Ruger Blackhawk .30 Carbine

T

Tuzo

New member
Inheritied a Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Carbine. My first single action revolver in a caliber larger than .22.

Have been shooting rifle loads with IMR 4895 but not too happy with accuracy. Will reload to Sierra Manual specifications for handgun with Norma. A faster burning powder with a bit less muzzle velocity.

Any suggestions or observations in TFL-land for shooting and enjoying this relatively uncommon caliber in a handgun?
 
Loudest damn gun I ever owned. I was disappointed when I chronographed military loads at 1400 FPS from 7.5" barrel and sold it.
 
Absolutely wear double hearing protection. M1 Carbine ammo is loaded for rifles and when it only has a few inches of barrel to work with it is loud and the flash is impressive even in daylight.

It's the kind of thing that will make you unpopular at the range.
 
IMR 4227 or Alliant 2400 both are great powder in 30 carb.
I have been loading 30 carb for years and I love the round.
In a pistol they are fire breathing dragons with a voice of Zeus the god.
Very accurate and fun to shoot.
These rounds chamber on the case mouth like 9mm and 45 acp
You have to keep the cylinder clean are the pistol can jam up if a carbon ring forms at the front of the cyl.
Also you need to watch case length for the same reason.
Full length sizing is a must.
I trim all my brass 0.010 under minimum length.
This way I get several re-loads before I have to trim the brass.
This same brass gets shot from several other 30 carb rifles with varying chamber sizes.
Stick with a 110 gr FMJ bullet.
They seem to work best.

Enjoy, they are a lot of fun.:D
 
Hornady makes an awesome .30 round, should be earth moving in the blackhawk, take it to an indoor range and watch all the stunned faces when you pull the trigger :D
 
Friend had one, & if I find one reasonable I'll have one also. May even save up for a new one.
But we used to shoot a hard cast 120 bullet with 5.8 grs of Unique.
At night with military ammo it was a flame thrower!!
 
Thanks for replies and suggestions. I especially like the round in my 1944 Inland. Fun to shoot and it ejects empties behind my right shoulder about 4 feet. Easy casing pickup.

Concerning shooting the Blackhawk, I like the flamethrower bit but not too keen on the noise bit. I get enough noise excitement with a 357 magnum. Going to try Norma at 7.7 and 8.2 grains (1200 and 1250 fps respectively) to slightly tame the flamethrower bit and maybe increase accuracy. Have a little 2400 on hand and will try that as well.
 
There are handgun loads in Lyman's Pistol & Revolver Handbook. And on Hodgdon' site. Pretty much the same as regular data.
IMR4895 isn't a good Carbine powder. No loads using it on Hodgdon's site either. IMR4227 is your friend.
 
With 120gr cast bullets the only rifle power that worked well in my rifle was IMR4198. My best loads were with 110/296 but also had good loads with Blue Dot.

Unique shot all over the place in mine, but would probably work great for a pistol load, especially with cast bullets, and for that matter, any of the lead plinker powders.
 
Tuzo wrote:
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Inheritied a Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Carbine. My first single action revolver in a caliber larger than .22.

Have been shooting rifle loads with IMR 4895 but not too happy with accuracy. Will reload to Sierra Manual specifications for handgun with Norma. A faster burning powder with a bit less muzzle velocity.

Any suggestions or observations in TFL-land for shooting and enjoying this relatively uncommon caliber in a handgun?
Click to expand...

Tuso,

I have a box of Sierra 85 grain round nose 30cal bullets made especially for an M1-30 handgun. PM me if you want to try them.
 
Damn, after reading this thread I went over to Gunbroker and bought a 3 screw 30 caliber Blackhawk. You people are a bad influence.
 
BH 30 carbine

Don't own one at present time. Still have the dies and fixens. I used 4227 and
Speer 110 gr JHP, Varmenter. Made impressive results on groundhogs and
birds. Blast and flash was still fearsome. I won't go out of my way to get another
one. I have been shooting the 110s up in 308 for varments.
 
The 30 carbine in a revolver is a lot like a 32-20 in a revolver.

H110 and 110 gr JHP for the hot loads.
Bullseye and 98 gr HBWC for the target loads.
 
When I had my Blackhawk 30 carbine I used 5.8gn of unique with 110gn plated bullets. Sift shooting, super accurate and easy on the brass.
 
RaySendero wrote:

Tuzo,

I have a box of Sierra 85 grain round nose 30 cal bullets made especially for an M1-30 handgun.
PM me if you want to try them.
Click to expand...

Tuzo,

I got your PM but can not reply to you.
The website says you have your PMs disabled or not allowed.
 
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