Ruger Flattop Blackhawks .44 Magnum--50th Anniversary Edition

S

Southern Shooter

New member
My two sons have these Flattop Blackhawks in 6 1/2" barrels. They are asking about handloading some heavy bullets for backcounty protection in upper Montana and Idaho areas. I have a couple boxes of the Sierra Sports Master 300 grain jacketed soft-points that I could use. These bullets have a sectional density of .232 .

My question is this:

How hot can/should I take these bullets with these guns? I don't want to damage these flattops with loads that are too rough. But, I don't want to under load these Sierra bullets, either. What loads would ya'll charge these bullets up with these guns?

Thanks
 
They are the same strength as any recent-production SuperBlackhawk. No problem there.

One issue though: the grip frames are a bit small for coping with full-power 44Mag. At a minimum you NEED to get rid of the black plastic "cheesegrater" grip panels and swap for smooth wood - it takes the same grips as a New Vaquero. There are also some oversize (mainly over-length) grips available, don't recall where, or a lot of people splice in SuperBlackhawk or Bisley grip frames on these guns.
 
You don't have to baby them. As Jim said they are the same as a late model Super Blackhawk. The shooters will give up due to recoil before you strain the Ruger.
 
I have fired full load 240 JHP's over heavy loads of Win 296 and H110, and the drawback is the lighter weight of the gun, and the old hogleg grip. It looks and carries great, but that combination will punish you a bit. The Bisley grip is better; rubber grips are more absorbent, etc, but both take away from the great looks of the 50th .44 mag Flattop. You might want to loctite the screws all around if you intend to do a lot of shooting with heavy loads. ............................................
 
Hard cast lead will serve much better. As mentioned, the grip of the 50th is not conducive to heavy bullet recoil control. Take a look at Missouri Bullets and pick a Keith style in 250 grains. Much less expensive, too.
 
I agree with Mr. Tide, a cast bullet is the way to go, something heavy, and Keithlike. Match up the bullet to the throats.
 
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