I made a mistake. Ruger 45 Flattop

Get more familiar with handloading and 45 colt. Pay particular attention to B Pearce's 3-tier load categories in back issues of Handloader Magazine. Tier 3 are the large frame, Ruger only category. Tier 1 is original Colt SAA and clones. Tier 2 is ok for modern Colts and the newer medium frame Blackhawks.

Tier 2 can get you1000-1100fps with 250-280gn bullets depending on load. I seldom have to load any hotter.

If you load the heavy 300s, you better have a tall front sight
 
For clarity, I need to point out that the term "Ruger Only" loads was applied ONLY to heavier than standard .45 Colt loads the large frame Blackhawk could handle. It was never applied to any other caliber or loads

And, at the time the phrase was created, there was only one Ruger SA in .45 Colt, the large frame Blackhawk / New Model Blackhawk.

Until fairly recently the Super Blackhawk was in .44 mag, only. In recent years, along with many options not previously offered, the Super is chambered in .454 Casull and .480 as well. I believe those calibers use 5 shot cylinders.
 
For clarity, I need to point out that the term "Ruger Only" loads was applied ONLY to heavier than standard .45 Colt loads the large frame Blackhawk could handle. It was never applied to any other caliber or loads
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Yes you are absolutely correct. There are no "Ruger Only" loads in the loading manuals for the 44 mag. But I have seen articles printed that listed loads that exceeded the book loads. For some reason some folks have decided that the people who write reloading manuals are afraid to publish real full power loads.

Not me. I rarely ever load the full power listed loads for any gun. And that was my point earlier. Cylinder expanding, barrel stretching loads are almost never needed. In my 44 mag I shoot way more 1000fps loads with lead bullets than 1200+fps loads with lead or jacketed bullets.

Thats what I was trying to say to the OP. You may get away with "Ruger Only" loads for a while but they will beat your gun up and they go through expensive brass quicker. Good thing he said he just wants to shoot those on occasion and not all the time.
 
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New Model .45 Colt flat top Blackhawks are medium frame guns, as are the .44 Special flat tops, while New Model .41 & .44 Magnums are large frames, flat top or no.
Again, ALL New Model flat top .45 Blackhawks are built on the medium frame.
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The 45 Convertible is a medium frame and a few ounces less than the full size Blackhawk. Both my 45s are large frame; however, your piece can easily digest 21,000psi loads. My load of 10gr Unique under a 285SWC is a 20,000 load and will blow through deer and hogs to 40 yards. Shoots under an inch at 25 yards, too. That's a lot of horsepower out of your 40oz. revolver.
 
For clarification I did not intend to feed my Ruger a steady diet of “Ruger Only” loads but load up a handful for sadistic amusement I guess. We call it recoil therapy. I do something similar with a Marlin guide gun in 45-70. Load a couple stout ones for amusement and the rest for hunting and long range target shooting out of a Uberti High Wall.

Now the challenge will be finding brass. If I’m unsuccessful for awhile I might buy some 454 or 460 brass which is semi available and cut it down. But that’d be expensive and the incorrect head stamp would rankle me. So I hope I can scrounge up some brass.

But here’s my question for the professionals. Is there any reason I can’t buy Hornady’s fancy pants 4 Die Titanium Nitride set for 454 Cas and use it for 45 Colt? It is more expensive than a 45 Colt set but not much after you consider buying a stand alone Lee Carbide crimp die. Now I understand that its a straight wall so sizing and such is no different but I’ve been reading it’s generally better to use dies from shorter cartridges to load longer ones because of the seat and crimp at the same time feature (I think). That wouldn’t be an issue with the 4 die set as it has a dedicated crimp die. And my back of the head thought is I’d really like to own a 454 Casull one day because I’m young and dumb and this die set would be a one and done type deal.

Thoughts from the more experienced?
 
I have an RCBS press and die set for 45Colt, 45/70, 357/38, etc, but I also have a Lee Factory Crimp Die I use with each set. It allows slot of adjustments on crimp amount and I can crimp separately from bullet seating, which can be challenging with certain profile bullets. Plus, I can crimp anywhere on a bullet, even if it doesn't have a crimp groove where I need it
 
Green Trapper: Get more familiar with handloading and 45 colt. Pay particular attention to B Pearce's 3-tier load categories in back issues of Handloader Magazine. Tier 3 are the large frame, Ruger only category. Tier 1 is original Colt SAA and clones. Tier 2 is ok for modern Colts and the newer medium frame Blackhawks......Tier 2 can get you1000-1100fps with 250-280gn bullets depending on load. I seldom have to load any hotter.
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Excellent advice...well worth looking it up...Rod
 
Ruger makes two New Model Blackhawks in .45 Colt. One is on the large cylinder frame, the other is the Flattop built on the medium frame (the same cylinder frame as the New Vaquero).

