# Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter



## jdc123 (Mar 15, 2012)

Got a SBHH the other day,wish I had a way to post pics of this beautiful gun. Plan on taking a deer with it in the fall, anyone else here got one?


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## derwoodii (Mar 16, 2012)

did some one say Ruger ??? aww sigh its a hand gun we don't get to play with them down here, anyhoo you enjoy lad.


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## Rookie1 (Mar 16, 2012)

My brother in law had one and loved it until he had it Magnaported. He hated the blast and noise and didnt help much with recoil. He took plenty of deer with it also. He ended up selling it and Im not sure what he bought to replace it.:msp_mellow:


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## atvguns (Mar 16, 2012)

I have a super Blackhawk in 44 mag. What is the Hunter model does it have a scope rail like the red hawk?


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## paccity (Mar 16, 2012)

just watch the loads you burn.


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## jdc123 (Mar 16, 2012)

atvguns said:


> I have a super Blackhawk in 44 mag. What is the Hunter model does it have a scope rail like the red hawk?



It has a rib running the length of the barrel with Ruger ring cuts. It has a nice look but really adds a considerable weight to tame recoil. It also has a Bisley style hammer and a wider trigger I think. It comes in Super Blackhawk and a Bisley model, only difference being grip frame. Almost forgot, it has a longer ejector housing adapted from the 357 Maximum frame, for complete ejection. Standard fare is 44 mag, but 41 mag and 45 Colt are available exclusive from some distributors.


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## jdc123 (Mar 16, 2012)

paccity said:


> just watch the loads you burn.



Man, I'd say that was a hot load! What brand is that?


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## ShoerFast (Apr 8, 2012)

jdc123 said:


> Man, I'd say that was a hot load! What brand is that?



That was a Super Blackjack, one could guess.

But I would be willing to bet that it was not a factory load.

My first guess, someone loaded a fast-burning pistol powder at the same amount as a slow-burning powder......

Like loaded + 20 grains of Bulls-eye powder thinking it was something like 2400 powder, or something like that?


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## fubar2 (Apr 8, 2012)

paccity said:


> just watch the loads you burn.



You could probably fix that with an oily rag and a screwdriver.


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## ShoerFast (Apr 8, 2012)

fubar2 said:


> You could probably fix that with an oily rag and a screwdriver.



Unless I be on a rented horse, I be hitting them grips up by waving them past the flames of a forge or something to give them a little distinction and feel.

Yes , then wipe it down and oil it up.

Every one knows Rugers don't have triggers like Colts,,,,,,, cause Colts can't be Ruger!

But to be honest, if he were silly enough to sell er, he should list er at 'less then 90%' , if any one would ever sell a Ruger.


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## ShoerFast (Apr 8, 2012)

jdc123 said:


> Got a SBHH the other day,wish I had a way to post pics of this beautiful gun. Plan on taking a deer with it in the fall, anyone else here got one?



Yes, hunt with a Ruger Blackhawk , love the slightly over full loads of compressed powder charges of my .44 mags! 

I like the .44 Mag slightly better then my brother from another mother's 454 Casual (or something like that?) , and better then most any thing that could be considered bigger. Elmor Keith nailed it!

What you might want to try with yours? 
The sear and release on most Ruger 's has more then an ounce of desire built into them.

But there is a poor-boy cure for maybe 80% of it.

Take your Blackhawk and check that it is unloaded,,,,,, then check it again.
If you want to, just take out the cylinder.

With your best Weaver (or what floats your boat) pull the hammer back, put your thumbs on the hammer and push forward with everything you got, and dry fire it......






Repeat this several times. 

It sounds unhealthy, but it is a well known secret to getting a nice, not hundreds of $dollar nice. But nice trigger with a stock Ruger SA . 

Poor Boy's Trigger Job


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## dingeryote (Apr 8, 2012)

Congrats on the SBH Hunter!!

I have been eyeballing those since they first came out, as my old Bisley model has been 'smithed to almost exactly the configuration Ruger went with on the hunter model, but it would be darn nice to have one in stainless. 

Mine digested untold thousands of heavy loads before the forcing cone in the barrel was plum erroded to the point of needing to be replaced, and from there kinda went nuts. Bored the cylinder axis out and machined an insert to take out all lateral play,set cyl Gap at .010 on the new Shilen barrel, set a new hand and bolt for no drag timing, and thought about maching for a rail but wimped out. Poor thing still has the original Goncalo alves grips that have been redone and oil finished, by backsanding to 600 to keep the critter blood stains as part of the character.

Took the thing to Africa and whacked a bunch of Dassies in my cousins Garden, as well as a rather obnoxious Vervet in camp one morning.
Tried like hell to get a shot on a Warty with it, and spent three days getting tick infested, but it wasn't in the cards.
Did manage a nice Reedbuck Doe for the pot though. Next trip, it goes back again.

