Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Ruger Blackhawk 357 6 1/2" Barrel Questions

Good morning everyone, my 13 year old son has been on me asking to get a revolver that he can shoot and reload for. Last night I stopped by my local gun shop and found a used Ruger Blackhawk 357 with a 6 1/2" barrel for $294. I snatched it up right away.

So my questions begin with:

1. Can we hunt with this gun also?

2. If so, what is the biggest game that you'd hunt? I'm reading whitetail deer.

3. Just to make sure, can I shoot and practice with 38 Special's out of this gun?

4. If so, do I need to get a 38 Special die or can that also be done with the 357 die?

5. Does anyone else have this gun, hunt with this gun, and possibly have any load data (power, primers, bullet) information that they'd care to pass along to help?

I know that these are probably basic questions to some, and I apologize, but I've never had a 357 and am only about 6 months or more into reloading. So any help would be greatly appreciated.

Chad

1) yes
2) whitetails
3) yes
4) .357 dies will work fine
5) had one years back and hunted with it. Just used factory 158 JHP (XTPs, IIRC) and they worked fine.

1) Yes, if you put the bullets in the right place it will work great.

2)Deer is fine.

3)38 specials are fine. They are a little shorter than 357's so if you shoot a lot of them the front of the chamber in the cylinder will get dirty, you want to clean that out (use a brush) before switching back to 357's. The 38 specials will likely shoot to a different point of impact than a full power 357 load.

4) most die sets will do both 357 and 38 special.

5) I shoot 14.5g of 2400 under a Hornady 158 XTP, with CCI primers. You will want to crimp so the bullets don't slip when the gun recoils.

I think you have your bullet info wrong?


I like 14.5grs 2400 or 16grs H110 with 158's.

Your right, its hard to fit those 44's in the 357 case.

Thank you very much fellas, I appreciate the information. Again, I know that it's basic information, but it gives me a place to start.

Much appreciated.

I thought you'd found the ultimate .357 bullet.

I used my .357 Blackhawk loaded with hard cast 150 gr Kieth type bullet for my first deer with a handgun. It wasn't a DRT, but worked fine. Its still one of my favorite guns for hog hunting, can shooting, etc.. This gun probably hasn't seen two boxes of factory loaded ammo in the 40+ years Ive owned it. My orginal set of RCBS dies were 357 and I had a problem with not being able to adjust the seating crimp die down enough to crimp .38 specials, so I took it down to a machine shop and had them trim 1/4" off the bottom of the seating die. That worked just fine until I finally could afford a newer set of carbide dies. Sure hope you and your son enjoy it as much as I have mine!

Thanks Allen, I'm sure that we will enjoy it. I'm excited to see the look on his face when we get it. Of course he doesn't know yet that I got it.

Bearcat/Noknees, I'm definitely interested in the 158 XTP as a bullet. I have plenty of Blue Dot powder for reduced loads. I'm not sitting in front of my books at this time, but is there any data for the 158 using Blue Dot?

There is data on Alliant's website.

A few thoughts. The 158 XTP will be excellent for full power loads. For a cast Bullet for full power, you can't do better than the Lyman Thompson designed #358156. It's a gas checked SWC and can be extremely accurate.

For loads, my experience shows the best combos in 357 Brass come from:

Full power (speed) loads 1200-1350 fps or so with 158-165 gr cast or jacketed Bullets: Use Accurate No. 9, H-110, 2400. Mag primers with No. 9 or H-110. Standard primers with 2400. Heavy crimps for all. My preference is for No. 9 here. Best chrono'd speeds for the amount of flash and blast generated.

Medium loads 900-1100 fps or so with the same 158-165 gr cast or jacketed Bullets: Use True Blue, Accurate No. 5, HS-6, Unique, or Power Pistol. Mag primers for HS-6, standard for the others. Firm crimp for all. I like True Blue here, but Power Pistol is really good to if you can get it.

When you drop down to 38 Special Brass, stay with the 158-165 cast over anything jacketed. Jacketed Bullets are a waste at these 700-850 speeds. True Blue, Accurate No. 5, HS-6, Unique, and Power Pistol can be used here too but they won't burn quite as clean. You could go to a faster powder and get a little cleaner is you want to download much.

