Did some shooting with the .357/9MM Blackhawk

[03RN]

Is there anything this thing can't do that a Blackhawk in .45Colt can do? There's a used 4.62" Blackhawk in .357 at a LGS for like $500...

I wouldn't want to hunt game larger than deer/blackbear with a .357.

My .45 BH

[spinmove_]

I wouldn't want to hunt game larger than deer/blackbear with a .357.

My .45 BH

Fortunately I live in the mitten so that’s the biggest we’ve got here. But if my wife had her way we’d be moving to Alaska tomorrow so...

[Lost River]

I wouldn't want to hunt game larger than deer/blackbear with a .357.

My .45 BH

I agree with 03RN.

The .357/9mm is a very neat gun. No flies on it at all.

That said, for hunting larger game, I would prefer a .44 or .45.

John Linebaugh wrote about using the .45 Colt and a mild load for handgun hunting with his family/wife and kids. Here is an excerpt "handload is a 260 Keith cast at 900 fps. This load will shoot lengthwise of antelope and mule deer at 100 yards."

That is quite mild for a .45 Colt in a New Model Blackhawk. I have shot 320ish (I can't recall the exact weight) grain projectiles a few hundred feet faster. I have since learned I don't need to. However, a nice 300-320 grain at 1,000 FPS will handle literally anything that walks and be manageable by almost any experience handgun hunter with some practice.

All that said, if there is a nice .357 Convertible available at a fair price and you don't intend to be using it on larger animals, I see no reason not to. Shooting .38s out of such guns is quite enjoyable. Bunnies HATE them.

[Dave T]

Lost River,

Suspect there's a lot of hungry coyotes in your part of the country.

And by the way, I'm delighted to see the correct number of frame screws on your old shooter. For a number of years I collected 3-screw Flattop Rugers. The 4-5/8" 357 Mag was the handiest factory offering. Much better balanced than the 6-1/2" or the rarer 7-1/2".

Dave

[JTMcC]

Is there anything this thing can't do that a Blackhawk in .45Colt can do? There's a used 4.62" Blackhawk in .357 at a LGS for like $500...

You can make the argument that good heavy for caliber Kieth type cast out of the 357 will go as deep as needed as a 44/45, and damage vitals just fine along it's path.
But the bigger bore is more insurance, and more immediate on big animals quartering away.
If all I had was my old 357 Blackhawk and appropriate ammo I'd shoot anything I needed to shoot, more so with a bigger bore, heavier projectile.
Everybody should own a 357 BH and load that thing into the Twilight Zone

But of course bigger bores hit bigger things harder. Everybody has to pick where they are willing to be content in their sidearm compromise. Otherwise we'd all be totin 500 S&W's or the big Linebaughs.

[spinmove_]

You can make the argument that good heavy for caliber Kieth type cast out of the 357 will go as deep as needed as a 44/45, and damage vitals just fine along it's path.
But the bigger bore is more insurance, and more immediate on big animals quartering away.
If all I had was my old 357 Blackhawk and appropriate ammo I'd shoot anything I needed to shoot, more so with a bigger bore, heavier projectile.
Everybody should own a 357 BH and load that thing into the Twilight Zone

But of course bigger bores hit bigger things harder. Everybody has to pick where they are willing to be content in their sidearm compromise. Otherwise we'd all be totin 500 S&W's or the big Linebaughs.

I was really kind of hoping someone was going to talk me out of it. Guess that was a really silly thought on PF...

[Lost River]

Lost River,

Suspect there's a lot of hungry coyotes in your part of the country.

And by the way, I'm delighted to see the correct number of frame screws on your old shooter. For a number of years I collected 3-screw Flattop Rugers. The 4-5/8" 357 Mag was the handiest factory offering. Much better balanced than the 6-1/2" or the rarer 7-1/2".

Dave

The 3 screw .357 shown started out as a 6.5" gun.

Gun writer John Taffin gave me the barrel that is on it right now, as well as the grip frame. He showed me how to swap frames one day. I call that gun my "Taffin gun".

[Lost River]

You can make the argument that good heavy for caliber Kieth type cast out of the 357 will go as deep as needed as a 44/45, and damage vitals just fine along it's path.
But the bigger bore is more insurance, and more immediate on big animals quartering away.
If all I had was my old 357 Blackhawk and appropriate ammo I'd shoot anything I needed to shoot, more so with a bigger bore, heavier projectile.
Everybody should own a 357 BH and load that thing into the Twilight Zone

But of course bigger bores hit bigger things harder. Everybody has to pick where they are willing to be content in their sidearm compromise. Otherwise we'd all be totin 500 S&W's or the big Linebaughs.

I knew a guy who had Linebaugh buid him a couple of .475 and .500 Linebaugh Longs on .357 Max frames way back in the day before the S&W 500 and all that. I shot both of them one day. The short version is that I am sure that they were probably causing micro fractures in my wrist bones. Miserable SOBs.

I went back to being content with heavy .44s and .45 Colts for all my needs.

[JTMcC]

I was really kind of hoping someone was going to talk me out of it. Guess that was a really silly thought on PF...

I am not that "someone"
Sorry.

[JTMcC]

I knew a guy who had Linebaugh buid him a couple of .475 and .500 Linebaugh Longs on .357 Max frames way back in the day before the S&W 500 and all that. I shot both of them one day. The short version is that I am sure that they were probably causing micro fractures in my wrist bones. Miserable SOBs.

I went back to being content with heavy .44s and .45 Colts for all my needs.

Linebaugh, several years ago famously said that his daily driver was a S&W M25 in .45 Colt. And he had a lot of higher powered options to choose from.