Ruger SBH .44 Magnum

H

HistoryJunky

New member
So I've probably posted questions about this gun on and off for a few years. I've been interested in getting a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum for a long time.

Well tomorrow I will finally be the owner of one. I saw one used at a local fun shop for a decent price. The gun had the barrel ported and it has an aftermarket finish. 4.5" barrel.

What am I in for with .44 Magnum? I have never owned or shot one, just a few .357s.

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It is definitely a fun gun to shoot and easy to reload for.

I got my first one in 1974, the second in 1976 and a couple of more in the mean time.

They are strong and can be very accurate. BUT, I have had the grip frame screws shoot loose that required some interactions on my part in the form of blue lock tite.

I am a lover of the 44 Mag and shoot mostly cast bullets since around 1978.
 
Dufus said:
It is definitely a fun gun to shoot and easy to reload for.



I got my first one in 1974, the second in 1976 and a couple of more in the mean time.



They are strong and can be very accurate. BUT, I have had the grip frame screws shoot loose that required some interactions on my part in the form of blue lock tite.



I am a lover of the 44 Mag and shoot mostly cast bullets since around 1978.
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I definitely will be buying some dies for it after I shoot a couple boxes for brass.

This is my first big bore handgun, and currently my only revolver.

It also has a Pachmayr? rubber grip so it should be pretty tame.

It is my late 30th bday present.

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The Ruger Super Blackhawk was made to roll in the hand . The rubber Grips will not roll just grab Skin .
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Exactly my experience so I put tye stock grips back on mine. I thought they might help with the trigger guard "bite", but only made it worse because they left enough of the corner of the square trigger guard to bite into my middle finger.
 
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I guess if it is an issue I can always buy a normal wooden grip. I will try to watch for this whenever I get out to test fire it

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The Ruger Super Blackhawk was made to roll in the hand . The rubber Grips will not roll just grab Skin .
Click to expand...

Do you have one?? With Pachmyr grips? Does it grab your skin??
Mine doesn't.

I find the rubber grips to be a nearly necessary accessory. First, the fill my hand, and fill in that space behind the trigger guard so it DOESN'T rap my middle finger.

The gun still "rolls" in my hand, the difference being the muzzle ends up at a 70-80 degree angle, instead of 110-120 degres.

For me they make the gun much more comfortable to grip and shoot than the stock grips, and I prefer the grip of "pachs" over even oversize smooth wood.

The Colt plowhandle style grip is a good choice, for one handed use, such as on horseback, and for recoil levels UP TO the .45 Colt. When you go beyond that, its shortcomings become evident. Such as a stinging pain in the middle finger, for one.

I've got rubber grips on all my Ruger SAs above the Single Six. They make the guns more "shootable" for me. .357 Mag, .45 Colt (including the Ruger only heavy loads) and .44 Mag Super Blackhawk.

This is my first big bore handgun, and currently my only revolver.
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Are you getting a ported 4.5" .44 Magnum because its what you want, or because its what they have???

This is not meant as a criticism, but with that gun, you're starting on a steep part of the learning curve.

You can learn it, and do well, but you are risking being overwhelmed and possibly deciding against the whole idea.

4.5" barrel .44 Mag. Blast with full power ammo is something you have to experience to understand. And the shorter barrel means you won't get the full performance of the round.

Ported barrel will reduce muzzle rise. This will reduce the "roll" in your hand, on top of what the rubber grips do, and will result in the gun feeling like it's pounding straight back into your hand.

This is not a good combination for someone just starting out with big bore revolvers. But, we can adapt. Get some .44 Special ammo, along with .44 Mag. The .44 Special will feel very light, compared to magnum ammo. If possible get or make some .44 Mag ammo in the 1,000fps range as your first step up from the Special. There is a significant difference in felt recoil moving from 1000fps up to 1200fps + of full house ammo.

I have a 7.5" Super Blackhawk, with rubber grips. I have a 6.5" S&W M29, with rubber grips. I have a 6" Desert Eagle, and a 10" Contender .44Mag (which also has rubber grips).

The Super Blackhawk is the second most pleasant to shoot with magnum loads. Desert Eagle is first, because its massive weight makes if pleasant to shoot, IF you can hold it up! :D

I limit my S&W to loads in the 1000fps range or so, only because they are not uncomfortable to shoot. Going much above that, even with rubber grips, simply hurts… The Contender is a whole different world, being the lightest of them all, but you are only shooting ONE shot.....

I got my first Ruger "hawk" in 83, The Super Blackhawk is enough different from the Blackhawk it feels odd, at first but one soon stops noticing the differences.

Get some factory ammo and hang on! :rolleyes: It won't take much for you to decide you might want to go to something lighter and work up to the heavy stuff.

At this point, don't concern your self with the extra heavy bullets. 240gr will do everything you need, and maybe more than you want to begin with.