Mark in GA

Wow Mark, that's an amazing amount of information. Thank you very much for that, I truly appreciate it.

1. Can we hunt with this gun also?
Yes

2. If so, what is the biggest game that you'd hunt? I'm reading whitetail deer.
Deer, Caribou and small/medium hogs. The Blackhawk is a very strong gun and can be loaded to levels most 357's can't i.e. 200 gr cast @ 1300 fps or faster.

3. Just to make sure, can I shoot and practice with 38 Special's out of this gun?
Absolutely, do it all the time. Just beware you'll need to make sure you clean the cylinder well so 357's seat without problems.

4. If so, do I need to get a 38 Special die or can that also be done with the 357 die?
You can use the dies for both, but will have to re-adjust the seating and crimp dies. I load enough of both that I have two sets of dies and two tool heads for my Dillon one set up for 38 and the other 357.

5. Does anyone else have this gun, hunt with this gun, and possibly have any load data (power, primers, bullet) information that they'd care to pass along to help?



Had plenty of holster wear when I got it, also was a 4 5/8" but I put on a 6 1/2" take off barrel.

I've run a variety of loads through the gun as I have off the top of my head the following molds: 95 gr rf, 105 gr swc, 120 gr wc, 120 gr tc, 148 gr wc, 160 gr lfn and 200 gr wfn. I'm also planning on getting Lee's 125 gr rf and 158 gr rf mold. My heavy loads are either the 160 gr lfn over 16.0 gr H-110 or the 200 gr wfn over 15.5 gr H-110. Those are both stiff loads, but accurate in my gun.

I'd really like a good 160 gr @ 1000 fps load for target and small game. I've wanted to find a good load for the 95 or 105 but they are somewhat lacking in accuracy. The 120 and 148 gr wadcutters shoot well, but I still have some load work to do. The load work I'd done previously was with Bullseye and Unique, both of which I've run out of and can't find. So I'll have to work up again with 700-X and Universal.

I kind of have a preference for large bore handguns these days, but having said that, i have carried a .38/.357 since the 70's off and on.
this summer i loaded up some keith style cast the 358156 bullet, and it's slightly larger brother the 170 grain.
it was busting river rock quite easily.
It may not expand, but i am sure they would punch holes through things.
In a blackhawk you can load at the top there for 38special.
you can also find bullets for both up to at least 230grains.
Penn bullets i think it is makes the 230grain, it is a stomper. it can be loaded pretty fast given the weight.
I have also loaded 200grain full metal jackets in the magnum.
they are also pretty good penetrators.
Mostly 231 for the light loads, and 2400 for the hotter stuff.

as to 458lott, that g.c. 358156 casts to about 160 grain, keith style bullet.
Off the top of my head what i loaded this summer in the magnum version were between 1000 and 1100fps which is kind of like where i like to be. Pretty decent load.

I prefer Mihec's 640 style bullet to a swc. As much as I'm a huge Elmer Keith fan, IMHO the LBT LFN shape is vastly superior. I've rarely had a SWC shoot as accurately as an LFN and have found LFN's to shoot accurately over a broader range of velocities.



640 style in .357" and .476"

Going to agree with you on the more LBT type shapes. I recommended the Lyman 358156 GC because it's so easy to get that one to shoot and it so readily available, even used. That said, the WFN nose hits the hardest in 357 vs the SWC.

Several years ago, I worked with the guy at Accurate molds to design a matched pair (plain base and gas check versions) for the 357 and 44. They are all I use anymore. They are kind of in between the true LBT LFN and LBT WFN nose profile. Shoot great and hit hard.

Their numbers are listed below for AccurateMolds.com

357 Plain Base: 36-165N
357 Gas Check: 36-165NG

44 Plain Base: 44-255N
44 Gas Check: 44-255NG


Mark in GA

For heavy loads I prefer H-110, flows well, clean burning and good velocities.

To legally hunt with a handgun in PA you either have to have a valid concealed carry permit or a sportsmens permit to do the same. Check the current hunting digest you received with your license.

Thinking of renewing my CCW for a similar reason. Picked up an old model single six this week and want to carry it on woods walks.