Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Ruger Blackhawk 45 LC or 44 Mag.

I'm looking at purchasing one of these and reloading for it. Any negatives on this gun? I don't care for the plastic grips and wondered if I could find the wood grips on the older models to replace them or another aftermarket grip? Other than that just wanted feedback on those who own them and which caliber would be ideal. Mostly a plinking gun and probably some field use? Thanks.

Flip a coin. Either round can be loaded for mice to moose and anything in between. For field use I'd go with 240-250 gr cast over 10 gr unique for 1000 fps and call it a day. The one thing that would lean me towards the 45 is getting the convertable to shoot 45 acp out of.

If you're planning to load up the 300 gr bullets to 1200 fps then I'd highly recomend the bisley as it's grip is much better for dealing with heavy recoil.

I will take the plastic grips off your hands if you decide to buy.

I'd sure look to the .45 Colt vs. the .429 Magnum. In that revolver, it will take considerably more than in the SAA guns.

Have you given any thought as to what exact model and barrel length that would best fit your needs.... Besides plinking, what exactly do you consider "field work"....as in some small game hunting, big game hunting, just outdoor protection.... Is it going to be holster carried. How long a barrel can you tolerate carrying around.... Are you looking for blue or stainless? Is this your only handgun?

Personally I have owned both calibers:
New Model Blackhawk .45 Colt 4 5/8"
Old Model Blackhawk .44 Magnum 6.5"
Old Model Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum 5.0" (cut down from 7.5")
...and sold all of them and now only have .41 Magnums...

As to the new checked plastic grips...I don't care for them either and the one new gun that I bought that had them were replaced with a set of bonded ivory...much more pleasant to shoot.

Another caliber you may want to consider if you reload is the .44 Special. A friend has a blue Bisley Flat Top with I believe a 5.5" barrel and a stainless Flat Top with a 4 5/8" barrel. If you don't need the all the power of a .44 Magnum or .45 Colt +P this cartridge makes almost a perfect round for a Blackhawk with the original size .357 frame....

http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/ross-seyfried-lipseys-ruger-flattop-44-special-bisley-revolvers/


Bob

You won't likely to too wrong with either.

The .44 mag is a bit simpler.

(1) The last 2 blued .45 colt Blackhawks had front sights that were too short to get 'em sighted in with 250 grain or heavier bullets. Cowboy loads were only a couple inches too high, everything else was just ridiculous. No issues of that sort with the SS .45s, they had much taller front sights.

(That's not to say .44s are problem free, I've had 2 that I couldn't sight in with 300 grain bullets, but I've never had one I couldn't sight in with normal 240-250 grain bullets and max loads.)

(2) Bullet availability ... in this small town, .45 colt JHPs are not to be found. Special order only. There are 3-4 different .44 mag bullets available over the counter.

That doesn't matter if you shoot lead and cast your own though.

I've carried both .44 mag and .45 colt over quite a few years and I'm perfectly happy with either caliber once the individual gun's kinks are sorted out so the bullets hit where the sights are.

Tom

Tom, I have a Blackhawk in .44 mag I bought a couple of years ago and have the same issue with the front site. It's too short, and of course on the blued models you can't replace them. I solved the problem by grinding down the rear site until there's barely a notch left to site through. I haven't tried anything heavier than a 240 grn bullet but there's no use.

Would it really be hard for Ruger to figure this out?

I don't believe the wood grips from the older pre-lock Rugers will fit the grip frames of the newer ones with the lock, so you'd have to go aftermarket for one of those.

In general, the Ruger .44 Magnums have been more consistently accurate than their .45 Colts. Not that a .45 can't be accurate, but I've never had a .44 SBH that wasn't accurate and have had a couple .45 Blackhawks that did not live up to my expectations without some throat work and firelapping. That situation could have changed recently as the last .45 Blackhawk I bought was probably 4 years ago.

In weight, the .44's are all steel while the regular Blackhawk .45's have an aluminum grip frame. With the big holes in the cylinder and barrel the 4 5/8" .45 BH is one of the lightest Blackhawks they make.

For a plinking gun, I would offer up the new Flattop .45 Colt/.45 Auto convertible or maybe a regular Blackhawk .45 convertible. You can use .45 Auto ammo in it for mild plinking and factory .45 Auto stuff is cheaper than .45 colt ammo. The Flattop is built on a smaller frame so it handles a little differently but the grip frame is steel so it is actually heavier than the larger Blackhawk with same/same barrel lengths. Also kind of hard to find in stocking dealers, unless you see one at a gun show it's generally mail order only.

For the .44 Magnum you can use .44 Specials but .44 Special ammo is a low demand item and so is priced higher. If you handload, .44 components are everywhere, .45 components are around in sufficient quantity but could be scarce in some places.

All in all, a .45 Convertible Blackhawk might be the best for what you want. For plinking especially the ability to find cheaper .45 Auto ammo in quantity might be the deciding factor. You can still find the older Blackhawk convertibles with wooden grips on gunbroker for very reasonable prices.

Thanks guys for the responses. I found a new Ruger 45LC/45acp convertible for $542.00 its stainless/steel with the higher front sight for different bullet weights it is 5.5 inch barrel and comes with false ivory grips. This may be the one I get.

