and custom rebuilds, such that they don't have to nickel and dime projects together to pay the rent. They'll readily tell you that there are plenty of other gunsmiths (i.e. any qualified gunsmith) out there that can cut and crown a revolver. So if you want a small customization done by one of the masters, you'll likely end up paying around $800-1,000 for an action job plus the small customization you actually wanted.

That is a valid concern. That's why I'm shopping around.
Thanks

 

[Mohillbilly]

There is another poor mans way . Buy a 5.5 SBH and put the Bisley grip/hammer /trigger on it . Swap out the parts to the donor 7.5 and sell it .....