OT- Did somebody say Blackhawk?

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » Fri May 16, 2008 4:10 pm

Well, I am the very proud owner of a 1997 vintage 7.5" NM Blackhawk in .45LC. I wish you all had made it more clear as to how much fun these suckers are so I could have got one sooner.

My range report is not that fancy or exciting, but it was alot of fun.

Here goes:

15yds
Free standing
.45LC A-Merc 250gr RNL

As you can see, there is a 1.5" group with a flyer that opened it up to 3". I tried resting on a shelf for the next bunch of groups, but never achieved this tight of a pattern afterwards.

The last group of 5 was done at 100'(33 1/3yds) free standing which turned out to be "shoot two,pick up target, shoot two,pick up target, shoot one". They all stayed in less than 6". I don't have a paper for that cause I was shooting the top of a metal shelf. Which brings me to "Exhibit B"....

Lefty there was recovered from a peice of 3/4" wood behind the metal shelf. I thought that it stopping in the wood was odd for such a close distance(15yds). Then it got weird when I backed up to do the last 5 and ended up with all of them BOUNCING off of the sheet metal: the one on the right.

Is that normal? I couldn't tell any difference between shooting my ROA and shooting these A-MERC shells as far as kick goes. I don't know, this is the first .45 I have ever shot.

Oh yeah, here's the devil that started it all....ain't it perdy!

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Fri May 16, 2008 4:17 pm

Excellent! Hardness of bullets can vary results on media greatly. And yep, the .45 Colt IS the king of carbine and revolver rounds!

At least IMO!

adirondakjack · Post by **adirondakjack** » Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm

They sure can shoot. Even better with a good handload.

This was a "function check" after re-finishing and reassembling the .45 Vaquero. After shooting this five round group, offhand, including a flier I knew was low when I touched it off, I walked off the distance carefully. 13 yards, shot offhand, at a relaxed CAS pace of about a shot a second.

I didn't even have the center of the plate marked. Instead, I shot one round and aimed at the hole

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Fri May 16, 2008 4:53 pm

Andrew,

That's pretty good shooting. My BH is a 71 vintage.

A-Merc ammo is pretty much junque. The samples I got had very loose bullets, inconsistent to no neck tension ( you could turn the bullets by light finger pressure) and the flash holes in the brass were inconsistent and way off center.

I don't recommend trying to reload it. I'd recommend scrapping it.

Try a better brand of ammo and I'll bet you see a big difference. MagTech, Black Hills, Winchester, and many others are much better choices.

Joe

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Fri May 16, 2008 5:17 pm

congrats and I hope you enjoy your blackhawk for years to come.

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » Fri May 16, 2008 7:24 pm

J Miller wrote:A-Merc ammo is pretty much junque.
Joe

I only got to shoot 49 because one had too thick a rim and jammed the cylinder at about 10:00.

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Fri May 16, 2008 7:34 pm

They are fun aren't they?

It's got some nice character to it.

ohwin94_61 · Post by **ohwin94_61** » Fri May 16, 2008 7:37 pm

I was wondering I have a pistol in 45 sw99 and it kicks like a mule is there a difference in .45 lc revolver and .45 acp auto pistol as far as recoil?

ohwin94_61 · Post by **ohwin94_61** » Fri May 16, 2008 7:57 pm

Griff wrote:Excellent! Hardness of bullets can vary results on media greatly. And yep, the .45 Colt IS the king of carbine and revolver rounds! At least IMO!

I have shot the 30 carbine

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Fri May 16, 2008 8:10 pm

Oh, I thought we were talking Blackhawks...

Andrew, they become a sickness after a while. You WILL end up with others!

adirondakjack · Post by **adirondakjack** » Fri May 16, 2008 8:31 pm

ohwin94_61 wrote:I was wondering I have a pistol in 45 sw99 and it kicks like a mule is there a difference in .45 lc revolver and .45 acp auto pistol as far as recoil?