Favorite load is the Lyman 429421 Keith design cast bullet over 22gr of 2400 or 24gr of H110.
In jacketed, the Speer 270gr Gold dot over 22gr of H110 is simply elegant balance of penetration and expansion. I have recovered two that went base of the neck to hip on large White tails, on broadside shots they exit leaving a double blood trail that has always been short so far.
I used to really like the Sierra 210gr Game kings over a HOT charge of Blue dot, but they never seem to exit on deer...darn accurate though.

I hope you get all the chances needed to wear the thing out.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## ShoerFast (Apr 9, 2012)

I am sort of leaning that way for my elk/bear loads. I have a box of 240 gr Speed Deep-curl solid nose . And will work up a load. Awaiting a little more snow to melt off my shooting range/high-country.

Hoping to fine the tack-driver load for my .44 Contender , and am leaning on the idea that the 14" Contender might like a stiff pour of H-110 , getting a a little more out of the longer barrel.

If I luck out, what will drive tack in the Contender will also do well in the Blackhawk?

How do the 270s compare down range , compared to the 240s ? 
With one would be the better choice for double duty as a personal defence bullet ?


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## jdc123 (Apr 9, 2012)

Yote, I've been eyeing that Keith bullet but your experience with the Speer has got me thinking. I think for my purposes a heavy hollow point would be fine, as our deer usually top out at 200 lbs and that's rare.


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## ShoerFast (Apr 9, 2012)

jdc123 said:


> Yote, I've been eyeing that Keith bullet but your experience with the Speer has got me thinking. I think for my purposes a heavy hollow point would be fine, as our deer usually top out at 200 lbs and that's rare.



Also awaiting Yotie's ideas.

Having taken deer with hard-cast Keith styles and 240s (Hornaday XTPs or similar) .
From the damage, a good hit in the bread-basket (think as close as you can get it to that spot where te heart meets the lungs) , and you not going to have to look very far for your deer.

The visual seems to keen me in.


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## jdc123 (Apr 9, 2012)

ShoerFast said:


> Also awaiting Yotie's ideas.
> 
> Having taken deer with hard-cast Keith styles and 240s (Hornaday XTPs or similar) .
> From the damage, a good hit in the bread-basket (think as close as you can get it to that spot where te heart meets the lungs) , and you not going to have to look very far for your deer.
> ...



You know, your images remind us all that it's way easy to shoot a deer too far back. I haven't lost but one deer over the years, and it was due to a broadhead in the gut. Made me sick and strengthened my resolve to practice harder to make a clean kill, no matter the weapon. I'm not a tree hugger but every animal deserves a clean kill. Thanks for the reminder.


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## RandyMac (Apr 9, 2012)

This is my baby, a Virginian Dragoon in .44 Mag.


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## dingeryote (Apr 9, 2012)

ShoerFast said:


> I am sort of leaning that way for my elk/bear loads. I have a box of 240 gr Speed Deep-curl solid nose . And will work up a load. Awaiting a little more snow to melt off my shooting range/high-country.
> 
> Hoping to fine the tack-driver load for my .44 Contender , and am leaning on the idea that the 14" Contender might like a stiff pour of H-110 , getting a a little more out of the longer barrel.
> 
> ...




Shoe,

The BC for the 270 is .193. BC for the 240 DCHP is .175.
It wont make much of a difference untill you get to lobbing bullets past 125yds or so.

The big difference is in terminals. The 270 penetrates deeper and expands later than the 240, and dosn't break up as easily when bone gets hit up close....like if bambi catches you napping and steps out of nowhere 10yds away. The biggest reason to choose the 270 is the soft point design wont get the sump clogged and fail to expand on thick skinned game, or critters with heavy layers of mud matted fur.
If you load your own, and own a chronograph, it isn't out of the question to get 1400fps with a 7.5" barrel and should be no pressure issue from a 14". I get just shy of 1500fps out of an old 18" M44 carbine with them and no pressure issues. Next to the Keith Cast bullets, the 270gr Speer is the most accurate in our .44's and the one load I would use for everything....except self defense against 2 legged varmints. 


The biggest issue with the 240's is driving them too fast and then hitting bone up close on heavier game, but otherwise should be solid performers for you. As far as conventional controlled expansion bullets go, they are at or near the top without going into the partitioned custom bullets. If your TC likes 'em you don't give up anything to the 270 untill you get into Elk sized critters, heavy coated critters, and critters with really thick hides. For Deer and smaller stuff, the 240 is probably perfect if you tend to drive them hard.


