How fast to reload a Ruger Blackhawk?

[mannyrock]

  This is a somewhat specious question, but has anyone ever timed themselves to see how fast they can eject empties and reload a Blackhawk (.38/357), from a standing position, without the use of a bench or table?  Just curious.

  My friend has a Single Six in .22LR and it seemed to take forever to reload.

Mannyrock

[BlkHawk73]

  Never bothered.  Not about speed is it?   Never been in any situation where I needed to rush.

[Badnews Bob]

Nope I haven't, If I wanna reload fast thar be double actions and auto loaders. Don't need more than one or two for four legged critters and that's what the Hawks are for.

[Lloyd Smale]

once saw jim taylor do it and he was about as fast as i am with a speed loader and a da gun. he actually used to shoot ppc with a single action gun!  I guess for me using a sa gun hunting if i cant kill it with 5 shots its time to go back to a rifle. What i will do is sort of a tactical reload. After i shoot at something if i feel i have time ill replace the spent rounds in the gun especially if im going to be doing any tracking.

[DanChamberlain]

It's sorta why the baddies in days gone buy, carried two or more guns.  Besides...slowly reloading while your opponent is bleeding on the saloon floor, all the while scanning the crowd for any further dangers exhibits a certain panache.

Dan

[Scibaer]

i thought of that same thing, when i got my first SA.
 i can reload purty quick with my double action and a speed loader, and i wondered how fast i could get it done with my ruger new vaquero
after figuring out the most efficient way and them getting someone to accurately time me, it occured to me that : 1 im not that fast 2: i dont need to be.

 thats not what a single action are  about, for fast reloads i will use my double action. and thinking about it, i have never needed to reload fast and get more rounds downrange , hunting or otherwise

[mannyrock]

 Scibaer,

    You ran the test and timed it.  How long did it take?  :-)

Mannyrock 

[bilmac]

One advantage of a SA is that it's fairly easy to stick in just a round or two whenever there is a lull in the action. I figure on finding some cover as fast as possible if I ever get into a fight with a SA in my hands. If you can reload after every two rounds, you will always have a fully loaded gun.

[bilmac]

One thing I did when I was cowboy shooting was to put a little bevel on the inside of the rims of the cases I used. That made reloading easier as I picked them out with a fingernail rather than having to use the ejector.

[Frank V]

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

[mannyrock]

  Well, Jeez,

      I can see that nobody is going to fess-up here and tell me the time it takes them to reload,  even though I'll bet lots of you have time it.  :-)

      I'll bet the cowboy shooters know it down to a tenth of a second.

 Best,

Mannyrock

[bilmac]

I wouldn't be too sure about the cowboy shooters. I participated for a few years and never reloaded as part of the competition. Too big a safety issue I suppose. That's part of the reason I stopped, along with the fact that the only time any club would shoot was Sunday morning.  I decided that while getting out and shooting your guns was good,  to a point, most of the clubs are so fanatical about safety that they were training very bad combat habits.

I would say that you may have a hard time finding anybody that has timed himself, folks just won't consider a SA as a serious combat tool anymore. Everybody is into spray and pray.

[DanChamberlain]

Manny

I've never timed it.  Never felt the need.  I don't select a SA revolver to carry, if I think I'm gonna need a quick reload. 

Dan

[S.B.]

Ever use speed strips for this? They are available in many calibers now.
Steve

[Scibaer]

without trying real hard, i can reload all 6 rounds into my blackhawk from my coat pocket in 14 seconds.
from a cylinder of empties. thats not fast, but fast enough for what i do.
not fast enough to reload, and fire on a charging bear, or guy from 10 yards maybe.
but fast enough to get the cylinder charged for hunting..
i found it I was actually slower with my new vaquero in .357 mag then i was with my blackhawk in .45 colt
 smaller cartridges to handle maybe. i could reload in about 18 seconds, at my best.
with my double action and a speed loader ? i could time that, but i'm sure is real quick

[Glanceblamm]

Loading the thing was not so much a problem for myself as was the unloading, or punching out the emptys with a slightly short rod. My hand & eye got coordinated though as I can now automatically advance the cylinder just enough for say .010 of that head stamp to hang up on the cylinder frame with the ejector rod bottomed out. With just a subtle movement of the cylinder, the empty is then resting in my hand with all six being done much quicker than it took to type this.

Coat pocket loading is fast but I have long arms and use the crossdraw rigs so if I have those belt loops full, it is very fast also.

I have taken two diff sil's out shooting and in both cases would look over at them after what seemed to be an eternity (prob 35 sec) to see what the hey they were doing during this unloading-reloading so I would imagine that all of us who shoot on a regular basis are at or under that 14 sec mark as said by Scibaer.

[mannyrock]

 Thanks for the info guys.

Mannyrock

[Old Fart]

Well since Uncle Arthur moved into my joints it takes me forever.
Used to be able to do it in a fairly short time.

[Scibaer]

my blackhawk is not indexed like my vaquero is
 with that i turn the cylinder to the next chamber , then turn it back slightly and the cylinder will stop at the right spot and i can knock out the empty with the rod without issue. the blackhawk, has a shorter ejector rod and the cylinder does not index
 i have to slide the rod pretty darn quick to get the case to pop out, but the real trouble is the cylinder has no stop so i need to take a bit of care to get in lined up just right, at the sweet spot.
 that cuts into the total reload time, but handling the smaller 357 cases of the vaquero takes more time to reload the empty cylinder
 i dont know why the blackhawk cant be indexed like the vaquero
 like i said though, i dont worry to much about 'gunfighter' reloading.
i do think that reloading the .22  single six would take longer then reloading for a bigger cartridge gun , atleast for me, fiddling with those small cases takes time..
 i do have a heritage rough rider in .22 LR that i could time myself with ...