Get dies, and components and load "mid range" stuff for a while, get some experience before moving up to max levels. (if you choose to do so)

IN a somewhat flawed analogy, its generally not a good idea to put a beginning driver in a formula 1 racer or an 18 wheeler, the learning curve is steep.

Good Luck, I hope you enjoy it, I'm sure you will, if you learn to walk before you try to run.
 
An old photo (40~45 years old) of my Super Blackhawk in full recoil. This with a 245 gr. cast at around 1500 f.p.s.

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And somewhat later:

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Bob Wright
 
Speaking for myself only, the standard plow handle grips were to small for my hands and I received a nice knuckle slap on my middle finger more than once. In comparison, the larger standard wood grips on my Ruger Bisley .454 are an absolute pleasure to shoot. Recoil does not bother me in the least, not having enough grip to fill my hands is irritating at best.
OP, buy some standard grips from Ruger and see if you like them. If you are running full throttle .44mag rounds through it, I bet the Pachmayrs go back on.
 
Thank you all for your useful posts. I intend on starting with more anemic factory loads and working my way up. Better that way than developing a nasty flinch because of being too proud.
 
44 AMP said:
Do you have one?? With Pachmyr grips? Does it grab your skin??
Mine doesn't.

I find the rubber grips to be a nearly necessary accessory. First, the fill my hand, and fill in that space behind the trigger guard so it DOESN'T rap my middle finger.

The gun still "rolls" in my hand, the difference being the muzzle ends up at a 70-80 degree angle, instead of 110-120 degres.

For me they make the gun much more comfortable to grip and shoot than the stock grips, and I prefer the grip of "pachs" over even oversize smooth wood.

The Colt plowhandle style grip is a good choice, for one handed use, such as on horseback, and for recoil levels UP TO the .45 Colt. When you go beyond that, its shortcomings become evident. Such as a stinging pain in the middle finger, for one.

I've got rubber grips on all my Ruger SAs above the Single Six. They make the guns more "shootable" for me. .357 Mag, .45 Colt (including the Ruger only heavy loads) and .44 Mag Super Blackhawk.



Are you getting a ported 4.5" .44 Magnum because its what you want, or because its what they have???

This is not meant as a criticism, but with that gun, you're starting on a steep part of the learning curve.

You can learn it, and do well, but you are risking being overwhelmed and possibly deciding against the whole idea.

4.5" barrel .44 Mag. Blast with full power ammo is something you have to experience to understand. And the shorter barrel means you won't get the full performance of the round.

Ported barrel will reduce muzzle rise. This will reduce the "roll" in your hand, on top of what the rubber grips do, and will result in the gun feeling like it's pounding straight back into your hand.

This is not a good combination for someone just starting out with big bore revolvers. But, we can adapt. Get some .44 Special ammo, along with .44 Mag. The .44 Special will feel very light, compared to magnum ammo. If possible get or make some .44 Mag ammo in the 1,000fps range as your first step up from the Special. There is a significant difference in felt recoil moving from 1000fps up to 1200fps + of full house ammo.

I have a 7.5" Super Blackhawk, with rubber grips. I have a 6.5" S&W M29, with rubber grips. I have a 6" Desert Eagle, and a 10" Contender .44Mag (which also has rubber grips).

The Super Blackhawk is the second most pleasant to shoot with magnum loads. Desert Eagle is first, because its massive weight makes if pleasant to shoot, IF you can hold it up! :D

I limit my S&W to loads in the 1000fps range or so, only because they are not uncomfortable to shoot. Going much above that, even with rubber grips, simply hurts… The Contender is a whole different world, being the lightest of them all, but you are only shooting ONE shot.....

I got my first Ruger "hawk" in 83, The Super Blackhawk is enough different from the Blackhawk it feels odd, at first but one soon stops noticing the differences.

Get some factory ammo and hang on! :rolleyes: It won't take much for you to decide you might want to go to something lighter and work up to the heavy stuff.

At this point, don't concern your self with the extra heavy bullets. 240gr will do everything you need, and maybe more than you want to begin with.

Get dies, and components and load "mid range" stuff for a while, get some experience before moving up to max levels. (if you choose to do so)

IN a somewhat flawed analogy, its generally not a good idea to put a beginning driver in a formula 1 racer or an 18 wheeler, the learning curve is steep.

Good Luck, I hope you enjoy it, I'm sure you will, if you learn to walk before you try to run.
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44 AMP I chose the firearm because I liked the look of the gun, and I got a good deal on it. I am aware that the porting will make the recoil occur in a more straight back fashion.

I was originally set on the 6" barrelled configuration, but after seeing this gun(I had never seen a shorter barreled SBH before) I changed my mind.
 
HistoryJunky said:
It also has a Pachmayr? rubber grip so it should be pretty tame.
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Good luck with that. Much depends on your definition of "tame."