The latter cannot take the Ruger Only loads but the Tier Two loads are nothing to sneeze at.

I’d take the Flattop every time. All steel (the blued large frame guns have an aluminum grip frame), much better proportions and the cylinder stops exactly in line with the loading gate.
 
The argument went like this: I have a super Blackhawk in .44 magnum and exactly the same gun in .45 LC. The only difference is a very slightly larger hole in the chamber. Knowing mechanical engineering and strength of materials, someone calculated a safe pressure for a hot-rod cartridge.

For this new smaller lighter revolver, it”s a. .357 or .45. The hole is one heck of a lot bigger and calculations of what the strength of the cylinder are are… much more engineering.

Ruger, probably worried about exactly the discussion we are having, made the “real” Blackhawk a 5 shooter .454 or .489 or .44 magnum hand cannon.

.45 Colt can be serious medicine. Hotter is hotter. But if you want the real experience, do your hand exercises and shoot some .454 Casull from a gun rated for it. THAT will clear your sinuses and say howdy.

Metal fatigue is no joke. No one knows how many proof loads a gun can take before the metal gives out and flies apart.

I”m am not always Mr. Safety but when bending the rules, I did the math and engineering and knew the risks. Some cartridges are limited by history, weak guns and are capable of more. For example, TC Contenders and 32-20.

In this case… this is NOT time to blow a revolver up.
 
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For me, its not about the ultimate strength of the gun as much as what I want, and what I am used to. Especially the "what I am used to", these days.

Got my first Ruger (new model) Blackhawk in .45 Colt/,45ACP in 1983. And, while I had read a lot about SA revolvers over the years, I had never had one before. It was a wonderful, eye-opening experience.

I got the gun because of the .45ACP cylinder. I had a .45 auto, and figured this gun would let me plink with my ACP ammo without having to chase and hunt for my brass. I picked up the gun and started home with it, and realized that I did not have any .45 Colt ammo for it, just ACP, so I stopped at a store on the way home and bought a box. Winchester 255gr the standard load.

I learned how my new model was different from the Colt SAA, that was kinda neat, could safely carry 6, not 5, and not having to put the gun on half cock (there isn't a half cock position) to load and unload was cool, too. And adjustable sights was a huge plus over the Colt SAA.

I made one small "mistake", the first time I shot the gun was with .45 Colt ammo. WOW!!:D The gun roared, the muzzle rose to the sky and I was hooked. After that, shooting ACP ammo in that gun was ...:meh"... ACP goes bang and the gun recoils enough that you know it went off, but nothing like what it does with even "regular" .45 Colt loads.

Since I had a great article in the Handloader Digest about loading the Ruger .45 Colt (there was only one at the time) of course, I tried out the heavy loads all the way up to the "Ruger Only" loads.

Learned that shooting heavy loads hurt my middle finger. Learned that Pachmayr grips prevented that, and gave me more to hang on to. Gun still rolls in the hand, just not as much. Also learned that the really heave loads are not pleasant to shoot, even with Pachmayr grips. Just not fun after a few rounds. With slightly heavier than standard factory ammo its fun and I can shoot all day if I want, without injury or serious fatigue.

So that gun got me hooked on the .45 Colt, since then, that gun has had thousands of rounds of .45 Colt fired through it, and only about 300 rnds of ACP I also have several Vaqueros in .45 Colt. And, I did have a New Vaquero, also in .45 Colt.

The New Vaquero was a nice gun, but it just never felt "right". Its was smaller (Colt size) than what I was used to, and after 30+ years shooting the larger Blackhawks and Vaqueros, it just seemed "small".

Because, of course, it is. A 4 5/8" barrel Vaquero and a 5.5" barrel New Vaquero are almost exactly the same size!! I don't mean the cylinders or frames, I mean overall size. Butt to muzzle the length is damn near the same (might be a small difference but not enough to see)

IF a Colt size gun is what you want, get a New Vaquero. I've got decades shooting the large frame Blackhawks, love them and have no real interest in the smaller guns, including the Flattops.