[Mike in Virginia]

It ain't how fast you can do it, but how you look while you're doing it.  Practice it enough, and any observer will recognize that you are at home with a SA. 

You will never, never need more than six 45LC to complete any chore you might take on.  Carry some extra rounds, though, you you might want to finish more than one chore.

[Brett]

Oh, about 6 seconds using a "speed loader"(i.e.; second cylinder already stoked).   

[Frank V]

A couple of years ago I qualified with my SA & although we didn't actually time the reloads I was quite a ways behind the autos, & just a little behind those using speed loaders in a revolver. My hits were as centered as anyone else's. You can work a SA very fast & still get good hits using your off thumb to recock the gun after firing. Using that method you don't have to reposition your shooting hand after every shot either.  I carry a SA a lot in the hills (read that to mean at least twice a week) & am pretty familiar with them. If 5 .45s won't stop a bad guy you have a real problem, however drugs & bad guys friends will add problems to your defense. If carrying a SA for defense you really need to watch your shots there is no spray & pray allowed. Spray & praying will loose a gunfight using an auto too, that's been proven. Mindset, skill, coolness, determination, will be deciding factors in almost any confrontation. A high level of skill will impart confidence into a situation that cannot be faked & it will be perceived by the bad guy.
  A suggested reading on the subject is No Second Place Winner, by Bill Jordan. Bill spent over 20 years with the Border Patrol & a couple as a combat Marine in WW2. He knows what he is talking about with weapons skill.
Frank

[S.B.]

I own a first edition copy of Jordon's book and don't remember much talk about single action handguns? As I recall most of the written word was about holsters and grips he designed and the S&W model 19 he wore. I watched Jordon's act in person and saw him hit aspirins at ranges I'd never attempt but, he did kill a fellow Border Patrol agent while demostrating his fast draw skills? No intention to disrespect the man just trying to put things in perspective.
Steve

[Greeenriver]

  Well, Jeez,

      I can see that nobody is going to fess-up here and tell me the time it takes them to reload,  even though I'll bet lots of you have time it.  :-)

      I'll bet the cowboy shooters know it down to a tenth of a second.

 Best,

Mannyrock

Well, I shoot Cowboy Action a lot, and to be truthful, I've never timed myself reloading a SA, In Cowboy shooting, there's no need to know how fast you can reload a SA. The ocasional stage requiring a reload is simple, pull the gun, open the gate and add the 6th round, and your good to go. The times I've used a SA for a defensive gun, I did like the fact that I could reload one or two rounds as they were used without dumping the rest of the loaded rounds as would happen with a DA revolver. Years ago, back in the early 70's, I carried a SAA in 45 Colt as a duty wepon untill I could save enough money to purchase a DA revolver. Never felt underguned with it then, and still don't.

Greeenriver

[Keith L]

This is the second comment about reloading a round or two when using a gun as a defensive weapon.  The average shooter looses all fine motor coordination in a gunfight, and most of the time has no idea how many rounds have been fired.  Police combat training has the mag dropped and replaced with a full one any time the shooter can to make sure that live ammo is available.  For 99.9% of shooters reloading a single action under the extreme stress of a defensive situation is hardly possible, and most of the ammo will wind up on the ground.  Double action revolvers with speed loaders are better, but the gross motor movements that allow replacing a mag in an automatic the the least problematic of all.

Don't get me wrong: I love my single action pistols.  But for defensive use I will take my Glock any day.

[Lloyd Smale]

I agree and disagree. I too doubt if very many civilians in a gun fight would have the presents of mind to reload a single action under fire or do a tactical reload of any kind but I doubt if they would ever need to. I would have to guess that 99percent of self defense shootings that no more then two rounds are ever fired. I would feel perfectly safe with a single action for defense. Now if i was going into battle or was a police officer i would think differently.

This is the second comment about reloading a round or two when using a gun as a defensive weapon.  The average shooter looses all fine motor coordination in a gunfight, and most of the time has no idea how many rounds have been fired.  Police combat training has the mag dropped and replaced with a full one any time the shooter can to make sure that live ammo is available.  For 99.9% of shooters reloading a single action under the extreme stress of a defensive situation is hardly possible, and most of the ammo will wind up on the ground.  Double action revolvers with speed loaders are better, but the gross motor movements that allow replacing a mag in an automatic the the least problematic of all.

Don't get me wrong: I love my single action pistols.  But for defensive use I will take my Glock any day.

[44 Man]

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

[yooper77]

Speed not a care in my world.

I would use my Ruger new model Blackhawk convertible 5 1/2" barrel in 45 Colt/45 ACP.  Below is an article and company site that makes a conceal carry holster for single actions.

http://www.gunblast.com/Mernickle.htm

http://www.mernickleholsters.com/bm_ccsys.html

yooper77

[S.B.]

Speed not a care in my world.

I would use my Ruger new model Blackhawk convertible 5 1/2" barrel in 45 Colt/45 ACP.  Below is an article and company site that makes a conceal carry holster for single actions.

http://www.gunblast.com/Mernickle.htm

http://www.mernickleholsters.com/bm_ccsys.html

yooper77

How's this relate to speed in reloading?
Steve

[yooper77]

Speed not a care in my world.

I would use my Ruger new model Blackhawk convertible 5 1/2" barrel in 45 Colt/45 ACP.  Below is an article and company site that makes a conceal carry holster for single actions.

http://www.gunblast.com/Mernickle.htm

http://www.mernickleholsters.com/bm_ccsys.html

yooper77

How's this relate to speed in reloading?
Steve

Umm this part does.

Speed not a care in my world.
yooper77