Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Scoped 7.5" SBH

I just got a new to me Ruger SBH 7.5" and topped it off with the Weaver 301 and a 2x scope. I am struggling trying to get a good group @ 50yds. I have tried from a bench and I can never get positioned correctly and I tried with my forearms rested on my knees with no luck. Shooting at 25yds I had 5 shots just a touch bigger than a quarter so I think the load is fairly accurate, I am not.


Any tips?



Thanks

When shooting my scoped handguns on the bench, I rest the barrel on a Sandbag and let my arms or elbows support my hands. I DO NOT let the butt of the Revolver touch the bench, sandbags, or anything as this will effect bullet impact due to the butt making contact with an object during Recoil.

That's a good group at 25 yards, and plent accurate for hunting out to 100 yards.

My best group ever with my SBH Hunter at 100 yards is 5 shots ino just below two inches. That's with a Hardcast LBT WFN 280 grain bullet and a max load of WW 296.

It took me a while learning to shoot good groups with a scope mounted handgun. It takes a lot of concentration for me, because of the funky eye relieve issue with a pistol scope.
Just keep shooting and you'll get the hang of it. Hunting with a scoped handgun for Whitetails and Feral hogs here in TX is challenging and a lot of fun! Good luck with yours. I love my Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter in .44 mag.

^^^^^
Like he says.

You don't see this very often, so don't let it scare you, but one of my SBHs did this.

About a month after I got my 1979 model SBH the local pusher got in a brand new SBH Hunter Bisley......hubba hubba......


I thought it might be bad for the barrel to touch the bags so I have not been doing that. I thought it might be like resting a rifle barrel on a rest.

I have tried to rest the frame on a bag which is very uncomfortable, I will have to try the barrel on the bag, wrists on a bag OK as long as the grip doesn't touch anything?


I have been shooting

5grs Red Dot + 240 cast - that's the quarter group @ 25yds

9grs Unique + 240 cast - only shot at 50yds but I know it shot good with open sights @ 25yds.


My usual hunting load is a 275gr WFN over 17.5grs 2400 but I don't want to waste those right now trying to learn this scoped thing. I know you wobble with open sights but good lord it gets in your head with a scope.


I would like to kill a doe with mine, I have 2 other 44's that are open sights and I shoot them out to 100yds @ a 12" plate for practice. I also have a 30/30 Super 14 but I wanted to have a scoped revolver also.


5 shots under 2" is crazy good.


Thanks for the help!

Hmmmm, here is to hoping mine stays together.


How did you fix that?

Welded it back up, there's a little "top-hat" thingy that goes into that recess. That is an early design, the later ones have the screw go into the barrel. If it shears the screw, back it out and replace it.

Those load were ahhhh....heavy.... I was trying to break the scope..(grin)



That's it!

Mine has the little top hat, I noticed that when I had it apart.

Mine had not been welded correctly at the factory, you could tell by looking at the broken weld.

I've had numerous SBHs, and have been around a bunch more being fired, and mine is the only one I've seen fail.

I apologize if I've caused some apprehension.

Looking at the loads you've listed, I'd say your pistol is suffering far less recoil than mine was. I was shooting 300 grain bullets, using a long COAL, and hitting low 1300s in speed, basically trying to get the most out of the .44 mag that I could.

No, apprehension at all. I know sometimes stuff just goes wrong.


I have a load with the 310gr WFNGC + 21.0grs H110 that clocks 1250fps from my 4 5/8" SBH that is very accurate but I just don't know if I need that much horsepower for a 50yd shot on a 100lb whitetail doe. LOL

That load oughtta rock back a little.

I just bought a SBH 4.62" and was wondering what to expect from it, velocity-wise.

Are you using a 1.610" OAL or longer?

I DO rest the butt on a bag and near the muzzle on a bag. Might change POI off hand but most of my revolvers don't. Just sight in from Creedmore before hunting. Floating a hold never works for groups and testing loads. lock the sucker down.
I can NOT hunt with a scope, use an Ultra Dot only, I hate seeing the wiggle through a scope and they dark out in early day or late.
A quarter size group from your knees is great. Good way to shoot too.
I use 21.5 gr of 296 with the lee 310 and LBT 320. Standard Fed 150 primer. No mag primers in the .44. My 330 gr uses 21 gr of 296. My boolit has done 1-5/16" at 200 yards and my common is 1-1/4" at 100.

My SBH did the same thing about a year ago when I was target shooting out in the desert with a co-worker...shot a cylinder load...walked back to the Jeep to dump the empties and reload...and sure enough....no ejector rod housing...Walked back over to where I was shooting from, and VERY luckily...between the two of us...we found the spring and the small screw. Blue Loctite on that screw now.

I am using the Oregon Trail 310 WFNGC @ 1.640" OAL, it's pretty sporty.

9.5grs of AA #2 or 9.5grs of Unique shoots really good through my 4.62" SBH with that bullet.


I have been using the WLP with H110. I have used magnum primers in the past but these were all I could find and they work well.

I would like to pickup a 30mm UltraDot before season starts.

I fire lapped out a large constriction in the SBH a day or so ago and finally got to shoot it today.

1st load - 240gr Berry's Hardcast + 9.2grs Unique. Total suckage gives the accuracy of this load too much credit @ 25yds. I have not had these bullets shoot worth anything with anything other than 5grs Red Dot.


2nd load - 300gr Hunter Supply WFN + 9.2grs Unique - 5 shots .58" @ 25yds. Never shot a group that tight with a pistol. I rested the barrel in a V notched bag and rested my wrists on another sandbag.

Chronoing the same load in a 7 1/2" and 4 5/8" SBH I found the shorter barrel was 100 fps slower. That is what I'd expect, but due to differences in cylinder/barrel gaps, throats, et al, velocities can easily vary +/- 50 fps from nominal velocities for a given barrel.

Hence a "fast" 4 5/8" could produce the same velocity as a "slow" 7 1/2".

All that said, it should be no problem pushing 300-320 gr cast 1200 fps in a 4 5/8" sbh, if you add a bit more fuel 1300 fps is easily achieved.

Thanks.

I've never had a 4 5/8", this is my first one. And I will be firing the same load in my Redhawk, SBH 7.5", and SBH 4 5/8".

1200 fps with an LBT style bullet is very, very capable. Hell, 1000 fps is fast enough to shoot through anything where I live.

Bearcat,
I have had two of the 7.5" SBH Hunters in 45 Colt. Both easily shoot one hole groups off the bench at 50 yards. The gun is capable. Each shot the same whether topped with a scope or a Burris Fast Fire.

Been messing around with my SBH this pas month. I added a 30mm Ultra Dot and started turning the fuel to the 275gr WFN. 19grs of 2400 with the 275 Cast Performance shoots great, right @ 2" for 6 shots wrists rested on my knees @ 40yds.

I shot 23grs of H110 with the 275 Cast Performance today and shot just over 1/2" @ 25yds from a rest.

Keith,

Just today I made a run with a 9.5 inch Super Redhawk I picked up from a buddy's shop in Somerset. Mine is a 454, and I shot some warm 45 Colt's, as well as a few 454's through it today.

Unless I change my mind completely, I will likely sit a stand opening morning with the SRH and a cylinder full of the 45 Colt recipe.

You are entirely right though, getting used to shooting a pistol with a scope is interesting.

Maybe the ultradot is the way to fly.

I did not do well with the scope, the FOV is narrow and I know I am moving just as much with the dot but the perception of movement is not as bad. I am liking the Ultradot and I am looking at getting another for my Contender as I think I would use it more if I had one on there.


I like a SRH I just don't own one right now.