The alloy parts don't bother me, nor does the fact that the cylinder doesn't "stop" with the chamber perfectly centered in the loading gate.

About 30 some years ago I settled on one load, a 250gr swc on top of 10gr Unique. This is a heavy load in the old books and SAFE in COLT guns, so its nothing stressful in ANY of the Rugers. Does about 1100fps from my 7.5" and a bit less from shorter barrels. Powerful, fun to shoot, accurate in my guns (and in my hands!) if I want something more, I could load it, or simply go to a different caliber (.44mag for one).

The big Blackhawks are great guns, and for me, after nearly 40 years of using them, nothing else seems quite "right".

Nothing "wrong" with the smaller guns, just not "right" to me.
YMMV
;)
 
It looks like the the old 45 Colt 255 gr load has all but disappeared. Replaced with multiple 200 something gr watered down Cowboy loads.:mad:
My first 45 Colt was a Model 25 with a 4" barrel, that traditional Colt load would open your eyes when you let one go, impressive!
I recently tried to find some of the "old" loads for my son's new Governor, maybe after a while they might come back but right now they seem to be MIA.
 
It looks like the the old 45 Colt 255 gr load has all but disappeared
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... Not if you are a reloader! All I load is 250gr RNFP or 255gr SWC bullets. Never quite understood why some would 'water down' the 'standard' .45 Colt load :) . Not talking smoking loads either. Just standard 850-900fps loads...

As for the flattop ... no mistake there. My flattops are my favorites. Hardly ever get the run-of-the-mill large frames out any more. For anything around here, my flattops (and New Vaqueros) should handle anything I might run up against with Tier 1 and Tier 2 loads. Why shoot wrist busters ... unless planning for that African trip I suppose. Picking on a Cape Buffalo may prove dangerous.
 
All this talk about "Ruger only" and "44 mag performance from a 45 Colt cartridge" brings back memories. I developed an interest in guns about the time I graduated high school and followed the various iterations of handloading and shooting.

I went through my "Elmer Keith" phase of increasing the load till the gun blew up then back off a few grains for a suitable load. So to speak.

I ultimately came to the conclusion that if I want magnum performance, to get an appropriate magnum firearm and stop pushing the envelope.

I have two older Ruger Redhawks in 44 magnum that can easily handle any load I want, but if I ever need more, it's time for a rifle.

And my lesser framed 29-2s, I reserve for 44 special loads.

But that's just me.
 
I went through my "Elmer Keith" phase of increasing the load till the gun blew up then back off a few grains for a suitable load. So to speak.
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Difference here is we know how far to push the .45 Colt, so not a big deal for those who want to go that direction. Linebaugh showed us the way with the large frame .45s as well as others for the medium frame ... and safely. The foundation has been laid. That said, the .429 will always be the .451's little brother :) no matter what Harry Callahan says....
 
I used to run some of those heavy handloads through a full-size Blackhawk with a 7-1/2" barrel back in the 1970's, in my early 20's, and they seemed just fine at the time. I also tried again at the turn of the millennium, but this time using an original Vaquero with 4-5/8" barrel....after 12 rounds my hands were stinging and my self discipline to not flinch was wearing thin. Now, my upper loads are running 255 grain bullets under 1100 fps and much of what I shoot is running around 950. I'm done with the nuclear stuff... I'm still asking about that barrel length...
 
I have one of the older 3 screw Ruger Blackhawks in .44 Magnum I believe it was made in 1957? I haven't looked the SN up on the Ruger site in many years. They are great guns but I still prefer my 45Colt revolvers over the 44's. Go out and enjoy your new revolver before you declare the world is ending, they are still great revolvers. If you want a superpower, then go get one of the new 480 or 454 Rugers. I see they are making them from the factory now.
 
Lots of misinformation in this thread.

The flat-top 45 is indeed a medium frame. Only the 41 and 44 magnum flat tops were on the large frame. We're talking strictly New Models here. The large frame New Model 45 Blackhawk is still in production and has been since 1973.

The original 44 mag Blackhawk and Super Blackhawk are the same size and strength. The Super's cylinder is unfluted which adds nothing but weight and the only function difference is the grip frame.

There's nothing unsafe about "Ruger only" loads in the appropriate guns. Same margin of safety as factory loads in a 44 magnum.

There are no "Ruger only" 44 magnum loads but there are "Redhawk only" 44 magnum loads.
 
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