For double duty? LOL!!
A spare speedloader filled with Cor-Bon 44spl DPX.
Plenty of steam for Bambi, but absolutely controllable and performs nicely within the confines of the FBI protocols.
Better yet, a mid sized 9mm carried while hunting. 
I am not a fan of full house 44 hunting loads for SD for lots of reasons, but the best load is always the one in the gun when it's desperately needed.

There is no predicting what one handgun will like more than any other.
If you get lucky and find one load several like, count your blessings.LOL!!
The closest I have ever seen was the Sierra 210, as it seems to always do well, or phenominal, over a stiff load of Blue dot.
Darn things will grenade on deer up close though, so count on losing the shoulder roast if you don't hold on the Lungs, and look for the bullet under the hide on the off side if you do.

Have you tried the Barnes XPB 200gr yet?
Either the TC will love 'em or hate 'em. 
For a mouse to moose/one does all, it's the closest thing there is...if your wallet can handle the strain. LOL!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## dingeryote (Apr 10, 2012)

jdc123 said:


> Yote, I've been eyeing that Keith bullet but your experience with the Speer has got me thinking. I think for my purposes a heavy hollow point would be fine, as our deer usually top out at 200 lbs and that's rare.



Good modern Hollow points are miles ahead of where they were just 10 years ago.
It used to be they would blow up if driven too hard, or fail to expand at all if the sump got plugged a little.
Heavy Cast bullets with a nice wide meplat never failed and still don't, but the newer controlled expansion pistol bullets are getting darn reliable with really forgiving terminal performance envelopes. Any of the top end 200-240gr hp's from Speer, Hornady,Nosler should do fine on Bambi these days. If you consider the Barnes XPB's it's darn near a guarantee LOL!!

Really, we all can thank the Muzzleloader crowd, for pushing the bullet makers to design a more forgiving velocity envelope into thier hunting bullets. 

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## jdc123 (Apr 10, 2012)

Dingeryote, I've been trying to rep you for all this ballistic goodness but I can't, so thanks for all the good info and keep it coming.


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## jdc123 (Apr 10, 2012)

Shoerfast, glad to know there are still some Contender devotees out there. When I was a teenager back in the 80s my Daddy and I had a Super 14 in .223 and a custom 14 in .444 that was reamed out from a .44 mag. The .444 would clover-leaf 4 shots at a hundred yards and the .223 was scary accurate, I mean like more accurate than most rifles. All with handloads, of course.


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## ShoerFast (Apr 10, 2012)

RandyMac said:


> This is my baby, a Virginian Dragoon in .44 Mag.



Is that some lead hardware from some years back, in the lower portion of that round?


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## RandyMac (Apr 11, 2012)

Can't hide anything from you Shoe. That is a .32 H&R Mag bullet, I sawed through it with a Remington Super 754.

I've handloaded for the .44 since '78, bullets have progressed since then. I had a general purpose round using a 250 Kieth over 19.5 grains of 2400, while it wasn't true high velocity, it didn't bounce off. Another favorite was the Speer 225 grain JSWHP over a case full of 296 or H110, it would blow the nose off in pieces, but didn't expand.


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## ShoerFast (Apr 11, 2012)

dingeryote said:


> Shoe,
> 
> The BC for the 270 is .193. BC for the 240 DCHP is .175.
> It wont make much of a difference untill you get to lobbing bullets past 125yds or so.
> ...



Thanks Yotie, 

I have not tried the Barns bullets. Although I have heard some good things . I am somewhat apprehensive about getting friendly with the lead free idea.

Next trip to the bullet store will have some 270s DCs in the cart. Really a no-brainer for somewhat shock-proof bull elk. With the BC difference between the 270s and 240s will seem a wash with the difference in ramming speed, when it comes to hold/over - drop at distance.

Is H-110 still a good choice for case capacity and the 270s ? (*Star - line* brass)


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## RandyMac (Apr 11, 2012)

I'm guessin' H110 would be good, it can stand to be compressed some.


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## ShoerFast (Apr 11, 2012)

RandyMac said:


> Can't hide anything from you Shoe. That is a .32 H&R Mag bullet, I sawed through it with a Remington Super 754.
> 
> I've handloaded for the .44 since '78, bullets have progressed since then. I had a general purpose round using a 250 Kieth over 19.5 grains of 2400, while it wasn't true high velocity, it didn't bounce off. Another favorite was the Speer 225 grain JSWHP over a case full of 296 or H110, it would blow the nose off in pieces, but didn't expand.



Surprising how little damage bullets do to saw-chain.

19.5 of 2400 is a fair load for lead with out a gas check. Your taxing a lead removal system before that.

As hot as I ever routinely ran 2400 was 24 grains under a 240 JHP. As my go-2 load for a Ruger Redhawk.


