How fast to reload a Ruger Blackhawk?

[gcrank1]

SA c/w 45ACP cylinder, 45Auto magazine in mag. pouch on belt.
Open the gate, half cock, tip her up and drop the empties as you rotate,
Tip her down and thumb cartidges in from the magazine as you rotate, close the gate & go
Time, I dont know.....saw a guy do it...fastest reload on a SA I ever saw.

[mrussel]

One other thing I have found on reloading for any revolver, single actions too. A SWC tends to hang up on the chamber mouth which is usually a 90 degree angle. A slight bevel would help this without weakening the chamber. When I carry a SA for defense I load with the Fed. 225 lead SWC HP at just over 800fps ( actual chronograph) then for reloads I carry Winchester 255gr FN FP at just over 800fps (actual chronograph). The WW RNFP loads load really slickly as they are kind of pointed & really find their way into the chamber. The SA isn't my 1st choice for defense, but I find myself carrying one at times because I've been in the hills & that's what I carry there. Choice of bullet shape can really affect loading ease. Hope this is of some help.
Frank

Ive thought about just carrying my SBH sometimes,but I usually end up just strapping on the 1911 as well.

[Hank08]

Scibaer,  To time a reload, timer starts when the hammer falls on the 6th round and stops when the hammer falls on  the 7th round after your have ejected 6 empties and loaded 6 loaded rounds. Using a shot timer and subtracting the 6th shot time from the 7th will give you the exact time.  Is that how you timed the 14 sec.?  I haven't timed myself but have done whole cylinders a few times and partials often in Cowboy matches but now I'll have to time myself, after a little practice.
H08

[mrussel]

Well, I still like the 'New York' reload the best; a second gun. 
But if I wanted to do a fast reload with a single action revolver, a Blackhawk, or any Ruger would not be my first choice.  When you put any of the 'Colt' style single actions on half cock, they will align the chamber with the loading gate automatically when you roll the cylinder back against the hand.  That would be my first choice, in a model with a transfer bar, such as the Gaucho, or the Heritage Big Bore, or even the EAA Bounty Hunter.  If you are serious about it, there are people who will 'funnel' the loading chute for you to enlarge it, and yes, bevel the chambers on the cylinder.  If I were going into dangerous back country with only a single action and thought I might have to reload quickly, I would have both of those modifications done.  My 2 cts.  44 Man

Thats why I usually end up carrying my 1911 as well. My feeling is,if I need the 44 magnum,its going to be something that's coming at me and chances are it will either be chewing on me or dead before I get off all six shots. If I run into someones drug crop or some one wants to steal my stuff,or re-enact a scene from deliverance or whatever sort of situation where its going to end up in a gun fight,I have my 1911. I guess if I needed to shoot at a long distance I might go for the SBH as well as its more accurate out to a longer range.

[flatgate]

I don't know why the Blackhawk can't be indexed like the Vaquero

It can.  Simply obtain the "free spin" pawl installed on any of the Large Framed "new" Flattops.  Then you'll
also need to install the "reverse indexing pawl" which requires a precision drilled and tapped hole in the breech.

Or, one can get a PowersCustom "half cock" kit .

Or, one can weld up the hammer and cut in a half cock notch then modify the trigger so it'll "fit" in a half cock notch.
That's my favorite solution.....

flatgate

[mrussel]

I don't know why the Blackhawk can't be indexed like the Vaquero

It can.  Simply obtain the "free spin" pawl installed on any of the Large Framed "new" Flattops.  Then you'll
also need to install the "reverse indexing pawl" which requires a precision drilled and tapped hole in the breech.

Or, one can get a PowersCustom "half cock" kit .

Or, one can weld up the hammer and cut in a half cock notch then modify the trigger so it'll "fit" in a half cock notch.
That's my favorite solution.....


flatgate

Presumably "One" means "A skilled gun smith" and not "Some guy named Bubba with a Burnzomatic oxy-mapp gas torch and a Dremel tool. 

[bilmac]

Or maybe a guy might be lucky enough to find an old Ruger that had  half cock loading that hasn't been modified. Trouble with that is now you are down to 5 shots, same with the Colts.

