Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns BlackHawk 30 carbine

Got a chance to pick up a Ruger BlackHawk 30 carbine.

Don't know much about them. Guy didn't remember if it's a new model or a 3 screw.

Were they ever made in a new model? and what barrel length?

Should be a great "companion" for my M1 Carbine

Thanks!

Virgil B.

bought one for a comapnion to my m1 don't remember barrel length.It is the most inaccurate handgun i own though but does function flawless

They are made in the new model and the barrel length in 7-1/2". Mine shot and handled well.

I agree with Vaniminrod. Very sharp report. I owned one in .30 carbine (3 screw) as a teenager. My first centerfire handgun, given to me by friends of my father who hunted on our farm. I got a Lee Loader for it, and loaded it down to .32-20 velocities. Much more pleasant to shoot and lots quieter. I used our shop vice and a couple of hardwood blocks (cut from wooden Farmhand hay basket teeth) to push the cases into that Lee FL die. With the plastic mallet it was almost impossible.

What did "Dad" say when he saw the Farmhand all carved up?

I am fairly sure that the Blackhawk 30 Carbine is STILL in the Ruger catalog. I always thought it would make a great target pistol if fed with the proper powder and bullets.

One of these days????????

Yep, LOUD! Never understood the utility of one, but interesting and probably a fun plinker. Don't know what it will do that other calibers will not do better but if you already have dies, ammo etc. for 30 Carbine should be a fun new toy. Probably a true 100 yard coyote round with a good handload which few other calibers could do well.

They are made in a new model. They are loud and with good soft point or hollow point ammo they are a fun close range coyote gun. Used some half jackets on rabbits. Standard barrel length is 7 1/2 inches. If loading your own make sure the case length is kept within specs for best accuracy. I toyed with mine for several years and traded it for a 3 screw .357. Sold the .357 a few years ago when I needed money, sure wish I had that one back. I don't miss the carbine so much. I really didn't shoot my M-1 in the field, so having the handgun as a companion didn't do me much good. If you can find them the Hornady Half Jackets shot really well out of mine. Ryan

I didn't attack a good hay basket tooth. We always had a few broken ones around. They were made of extremely hard wood...broken stacker teeth were used for a variety of tasks!

I enjoyed that Blackhawk .30 carbine. Like I say, I loaded it down a bit (don't remember the load...35 years ago...and I wasn't keeping records then) and found it lots of fun. With factory loads or factory level handloads it was one loud handgun! Traded it on a .357 4 5/8 new model blackhawk when I was 18, owned two more of them over the years, and now have a .44 special flattop. It is my favorite of all. At 900 - 950 fps it is a joy to shoot, and those flying sledgehammers really thump things.

Had one for a year back in mid 70's. Not accurate with any factory ammo I could find UNLESS you handload and work up a load. More an accuracy issue with the cartridge than the gun.A friend made some good loads for me, but didn't get in to hand loading so sold the gun.

FYI, back then it was touted as a "32 magnum" if such a thing had existed at the time. In the range of the later 32 H&R magnum and now the 327 Mag. I believe, without checking the ballistics on each of them.

As the others said, both New and Old models exist. They have only ever been manufactured in 7 1/2" barrel lengths, to the best of my knowledge.



Their usage is just what was said, they are great coyote pistols along with anything else in that range. You could drop a deer with one, I am quite certain. I believe that handloaded, they easily exceed all the aforementioned .32 cartridges and also the 32-20, which is probably still the king of the hill not counting this one.

That sounds right. Lord save us from the muzzle blast of a 4 5/8 inch .30 carbine! Probably a good reason why they didn't made them any shorter than 7 1/2. This thread has brought back memories though. I hadn't thought of that revolver in a long time.

It was the gun that made me learn about headspace. Headspacing on the mouth, I had to trim cases and avoid crimping (I didn't know about taper crimps then).

Lil' gun and 110 V-Max's make them about dreamy on yotes.


As mention headspace is critical with this one.

Had a friend back in my IHMSA days who owned both a Blackhawk and a 10" TC Contender in .30 Carbine.

It's true,..for some reason they're obnoxiously loud.

We'd be hanging out at the range playing around with XP-100's in 7mm BR,..Contenders in 7 TCU,...357 Maximum,..all kinds of big handrifles loaded to the max,...but everybody knew it when he'd touch off one of those .30 Carbines..

Don't ask me why,..but .30 Carbine in a short barrel has the bark from hell.

The guy who owns it says he's had it in the back of his safe so long he can't remember if it's a 3 screw or new model.

My Brother once owned one. He said it was the loudest handgun he ever shot.

I'll get details, then see if I can swing a "deal"

What bullet diameter are we talking about?

Thanks for the information!

Will keep you'all posted if I make a trade.

Virgil B.

I did not really figure you had, but thought it might be good for a giggle.

There are not many of us left that have stacked hay delivered to the stack via a Farmhand basket. That was my favorite way to stack.

Man, you're taking me back! When I was a kid, Dad had a narrow front end Farmall M with a Johnson stacker on it. I called it a Farmhand because that was the generic term for it....we were the only folks I knew with a Johnson stacker. Twelve foot basket, 9 foot wooden teeth. Replacing teeth was a regular chore....once one warped and started digging in, it was only a matter of time. We put oat hay up in bundles in the late 60s and very early 70s, and I'd get off the school bus on September afternoons, grab a book and a bundle fork, and stack for Dad as he brought bundles in from the nearby fields. Always a little dead time for me tween loads, hence the book. Late June and early July we put up the loose grass hay, and I was pretty good at making a loose hay stack too. I think I could still do it. I can smell the smell of new hay and old grease even as I type!

We later went to little square bales, and I bought a JD 3010 with a Farmhand F-11. But Dad still brought bales in with his old M and the Johnson. It's still on the place, but hasn't run since the summer of 1989. Dad passed away that fall, and the old tractor (1945 model) just needed too much for me to justify fixing it up.

Now I teach school, but as recently as two years ago I made a few small squares for the fellow who leases the farm, and stacked them as well. But it is not as much fun as it was when I was in my 20s and 30s.

The Carbine uses .308 bullets. When I manage to acquire one, my first reload will consist of the Speer 110 gr Varminter jacketed HP bullet over about ten grains of H110.

The last time I stacked hay seriously was in '80. My Uncle ran a wide front Farmall M with the old Farmhand F 10, hay basket and pushoff. He could pickup a dozen or thirteen 50 pound meadow grass bales, and push them off at my feet so there was no lifting. Just set each bale in place and buck it in tight with a knee.

There were a couple long days on which we managed to put 1200 bales in the stack each day. Him on the tractor, me on the stack. I stacked over 15,000 bales between July 7, and the middle of August that summer.

I sure wish I could do a tenth of that today!

You ain't just kidding there. I never put up 15000 in a season, but 7-10000 was about right. I was in fair shape back then.