Anyone here with a 10.5" Super Blackhawk?

[.450Marlin]

 Hey Guys,

  I've been on a bit of a handgun kick lately, and am looking at adding another one I currently own a Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk that I picked up used for a good price. I like the gun, but it has proven to be a pain in the shooting department; recoil with 180gr loads is not objectionable per say, but the 'torque' of the cartridge, coupled with the small, narrow, and sharply-checkered grips makes my shooting hand smart in very few rounds - a cylinder's worth, and I've had enough . I've spent some time on a fruitless search for a good aftermarket grip; according to Ruger themselves, this particular gun uses the same frame as the New Vaquero (which my local dealer says he was been unable to find grips for also). Why Ruger has fiddled with the frame sizes here I don't know. I do know that it makes things frustrating on my end   I've even contacted Hogue to see if they make anything that might fit; so far, no response.

  That brings me to my current question. I've been perusing Ruger's catalogue, and noticed they offer a nice looking Super Blackhawk with 10.5" barrel and square trigger guard. For the work I intend to do (longer range plinking, possibly some hunting down the road) this might well be a better setup overall. I'll probably be sticking with iron sights, and perhaps the extra heft will help tame some of the 'sting'. Either way, according to Hogue, they do make grips for this frame I'm actually thinking about trading my Anniversary model in on one of these, though perhaps that is unwise I'll be checking in with my dealer shortly to see if he can order one of these, and what he'd have to charge for it. I just figured I'd stop in here to see if anyone had one of these buggers, and how much they like or don't like it.

Kind Regards,

~450 Marlin~

[Ladobe]

I hunted big game for a few years in the early-mid 80's with Ruger Super Blackhawks, both 7 1/2 and 10 inch.   Since I was already shooting way heavier recoiling/torquing handcannons than the piddly 44's, recoil/torque was not a concern for me even with the factory grips on these revolvers.   I did have David Wayland make custom grips for them, but he made them for all of my SA's and that was just for looks.   The extra weight of the longer barrel may help you some with recoil/torque, but not enough to make up for what I consider the bigger disadvantage of the longer barrel.   It is a royal pain in the butt to carry in the field hunting.    Too awkward/heavy for a hip holster if you're going to hike tall mountains all day IMO, so I started out with an across-the-chest bandoleer for it.   Nearly knocked myself out getting it out on the first deer that I jumped out of its day bed.   Went to a sling carry, which was better, but I still preferred the 7 1/2 in a cross draw hip holster for hunting.   The extra barrel length didn't make enough difference ballistically at open sight ranges to be worth its trouble either.     Revolver was fine for bear, mule deer and even elk with well placed shots. 

BTW, if you are having trouble with torque in the 44's, the square trigger guard will not be your friend either.   It is a finger getter without good shooting technique.

[mauser98us]

Had one in the eighties.Was gonna get into metalics,but found the revolver unwieldy.Hell if your gonna have something that long and cunbersome,might as well pack a rifle

[45-70.gov]

i  like hogue  grips  best   BUT  not on  my superblack  hawk

i was going to get some  packmyer  i  liked it on  my old 357  black hawk

but before  i did  i sanded  the  hogue grips  down  until  i was happy

BTW  i sanded  them with  a hole saw
left a nice rough  texture....ugly   but  feels great ...tho still a little big


10.5  is getting to be a rifle without a stock
7.5   is  even  long


my  5 inch smith 629 44mag is my favorite.....with sanded down  hogues

[LONGTOM]

I have two of them in my collection.
A standard SB and a IMSA 1 of 500.
Like others have stated, I hate the square trigger guard.
I did put a set of finger groove packmyers on the standard SB and it is a lot more user friendly.
Still a little big for my hands but the grooves makes it no problem to hang on to.

I like my Blackhawks better!


LONGTOM 

[.450Marlin]

 Thanks guys, I appreciate the honest replies. I suppose I may have to look at the 7.5" version now, though I'd like to get both side by side for comparison's sake. I really do like my Anniversary, but I hate to get shooting gloves just to be comfortable with it; if the damn thing was made on the real Blackhawk frame, we probably wouldn't be discussing this I've got a pretty good local price on the 10" model ($539) but it is out of stock currently, but I haven't checked on the 7.5" yet (should be the same price) at any rate. I simply like the fact you can get aftermarket grips for the SBH, plus it'd be nice having a gun I'm not afraid to take into the field; the nice, shiny Anniversary wasn't really designed for that I also really like the look of the square trigger guard...kindda reminds me of the 'Old West' Remington and Colt revolvers of the early 1800s We'll see what happens, but either way, I appreciate all the input.