In a good sized revolver like the Blackhawk, "standard velocity" .45 Colt is not rough at all. Even "warm" loads like 10 of Unique and a 250 (1100 fps) are only a modest thumping recoil.

Now the "Ruger Only" loads like a boat load of H110 and a 250 or 300 grainer are a treat. They will turn the muzzle a full 90 degrees, straight up, when fired from a bench.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Fri May 16, 2008 9:30 pm

Andrew -

Well, the secret it out. Now you'll need to go out and collect other Blackhawks in various calibers. I suggest the next one should be a .44!!!

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Fri May 16, 2008 9:44 pm

awp101 wrote:Oh, I thought we were talking Blackhawks...

I somehow KNEW someone would post that... !

bj94 · Post by **bj94** » Fri May 16, 2008 9:52 pm

For real fun you need to do 2 things:

1) Buy some Hornady 250 grain XTP's and load some top "Ruger Only" loads with H110 or WW296.

2) Buy some hard cast bullets at 325 to 340 grains, and load some top "Ruger Only" loads with H110 or WW296.

2row · Post by **2row** » Fri May 16, 2008 10:10 pm

and make sure you have good ins. cause them will hurt you

adirondakjack · Post by **adirondakjack** » Fri May 16, 2008 10:52 pm

bj94 wrote:For real fun you need to do 2 things:

1) Buy some Hornady 250 grain XTP's and load some top "Ruger Only" loads with H110 or WW296.

2) Buy some hard cast bullets at 325 to 340 grains, and load some top "Ruger Only" loads with H110 or WW296.

Wear a glove on yer right hand (I like a bicycle glove with padded leather palm, tight fit, an chopped fingertips) so the trigger guard and grips don't take away pieces of yer skin. Oh, DO hang on.

My son, then 18, fired my 250s with 10 unique "plinkers" and enjoyed them, but when it came to H110-powered XTP 250s, he saw the full 90 degree muzzle rotation, the big flame and heard the wicked blast, and declined to try even one, declaring them "f......g sick"

.45 250 with H110 at night from a 7.5 inch BH

Lefty Dude · Post by **Lefty Dude** » Fri May 16, 2008 11:09 pm

Try shootin that hot 45Lc load in a TC contender 10" with a closed breach, if ya want a handful.

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Sat May 17, 2008 9:12 am

Andrew...congrats on a fine handgun. I know these fellas are semi-joking, but I say keep it fun with that Black Hawk, unless your going to Alaska or something. It's good to keep it fun until something becomes second nature, and then if you feel the need ramp up your loads. Bad habits can be developed if you don't take the right approach. It took me years to unlearn bad flinching habits after shooting hot 44 Mag. loads as a teenager. Look forward to more reports if you get time.

wildmanh · Post by **wildmanh** » Sat May 17, 2008 10:31 am

Nice gun and pretty good shooting.

Thanks for the pics. I have a Blackhawk Convertible in .357 Mag/9mm which I love to shoot. It has the 4 5/8" Barrel have been thinking of getting another .357 Mag convertible or possibly a .45LC/45 ACP convertible with a 5-1/2" Barrel. Your post has made me want the .45LC Convertible more and more. Thank goodness I'm broke.

Heber

Wayne Miller · Post by **Wayne Miller** » Sun May 18, 2008 11:19 am

Lefty Dude wrote:Try shootin that hot 45Lc load in a TC contender 10" with a closed breach, if ya want a handful.

Yeah, but if you want the full effect, it has to be one of the OLD ones with the light octagon barrels and weirdly contoured grip.

That combination would make you find religion!

afish4570 · Post by **afish4570** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:26 am

AMERC ammo....never used the factory loaded....but reloaded some and found the 45 ACP primer pockets were too large. Had the primers fall out in magazine or while feeding into chamber.I now inspect my range pickups and these go into scrap pail. Alot of local shooters are switching to 40 S&W's and retiring the 45's due to higher component costs.afish4570