[G8keeper]

I work in LE and have to carry a plastic gun on duty.  It works very well for what it is designed for.  Off duty it is a SW 49 in the summer and either a 65 4" or most likely my 4 5/8ths 357 blackhawk come the cooler seasons. In the early 90's I had Mitch Rosen make me a SPT holster to carry it concealed.  WHY?  Grampa taught me to shoot with a SA and I can hit with it without thinking.  Reloading has always been a discussion when I have the "what do you carry?" conversation at the gun shop or with other officers.  I have always gone back to how many rounds in an avg gun fight? 3, even though the statistics are probably flawed, and I have wone about 50% of the time in a double tap to the target on a SAFE range with a range officer. but back to the question; reload is about 20 sec from bang 6 to bang 7.  (thank God for cover) I use a Bianchi speed strip. However due to my facination with Clint I have a pouch for another matched cylinder. The 4 5/8ths retains the cylider pin against the ejector rod and it is akin to a speed loader in quickness. Don't carry it very often, it more of a discussion piece than really practical, the speed strip is alot lighter.  Do what feel right for you!
Love the discussion guys!  Keep your powder dry! 

[ronbow]

Since my SA is a Ruger Super BH in .44 mag, aslong as just one round hits the bear in the head I don't need to reload. And will have a pretty heavy club for back up. 

[bilmac]

The average number of rounds fired in gunfights is probably increasing because almost all cops and most slimeballs now carry high capacity autos and are members of the spray and pray club. That doesn't make a SA any less effective if a guy can keep his cool when there are bullets flying around at random.

[gcrank1]

As in,"shootin' straight with my 38 beats givin' jive with a 45"?
Yeah, I wish the '38' above was a '45' but it doesnt ryhme......

[Duke0313]

Had to try out of curiosity...took me 11 seconds to eject and re-load from my belt. Well, that was my best time. The first attempt actually took about 17 seconds. Now what?

[gcrank1]

Daffy Duck said,"Halt, while I adjust my accouterments".........
I think I'll give that a try.

[bilmac]

Again I say adapt the old cowboy method of gunfighting when using the SA. Fire 1 or 2 bullets, pick out the empty and put in a new one before clicking to the next chamber. If you shoot no more than 2 before topping off, you don't even have to spin the cylinder all way around. When I was cowboy action shooting, I even had cases that I had beveled the underside of the rim a bit so I could easily pick empties out with a fingernail rather than using the rod.

[44 Man]

I think the most important lesson here is to take aimed shots, and make every shot count.  In that case the old 'a gunfinght usually only lasts 3 shots' is fine.  If you get rattled and just send a bunch of rounds down range, you'll be in trouble.  The most important thing to tell yourself after the 'H##y S##t', is 'front sight', 'front sight', 'front sight'.  It works.  44 Man

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I've honestly never tried for a fast reload.  I'm usually focusing more on how quickly I can hit a target six times, or six targets once each.

I come to cartridge guns from a background in muzzle loading, so reloading a single action seems fairly quick to me.  That and I'm always saving brass so I take my time handling the empties.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Just out of curiosity, what do semi-auto guys do when they run out of ammo?

If you keep imagining yourself in worst-case scenarios you'll be buried under hundreds of pounds of extra magazines.  Heck even in the military there's a reason they don't give every grunt a SAW. 

At some point, you have to tell yourself "this should be sufficient" for whatever I might run into, and hopefully my better judgement will tell me when to get the heck out of there because I'm out-gunned.

If I'm carrying, it's for defensive purposes only, I figure I should be a speck on the horizon before I fire that 6th shot.  It would be a different story if I were an FBI agent. 

[gcrank1]

Richard Harding Davis, my favorite war correspondent (circa 1900) carried a full size dbl. action revolver. After the many engagements he was 'close to' he thought that 6 was sufficient and a reload unlikely. As right as he may have been, it is little comfort when number 7 would have saved your bacon.
After thinking about the motor skills involved under tremendous (ie, fumbling) pressure, I think the back-up gun is the best reload. Something small and unemcumbering, that you never notice is there, but with some serious loads. In the last ditch its going to be up close and personal; a snubby should be fine.