HistoryJunky said:
KEYBEAR said:
The Ruger Super Blackhawk was made to roll in the hand . The rubber Grips will not roll just grab Skin .
Click to expand...
I have heard this too but no real experience.
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And with the Pachmayr grips you won't experience it.
 
Good luck with that. Much depends on your definition of "tame."
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I have a bit of a sense of adventure. I have looked up the FPE of .44 Magnum and am not unaware of what I am getting myself into.

As I have posted before, I originally shot .357 Magnum and didn't find it much different than a hot 9mm Luger load. Probably due to the weight of the revolvers VS most 9mm handguns.

The idea was to acquire something with a bit more...attitude.
 
I agree with 44 AMP on the Pachmayr rubber grips-- much better than the original wood, and I've tried both. I also have a 454 Casull BFR with the rubber grips, and even it is comfortable. The main points for me are the rubber covered backstrap, and the fill-in behind the trigger guard. No more knuckle rap!

I think the 4½ to 5 inch barrels look the best and balance the best on a large framed single action. Definitely reload for it, the 44 mag is the most versatile cartridge around. I load from 180s @ 800 fps to 300s at 1500 fps, all in magnum brass, and they all have great accuracy and a specific purpose. Good luck with your new piece, you'll enjoy it!

IUnji55.jpg
 
Better that way than developing a nasty flinch because of being too proud.
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Could be- - but - - a flinch can develop no matter what.
I developed a flinch once when shooting a .22.
Not much of anything lower than that except dry fire!

The curious thing about it is - - shooting my S&W M29 .44 mag w/a 4" barrel cured the flinch in less than 6 shots.

I learned a valuable lesson from that.

It's not recoil at all that causes a flinch.
It's getting lazy & forgetting all the basics.

Once you go back to using the basics - and the heavy recoil forces you to pay attention - the flinch disappears.
 
Pachmayr rubber grips or any rubber grip are the ugliest grip for a single action that exist. They also do more to help with recoil than anything else you can do to the gun.They have never torn my hands in BFR's in calibers with more recoil than a 44.I'm one of those persons who the Ruger trigger guard beats the heck out of my knuckle.If I was you I'd buy a set to use till you get used to the gun shoot it with them then put the regular grips back on and try it.My bet would be that you put the Pachmayrs back on.
 
i have a SBH,,but mine is 7.5,,,its fun to shoot,,,i like the hogue grips better than the packs,,,just a fit thing for me

also have a 7.5 red hawk,,it to has hogue grips,,,two different style guns but both very fun to shoot

i also have a pair of 41 blackhawks,,they have a 4.6 barrel,,,,i can tell ya that with those short barrels they are a hand full when you turn up the wick,,, they do not have rubber grips,,,original wood,,,but they bark,,,real loud,,,and if you dont get collar on them and hold onto them they will bit too

real fun is shooting them in low light,,,,quite the light show...lol

have fun ,,,be careful

ocharry
 
One important question is "does it have the old "dragoon" (squared back end) trigger guard, or a normal oval trigger guard?"

Those dragoon trigger guards are well known for busting your knuckles. Pachmayer makes a grip that fills that area in and there are wood grips that fill in the same area. I don't personally like rubber grips on a blued steel single action and never found them to reduce felt recoil, but for filling in that square trigger guard gap I am 100% in. (Well, actually.. I just sold that one.)

As Bob showed in pics above, grip the gun very firmly but let it roll in your hand, let it lift your arm, let it rock you back in your stance. All these actions spread the recoil out in time and you feel a strong PUSH! instead of SLAP!
Holding the thing two handed, squared off in some "combat" stance and trying to suppress that muzzle rise is for the puny 9mm stuff. Your full house .357 loads are going to feel like a "CRACK! SNAP!" while your .44 magnums will feel "BoomPUSH!" Let it rock you back. With a proper "natural stance", your gun will return to point of aim when you rock back in to position.

Unique and Cast are your friends at the range and for plinking. 7 grains Unique and 240 grains cast (or swaged if you are keeping the velocity low) loaded in to .44 magnum brass may be a real good starting load. ".44 Special" load but it is certainly no joke in any department. I would shoot a deer with that load, although you can certainly do MUCH better.

Unigue is a good powder for "cowboy" loads, I like 2400 as I move up and Lil Gun for full house hunting loads although I found for even the biggest white tails, a mid level load of 2400 under a 240g XTP is very effective. You don't really need to push the .44 Magnum above mid level for deer. It's just nice to know that elk, moose, buffalo, African game level loads are now in your reach if you want to see what the hand cannon and Lil Gun is all about. I went there then backed off, knowing that ain't no one that knows beans going to make any negative comments about .44 Special loads being "mousey".

You can enjoy a big boom, big hole, good accuracy and NOT beat yourself up too badly or annoy the crap out of the kids at the indoor range. A full house .44 Magnum load indoors will shake the dust off the lights. Wear plugs AND muffs for that.
 
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