To bob or not to bob my Blackhawk's barrel ?

J

jski

New member
I have a .30 Carbine Blackhawk and was cogitating about bobbing its barrel from 7 1/2" to 5 1/2". I'd like to keep it one of the classic SAA barrel lengths.

I do reload my own ammo but there are always pros and cons.

Any thoughts?
 
I don't care for SA gun barrels being longer than 5 1/2 inches, but that is a unique cartridge for a revolver, it really does need the longer barrel.
 
I have a 30carb Blackhawk and did have mine cut down to 5 1/2" and am happy with it. I am not really a fan of such a long barrel and the gun is already loud so I was not worried about making it louder. The bonus is as a reloader we can use powders more appropriate for this platform and not have to deal with the rifle loads. I'm not at home so I cant post any pictures but again, I am glad I did it, good luck with your decision.
 
Basically any gun or rifle you would shoot the 327 Federal Magnum in should work. Actually the 30 Carbine has 5,000 lbs less pressure than the 327 Mag. The one thing is that one cartridge is loaded with powders geared toward rifles and one is loaded for handguns. If you don't mine the muzzle blast and perceived recoil go for it. I shoot 7" barreled AR15's with .223/5.56x45 and let me tell you it's a blast, twice.
 
I have a 1970's vintage New Model SBH,in .44 Mag. Back then,they were all
7 1?2. I cut it to 5 in.I can sit level in a pickup now.I like it.
But a.30 Carbine? I think I'd leave it long. It stays original,powder burn time,and sight radius.

I suggest you find a 32 H+R Single Six. I sure like mine.
 
While I'm not a big fan of putting a substantial amount of money into a firearm to only change aesthetics in a minor way, it's your firearm and your money. What difference should our opinion have, when the desire is only to "keep it one of the classic SAA barrel lengths". Do you need us to tell you we like a 5 1/2" over 7 1/2" barrel length to justify your subjective opinion or are you really not sure if the 5 1/2" looks better than the 7 1/2"?

I see this all the time on these types of forums....."Which grips look the best", "which color finish should I get, Desert Tan or Drab Earth?", "does a rail really make a gun look cooler or not?". None of this has anything to do with performance, only looks. Sorry, but ugly girls can cook too, and to me, performance, accuracy and reliability are more important to my firearms as to their "classic" look. But again, that's me. As I said before, it's your money and your gun.....you should do what you want and what look you like best, and not worry about what we like. Unless of course you are wanting to sell the gun in the near future with the hopes of completely recovering your investment. Which ain't gonna happen. Your gun is not rare, nor hard to get and relatively inexpensive. My LGS has one for around $500 OTD. You are not taking a classic collector item and ruining it. You may be tho, giving up some performance of the cartridge it is chambered for by reducing barrel length, and thus reducing it's desirability and resale value in the future. But that too should be a moot point, if you prefer the looks one way or the other.
 
I occasionally ponder on this considering Ruger makes a .327 FedMag Blackhawk with a 5 1/2" barrel. And the .30 Carbine is a ballistically superior cartridge v. 327 FedMag.

BTW, my .357 and .30 Carbine Blackhawks are indistinguishable when it comes to blast (report). The idea there's some evil-wicked-bad magic the makes the .30 Carbine Blackhawk louder than other magnum Blackhawks is NONSENSE.
 
The .30 Carbine in a handgun is an excrement hot magnum cartridge. Cut the barrel to 5.5" and it stops being that. Far too much velocity loss. About 421 FPS between a 20" barrel and a 7" barrel with H110 and 110 grain bullets.
"...keep it one of the classic SAA barrel lengths..." 7.5" is one of those. U.S. Cavalry SAA's had 7.5" barrels.
"...we can use powders more appropriate..." Same powders and the same loads.
 
It's my vote to leave it alone, but, as has been said previously; in the end, it's what pulls your chain.

I have read for years the idea that the .30 Carbine is extremely loud out of the Ruger Blackhawk. I own one and never really noticed that it was exceptionally loud. And I have never done a head to head comparison between it and a .357 Blackhawk (I own both in the same barrel length). However, I will say that in the winter on Friday nights, I shoot at a local club indoor range where you are not supposed to shoot hot/magnum type loads or cartridges. I took my .30 Carbine Blackhawk one night and it was noticeably louder than anyone else and the range master gave me the stink eye. So, it seemed to me that it was particularly loud.

Which surprises me because the .30 Carbine is not a "hot" cartridge; especially when fired out of a revolver. In fact, using max loads of H110 and a 110 grain bullet: the .30 Carbine will be about 300 fps slower in velocity compared to the .357 mag. The .30 Carbine out of a revolver is faster than a .38 Special +P. There used to be a published load for .357 using Blue Dot powder that fired a 110 grain bullet out of a revolver faster than the .30 Carbine does using USGI ammo out of the actual carbine.

I guess it is the relatively slow burning powder that makes it loud ?

Whatever, the point to all this is that this thread got me interested in shooting my .30 Carbine Blackhawk and I am just taking a break from trimming .30 Carbine brass.
 
Jski I will have to disagree with you about the 30 carb not being louder, I also own both and when you shoot factory ammo through them at an indoor range the difference is noticeable. Its due to all the extra rifle powder still burning as its leaving the barrel, now that I reload for both its easy to just load up some with some pistol range powder VS the rifle powder. I recall there was a gentleman that had some night pictures of him shooting his 30 carb Blackhawk at night and it was production large fireballs from the 7 1/2 barrel.
 
Ruin a 30 carbine Blackhawk! Why don't you just take a suitcase full of money, and dump it out the window!
Any smith that would do the job should be charged with malpractice.
 
T. O'Heir said:
The .30 Carbine in a handgun is an excrement hot magnum cartridge. Cut the barrel to 5.5" and it stops being that. Far too much velocity loss. About 421 FPS between a 20" barrel and a 7" barrel with H110 and 110 grain bullets.
Click to expand...
You are comparing a rifle against a handgun. The question would be how much velocity would he lose by chopping two inches off the 7-1/2" barrel?

Personally, I think the 5-1/2" barrel balances much better (for me), which means it shoots much better (for me). I don't have a Blackhawk in .30 Carbine, but I have owned them in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt. I also owned an Italian SAA clone in .45 Colt with a 7-1/2" barrel and I basically hated it.

My vote to the question for this thread would be to shorten it.
 
I am tall and long barrels suit me fine.

I have 2 M29 (no dash) that are 8 3/8

My SBHs are all long.

My BHs are long.

My Colt SAAs are long.

I know they ain't SAs, but my Red Hawks are long.

The shortest barrel I have is a 4" an it is a 9mm.

Your gun, your choice.
 
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