Kind Regards,

~450 Marlin~

P.S. Next week I should be picking up a basic P95R15 9mm; got a brand new price of $310 on it, so I could not pass that up Hopefully it will be a good shooter too.

[Ken ONeill]

Well now, don't be too fast in adopting anyone else's truth as necessarily what might be the truth for you. It might be, but it might not.
I've owned 3 10 1/2" Super Blackhawks, and shot all 3 extensively in IHMSA metallic silhouette matches. Two were the original blued tapered barrel versions. The third was the later (1982 - ish?) stainless bull barrel version with the screw on front sight. I was very very pleased with all of them. I later had a T'SOB installed on the stainless version and scoped it for hunting, as well as did some other custom work to it.
Complaints about the SBH square back trigger guard are common. However, I love them, even when shooting full charge loads one handed from the Creedmore position. But I should say that I have a LOT of experience with the Supers. I've sold the 3 10 1/2" versions along the way, but I still have three 7 1/2" versions, once again 2 in stock blue form and 1 in stainless custom form. These have all been used in competetive shooting and hunting.
In fact, when I first began to acquire and shoot FA revolvers nearly 20 years ago, I HATED the FA grip, because I was so used to the Supers.
Now, FOR ME, a Pachmayr or Hogue rubber on a Super is a skin grabbing, blister causing pain machine, and I won't use one. That's my truth, not necessarily yours.

With regard to barrel lengths, I and every other competitor I knew found the extra sight radius of the 10 1/2" barrel to be an aid in hitting targets, particularly at longer ranges. That's why they were so popular in silhouette matches, before the dominance of the FA's.

I believe that the Ruger Super Blackhawk has been the best value in hunting and general shooting handguns for 50 years. The longer grip than that provided on the Blackhawk is an improvement for most people; however, people will argue about the square back trigger guard forever. You now know my opinion. ( The SBH Hunter of course has a round back trigger guard).

The Blackhawk 50th Anniversary Models like you now have uses the original XR3 gripframe, like a Colt SAA, rather than the later and slightly larger XR3 RED gripframe adopted later by Ruger. Why did Ruger use it again for the .357 and .44 Anniversaries as well as the Lipsey's .44 Specials ? Because people asked for them... for nostalgia, etc. Smooth wooden grips to replace the checkered plastic on the Anniversary Models are available from the Ruger website, by the way.

I suggest that you attempt to handle and shoot if possible, examples of both the 7 1/2" version and the 10 1/2" version to find what suits your personal taste. I have found both to be excellent.

[Old English]

I got the 50th anniversary a couple of weeks back. I bought it as my knowledgeable revolver owning friends all said the frame is nicer to shoot. I had never shot a 44 mag handgun in my life, only a Marlin lever rifle. Back to the story, a friend of mine has about 20 44mags, guess he likes a 44 Mag revolver. These run the gamete from colt, SW, various Rugers. I shot them all, including the Superblackhawk and my 50th anniversary model. I can honestly say that I preferred mine. My first few shots I held the 50th very tightly, this caused me to feel it in my hands and forearms, as I say, first time to shoot one. After about 20 shots I was holding the revolver more lightly and allowing it to roll up as it should. I went on to shoot about 80 rounds out of it, mixture of 180gr and 240gr, all magnum loadings.
If I was you, I would try adjusting your grip on the gun and allow it to roll up. This diminshes felt recoil enormously, accuracy was no issue at all. I love this gun, I feel I can shoot it as much as I want to without the pain you are talking about. I did not care so much for the superblackhawk, that squared trigger guard did not suit me.

[Mallard57]

Hi,
I've had a 10.5" SBH for years. I bought it to shoot IHMSA years ago, I really haven't shot it much since. A couple of years ago I had a gunsmith shorten the barrel to 6", no regrets there. I had it out recently and found that the sights don't give me the day light I'd like, the rear blade notch seems to be rather narrow. I've been considering swapping out the rear blade or getting the top strap drilled and tapped for a scope mount, I really have enjoyed my Ultra Dot on my MK III.  If I was doing it again and I wasn't shooting IHMSA the barrel would be 7.5".
I've got a set of Hogue laminated grips on my pistol, I can't say I like them that much but, they beat the heck out of the stock grips concerning recoil. I've got fairly large hands and the Hogues are big for me.
I got one of the new Lipsey's .44 Specials the other day and shot it some. Initially it reminded me that I'm not a huge single action revolver fan but after plugging away at it for a while it grew on me, I think we're friends now.
                                               Good Luck and Have Fun with Your Choices!
                                                               Jeff