My dad passed away a few years ago and I have been slowly going through his guns and checking them out. Recently I started shooting his Blackhawk that we picked up about 30 years ago. It is a .357/9mm convertible with a 4 5/8th in barrel. I was trying to work up a load for it and started to get some misfires. I sent it off to Ruger and they had it back to me in less that 10 days. It seems it needed a new transfer bar. I now have a couple of those in the parts bin.
It was pretty cold and windy so I was mostly shooting for fun. I shot these three groups on the same target for perspective.
I started with my normal load using a 158 grain XTP over a max load of H110. This shot pretty will at 25 yards and the group was was about 3 inches in diameter.
Using the same hold I fired a cylinder of 9MM 115 ball ammo. It shot about 5 inches low and into a group of about 6 inches. This could definitely be used in a pinch, but I think the 9MM will be reserved for back up. I will keep testing other loads to see if I can improve this.
Lastly I shot a group with using 180 grain XTP bullets and a mostly full dose of H110. I have been using this load more and more in my .357's as it is very powerful for the cartridge, but easier on the ears and not as "Blasty" as the 125's or the 158's. Interestingly this load shot the best with a group of about 2 inches and much closer to the 9MM grouping. I think if I was going to be more serious about using the 9MM cylinder, this would be the load that I would use in the gun for the .357.
Overall it was a great day in the desert, even with the cold and the wind. All in all I am very impressed with this Ruger and happy to get some of my dad's guns back to work.
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Originally Posted by Maple Syrup Actual