If that's a 45 Flattop you're refering to, I really like mine, a 5.5" blued model:



The 4 5/8" stainless model is pretty sweet as well:



Both are very well fitted and finished, and have proved accurate with the 45 Colt cylinders. I haven't tried the ACP cylinders yet.

Note that these smaller framed 45's aren't suitable for the "Ruger only" 45 Colt loads listed in many manuals. Brian Pearce's article on the mid-frame 45's in Handloader from over the summer lists a wide selection of loads in the pressure ranges appropriate to the Flattop 45's. Also, the cylinder of the Flattop is shorter so some long nosed LBT type bullets may not be usable, or will have to be seated deeper thus cutting powder space. I don't find these restrictions to be significant, however, as the Flattop will easily handle loads in the 1000fps range with 280-300gr bullets which is plenty powerful.

Here's a comparison of cylinder length and thickness between the Flattop 45 and a standard Blackhawk, in this case a stainless 45 Bisley:

That sounds like a good one to get. I personally really like stainless.

Once upon a time, I had two sweeeeet Ruger Bisleys, on in .45 and the other in .44. I liked the .44 better because the cylinders were fluted and I just prefer that appearance. I had my .44 and a 3rd Gen. Colt SAA .45 in my Doskocil hard case and we were coming back home from a weekend at Mom and Dad's. There was rain, but I don't recall it being a frog-strangler. I just brought it in from the vehicle. A few days later I got them out and both had spots about the size of a penny or a nickel rusted on their barrels. I like stainless.

I have a Blackhawk Blued 7.5" in .45LC and I love it...it has factory wood grips and shoots smooth

If you end up looking for wood grips....Hogue actually makes really nice ones

It's a good choice. This is one of the Lipsey's special edition guns that Ruger makes from time to time. I've got my eye on that exact same gun, will probably pick one up in the next few weeks. They're selling on Gunbroker from $600 and up, so that's a pretty good price. Local shopping tends to be cheaper, I have found.

One thing to be careful of with that gun: it is NOT the fullsize BH, so you should NOT fire "magnum" or "Ruger-Only" loads in it. Brian Pearce did a good article on loads for this pistola in Handloader earlier this year, and I strongly recommend you pick up that article if you buy this gun so you can select/handload appropriately for it.

I've got an old model Vaquero Bisley in .45 LC. I've owned lots of .44 mags (still have one) including Ruger SAs, but I really like this .45 LC and it's light enough to carry as a backup. I think the 5.5" stainless Bisley Blackhawk in .45 would be a perfect primary hunting handgun. Good looking gun too...

Both are good rounds, I own Ruger SA's (BH, SBH and Vaquero's) in .44 Mag and .45 Colt. Shoot .44 Special mostly in the .44mag SBH, but carry hot and heavy 44 mag loads in it for hunting. The 45 colt is a classic. You can load it up just as hot as a 44 mag for hunting as well (in the large frame Rugers only). I don't own any of the smaller frame Ruger SA's, I prefer the larger frame models so I can stretch their legs so to speak. In fact two of my 45's are 5 shot conversions. Just my personal preference but I like the 45 colt best. Its good that you plan on reloading, makes the 45 colt more reasonable from a cost perspecitve as both loaded factory ammo and components are more expensive than 44 mag. Tough to chose btwn two such proven clalibers. You won't make a bad choice regardless which one you chose.

Will Ruger sell you just the .45acp cylinder ? I have a SS NM Vaquero I'd like to have one fitted for.

I believe so....I have also seen them for sale at gun shows

They are fairly common I believe....I plan on grabbing one for my .45LC soon

I have also seen them for sale on gunbroker.com

I dunno. Its pretty frustrating.

Every 4-5/8" barreled blued .45 blackhawk I've seen in the last 2 years has the wrong front sight on it. Ruger makes a taller sight that'd be better and puts it on the 5-1/2" barreled gun.

There's no excuse for not getting this right. I can even see one gun coming out wrong, but all of them?

I haven't had a .44 yet that wouldn't sight-in with 240s. Man, that sucks. I've had a couple (5-1/2" Super B, I think) that I couldn't go heavier than about 250, but they'd do that much at least.

I don't get it.

My two cents worth,

I have had both. I prefer the .45 colt.

The .45 is easier on the ears than the .44. An important feature when you leave the range and shoot something out it the sticks, where you will likely need it most.

In the same gun, like your Blackhawk, the .45 will be lighter to pack as there is less metal than the .44.

It can shoot bigger bullets out of it at like velocities and can be more powerful than the .44, in the right revolver.

I like the history of the cartridge and that it seens to have the right balance of shootability, penetration and wound channel for anything that I am likely to shoot with it. When you hit something with a big .45 cal bullet, things stop twitching very quickly. It just plain works.

Shot loads out of the .45 hold more pellets and are just plain nasty up close.

Having said all that, neither is a bad choice, they both will still be killing stuff well after we all are history.

I agree with you .. once the kinks are worked out.

However, I haven't seen a blued, 4-5/8" barreled .45 blackhawk with a tall enough front sight in about 2 years. If you go that route, expect some down time to send it back to the factory.