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## RandyMac (Apr 11, 2012)

24 of 2400 under a 240 is a boomin' good load.

I owned a few Ruger revolvers, a couple Supers, one with the 10.5 inch barrel, it shot hard and straight.
I packed a short barreled Redhawk around for a few years, it had the gold bead front and V notch, a good heavy revolver. I traded it for the Dragoon. It has a very high degree craftsmanship, it's fit, finish and features exceed any of the Rugers, well except the safety.


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## dingeryote (Apr 11, 2012)

ShoerFast said:


> Thanks Yotie,
> 
> I have not tried the Barns bullets. Although I have heard some good things . I am somewhat apprehensive about getting friendly with the lead free idea.
> 
> ...




H110 absolutely! Starline has an internal capacity about between Winchester and Federal for most lots it seems, but absolutely work up starting with Hodgdons published data. I wont post my load, but you'll get there and maybe past, before pressure signs start showing up and erratic SD and ES start to register on the Chrono. 1400fps should be easy in the T/C and I suspect 1500 wouldn't be closer.
CCI Magnum primers, and a heavy roll crimp are a MUST with H110 IME. You'll get lower SD's and ES if you do.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## jdc123 (Apr 15, 2012)

Just to correct something I posted previously, the Hunter just has a Super Blackhawk hammer, it has a lower spur than other single actions, but not quite the same as a Bisley.


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## ft. churchill (Apr 16, 2012)

That super blackhawk is "blowed up". About like a poulan wild thing modded to run high rpm's & run lean on straight gas.


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## ShoerFast (Apr 16, 2012)

jdc123 said:


> Shoerfast, glad to know there are still some Contender devotees out there. When I was a teenager back in the 80s my Daddy and I had a Super 14 in .223 and a custom 14 in .444 that was reamed out from a .44 mag. The .444 would clover-leaf 4 shots at a hundred yards and the .223 was scary accurate, I mean like more accurate than most rifles. All with handloads, of course.



T/C worthy to post a picture of in a Blackkawk thread?

This is the Super 14" .223 Rem. Contender with a 2 ~ 6X Busshnell pointing the way.
If you can hold it, it is a true sub-zero minute pistol. 
Kind of fun with Nolser NBT 40s and a full case of Benchmark powder.
But surprised me when Serria 55gr SPBTs (hunting/deep-curls) track a margin better throttled back a little with Benchmark! 
Very economical gun to shoot! 
I have a .44 Mag barrel for this one as well.







Not sure if I posted this picture before, sort of fits since a chainsaw has been mentioned. A Wild-thinggy is an over-kill for this project. We love over-kill!

This project takes about a half a dozen cuts for the pistol rest, and a couple more cuts for each set of wooden wedges for elevation shims. Set an old glove in the 'V' and it will help part frog-fur working up a pistol load!


.


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## ft. churchill (Apr 16, 2012)

Randy mac that has to be the nicest Blackhawk I can recall seeing. Very tasteful deep engraving. 

Shoerfast, love your pistol rest, I'll be lookin' for some cottonwood down along the river to make myself's one. I've got one of those plastic ones, but the weight of the wood will be nice, 'sides the one of a kind factor is over the top.


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## RandyMac (Apr 16, 2012)

Blackhawk?
Go wash your mouth out.
:hmm3grin2orange:


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## ft. churchill (Apr 17, 2012)

Sorry randy mac, I went back and saw it was a Virginian dragoon. It is still a beautiful hand gun. I noticed several things different now that I looked closer. Who makes this pistol?


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## RandyMac (Apr 17, 2012)

It was made by Interarms in Midland Virginia. Mine was made in 1981 and was engraved at the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, as a class project to raise funds. There were only 15 engraved in that pattern.
It is an interesting piece, recessed muzzle like a target rifle, the case heads are fully enclosed like S&W used to do. Dimensions are similar to the Super Blackhawk and has the traditional 4 clicks to cock like a Colt.


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## jdc123 (Apr 17, 2012)

ShoerFast said:


> T/C worthy to post a picture of in a Blackkawk thread?
> 
> This is the Super 14" .223 Rem. Contender with a 2 ~ 6X Busshnell pointing the way.
> If you can hold it, it is a true sub-zero minute pistol.
> ...


Now why didn't I think of that?


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## ft. churchill (Apr 17, 2012)

Randy mac I was noticing that the grip is more bisley style than mine, but not quite as much as a true bisley grip and I like that alot. Best of both worlds. My super blackie is a 1963 with the old type four click action. The new actions with the transfer bar just dont feel right, kinda like a Homelite or Mcculloch with plastic!


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## cuttingintime (Apr 27, 2012)

Congrats on your new hunter. I would like to add one to my collection, I use a super red hawk with a lepo 2x. Use it to keep doe heard in check.


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