I took a bit of a step outside my comfort zone this past summer when I purchased a Ruger Blackhawk from a friend in 45 Colt for a whopping $250. I'm usually a S&W guy and love my .44mags but this was a project that looked fun. I'll say it up front this Ruger single action was in sad shape at the end of its 4 5/8th's barrel was a hack job of a front sight and the rear sight...well I'm not really sure if you would call it a rear sight at all. Also the frame was rounded at the front and back by one of the first owners. My friend had purchased the gun like that however hoping to have a short range cowboy gun to play with. When he sold it to me (less than 2 months after buying it himself, He mentioned it shot 18" high at 20yards) he included a new front sight from Brownell's and put the $250 I gave him towards a different manufacture 45 Colt an Uberti if I remember right. Not long after I got the gun a 45 Colt 3 die set was on its way after a want ad was posted on a few of the forums I frequent and 1k pieces of brass was inbound from starline in short order.
The first thing I did when I got home with the Blackhawk was knock the front sight off with a lead hammer and played around with some hip shooting with the few pieces of 45 colt brass I picked up over time at the range(didn't want to dive into the NEW brass just yet). Then the gun sat while I searched for a rear sight which I was not in a hurry for. The rear sight came to me a few weeks ago for $10 from a parts dealer at a gun show, it was a like new take off sight. Now I could put the gun back together. The rear sight was installed by the dealer at the show (to make sure it was the correct sight) and I had my Dad solder on the front sight using the rear sight to properly line it up. Not a whole lot involved in lining it up mostly done by eye. A holster was had for $3 but had to be cut down as it was for a 7" gun but works perfectly. Once I got the gun all ready I loaded up a sampler of 200gr SWC loads and some Ruger only 230gr RN loads to test out over the chronograph.
Using Unique and the 200Gr SWC I was able to get 980-1120fps out of the 45 Colt with little gain in speed after 10.5Gr of Unique under the 200Gr SWC using the new starline brass and CCI 300 primers. I had reasonably good accuracy with the group shown in the picture which was shot at 20 yards standing but with the original wood stocks that were on the gun from the factory. I've yet to try the Hogues that my Dad scrounged up for me but they feel so much more natural than the hog leg wood stocks.
I'm waiting on the 454423 mold from a group buy to be finished still. It's supposed to throw a .45 keith style weighing in at 244gr and is supposedly usable in a 45ACP as well. It should perform well in this nice little six shooter. I got a little impatient and purchased a single cavity Lee 252Gr FP mold this past weekend to try out next time I'm home and have the pot fired up.
The molds so far with maybe the exception to the 252Gr Fp (1911,magazine taper at front might be too much but we'll see) can all be used in my other .45's. I'm looking to develop a good bear load with this gun now and pack it with me on hikes as its a good gun to do that with and has enough power if loaded properly. Please refer to updated and tested load data before attempting to duplicate any of the loads listed. I'm not responsible for any damages on your part Yes it worked for me but your results may vary. The Boolit in the picture is that of a 230gr RN shot into dry phone books clocking 1000fps went in about 5" and ran out of steam.
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