Ruger Blackhawk and Cor-bon ammo question

9

9ballbilly

New member
Just brought home my new .45 colt Blackhawk. Can't help feeling like a kid at Christmas :rolleyes:. While I was shopping around through ammo choices I came across some Cor-Bon 300gr. +P JSP. I'm familiar with the strength of Blackhawk revolvers but not Cor-Bon ammunition. The Dealer told me that this ammunition was designed for rifles and wasn't safe in the Blackhawk. Is this statement accurate? The box said the ammo was loaded within SAAMI specs.
 
I assume you're talking about the 300gr JSP .45 Long Colt Loading (you never specified a caliber in your OP and the Blackhawk is available in .30 Carbine, .327 Federal, .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, and .45 Long Colt), and if that is the case then your dealer is incorrect. The Ruger Blackhawk is exactly the type of firearm that the loading in question was designed for.

SAAMI specs for the .45 LC are held very low out of deference to guns like Colt SAA and Italian replicas which are not as strong as your Ruger and cannot handle ammo like the Cor-Bon loading in question. Handloaders have long known this and developed special "Ruger-Only" loadings for use in Rugers and similarly strong revolvers like Freedom Arms. While several boutique makers such as Buffalo Bore, Double Tap, and Grizzly produce such ammo now, Cor-Bon was one of the first to make a factory-new "Ruger-Only" .45 LC loading.

While the Blackhawk is fine for such ammunition, it should be mentioned that the New Model Vaquero is not. The primary change that Ruger made when the introduced the New Model Vaquero was to make it on the smaller .357 frame in order to make it balance and feel more like a Colt SAA. This was done, however, at the expense of some degree of strength and, as such, these revolvers are best fed a diet of SAAMI-spec ammuntion.
 
Thanks. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. My Blackhawk is not the vaquero version and is indeed chambered in .45LC. The Cor-Bon ammunition was marked .45 colt +P 300gr JSP.
 
Yes, you can cope with that stuff. EXCEPT: there was a limited-edition "Blackhawk Flattop" shipped recently in dual-caliber, 45LC/45ACP based on the mid-frame.

In other words, it's basically an adjustable-sight New Vaquero.

If that's what you have, whoa, DO NOT shoot the 45LC+P monsters in it!!!

If on the other hand your gun is a "large frame" 45LC Blackhawk, yeah, go for it. Bonus points if it's an underbarrel-warning gun - in other words, if the "read the manual" crap is under the barrel instead of on the side. Under marks engineering changes in the large-frames that improved the cylinder quality and average accuracy. Both side-barrel and under-barrel large frames can cope with the monsters though.

One more caveat: run "the checkout" first (stickied post this forum). IF the cylinder/barrel alignment is bad, I wouldn't shoot the really stout stuff until that's sorted out. But that's just me :). It's very unlikely to see a Ruger that bad, but "bad monday guns" happen.

In other news:

Whoever is naming Ruger's guns lately needs to be flogged. Repeatedly. Way too many dumb mistakes like this with horrific safety implications. Example: 44Spls marked "Vaquero" would normally mean large-frame, except these are mid-frames. Hell, the whole idea of naming the "New Vaquero" was wacky...should have come up with something different to denote the major differences in peak power they could handle as compared to the "OldVaq".
 
You might be able to shoot the heavy 300 grainers out of your Blackhawk, but I bet they wont be much fun to shoot.

You need a power level tailored to your needs and gun. As you know, the 45 Colt ammo is one extreme to the other. From Cowboy loads safe for SAA's to overly heavy boutique ammo. You need ammo in the middle somewhere.

Hand loading your own rounds are the answer. To fully enjoy the versatility of this round (without breaking the bank), you have to hand load.
 
Thanks again for the info.

Jim March: My Blackhawk is not the dual caliber "flat top". And it does have the warning stamped under the bbl..

Edward429451: I do handload, just not for the .45LC yet. What I'd like to do is create a load for the Ruger using Hornady 300gr XTP HP at around 900fps.

All the best.
 
I don't know why everyone seems to focus so much on the 300gr, I've never run into anything a 250gr wouldn't handle when loaded to a suitable velocity. But if that floats your boat, go right ahead.

I tried a number of hot loads back when I first got mine (1983) back before the 300gr became common, my heaviest was the 260gr jacketed slugs, and some loaded were more than just "Ruger only". Gun held up fine, I didn't.

Settled on a 250gr SWC (hardcast) and a load that goes just a hair under 1100fps in my 7.5". Not too bad to shoot, a couple boxes in an afternoon is a pleasant thing. Not like the real heavy loads, where I am pretty spent after a couple cylinders, or three...

There are loads out there that are not for even the tank strong Rugers. Some are just too hot (loads for rifles), and some are too long loaded for the cylinder of that particular gun.

Loads in the classic factory range are easy to shoot all day. Loads at the top end of hot for the Colt revolvers aren't bad and have plenty of power for lots of uses. Really heavy loads have the power for nearly anything, but aren't fun for plinking or casual use, and the Blackhawk is such a fun gun, if you're anything at all like my, you'll want to do a bunch of that.

One great thing about the Blackhawk is the adjustable sights. When you find you desired heavy load, zero for it, and then adjust to your casual use load and write down the direction and number of clicks to get back to the other load 's zero. You can't do that with a Colt or a Vaquero.....:D
 
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