ruger blackhawk 357 mag

[marine]

  I bought one of these a few weeks ago and i just cant get any good groups with it.  I have tried Remington 125gr JSP, CCI Blazer Brass 158gr JHP, and American Eagle 158gr JSP.  At 25 yards the only ones i can keep on a paper plate were th CCI's and it was about a 6" group.  I have concentrated on my trigger control and even put fatter hogue grips on it but nothing seems to be working. 
  I shoot alot of semi-autos and can hit a soda can with them from that distance just fine.  I even shoot better with a 44 mag super blackhawk from that range.  does anyone have any advise for me?  Could it be my ammo selection?

[Tom C.]

Your case sounds a little strange to me. My Blackhawks in .357 have been very accurate.
Some things to look at:
Slug the barrel and get the groove diameter. It should be in the .357-.358” range
Measure the chamber throats. They should be about .001” larger than the barrel.
Before firing take a look at the forcing cone. It should be fairly smooth. It will probably have tool marks from the cutter. Those can easily be removed with a cutter.
After firing the gun, before you clean it, take a look at the forcing cone by removing the cylinder. The fouling should be uniform right and left and up and down. It could easily be screwed up indicating that the chambers aren’t aligning at time of firing and the bullets are being funneled into the barrel, probably deforming them in the process.
I haven’t seen the need to measure my barrels, but the chamber throats are .357” to .358” among my several .357s. The chambers are also aligning well and the forcing cones are smooth.
One thing I tend to do with all my .357s is recut the forcing cone with a 5 degree cutter. It smoothes and lengthens the cone making for a more gentle transition from the cylinder to barrel.

[drdougrx]

Have you considered sending it back to Ruger for testing??? I would...let them have a look...might get a new barrel out of the deal.

[irold]

I agree with drdougrx.  Give Ruger a call , they've always been helpfull.  Just be sure you weren't just having a bad day at the range.  Maybe have a friend ( that knows how to shoot ) try some rounds through it.  Good luck
 
regards , irold

[marine]

Thanks guys.  I do plan to have a friend of mine shoot the revolver as soon as the rain here quits.  I have my doubts that it is the revolver causing the problem since ive never heard of an inaccurate 357 blackhawk.  I dont want anyone thinking im trying to bash ruger they are one of my favorite gun companies.  Im guessing its more the factory ammo or me causing the problem.  I will take some measurements on the bore and cylinder.  The forcing cone looks very good. Just looking to wring the most accuracy out of this that i can.   

[tacklebury]

I had to return mine to Ruger.  They found some issues and replaced the barrel and both cylinders for my .45LC Convertible free of charge.    They do have pretty good CS if you get past the phone. 

[marine]

  what was the reason for your return tacklebury?  I am taking it out this afternoon to give it one last try.  My stepdad is gonna give it a few rounds downrange and see if he can do anything with it and i will also take some measurements on the cylinder and barrel.

[tacklebury]

Sounds about the same as yours.  At 15 yards, I was getting about a 2 foot group.  Tried both cylinders, tried FMJ, handloads, Lead tips, jacketed HP's and best I got was about 18" with FMJ....  I was pissed as I'd waited 22 years to finally own one like I wanted.  I called CS and they started balking and stated that it sounded like it was my shooting, but if I wanted to send it in they would review it.  I sent it and got it back in 5 days fully fixed.  They didn't give me a call or explanation, except that they had replaced all 3 parts.  Now it'll shoot 1" at 15 yards and at 30 yards, I'm still sub 3" with most loads.  My 6gr. Unique under 200 gr. RNFP leads are under 2 from a rest at 30.    So I'm quite happy.  I'd like the 70 bucks back from the shipping, but it worked out.  hehe  I did learn that if I ever do it again, my regular dealer told me never to pay for next day UPS, but to bring it to him and he'd ship it for me.  I guess from an FFL it's ok to mail it normal, so I'd give Ruger a call and let them tell you they'll cover parts if there's an issue.  They will only guarantee 1.5" at 15 yards, but as I told them, "That'll do just fine!".  Compared to what I had.  hehe

[marine]

  I have measured the cylinder throats and bore.  they came out to .358.  I am assuming this is good.  Are they supposed to measure the same?