Ruger SA Convertibles

[greener]

Wandered by the Richmond gun show yesterday just to look around and stock up on reloading supplies. I did a good job of just looking at the gun dealers until I found a Blackhawk .45 convertible at about $80 under the local dealer prices. Will power conquered won't power and I now have three Ruger SA convertibles: single six, .357/9mm and .45 colt/.45 ACP.

Spent the afternoon with the 3 revolvers. I warmed up the the single six and did reasonably well when I stopped shooting Centurion 40gr SV's and started shooting Xpert22s.

The 5.5" .45 shot very accurately at 15 yards with 260gr Georgia Arms colt "Cowboy loads." When I switched to 200 gr HP colt "Deer Killer" from Georgia Arms, the rounds went low and left but had consistent groups. When I switched to .45 ACP (230 gr lrn) I got some scatter. Also noticed that the .45 ACP cylinder seems to want shorter OAL that the loads that work fine in my semi-autos.

With the 4 5/8" .357 I could to a fair job of punching the center of the target out with 158gr lswc .38 special at 15 yards. 125 gr lrn 9mm rounds gave a lot of scatter. When I switched back to .38's, I went back to target center.

Ruger switched from the rosewood grips to a checkered rubber grips. The single six and the .357 have the rosewood grips. the .45 has the rubber grips. I don't like the rubber grips, especially when shooting snappy rounds.

The .357/9mm does not shoot 9mm nearly as well as .357/.38 special. Bullet size, distance to barrel, shooter? I'm not sure about the .45 ACP. I've heard your get about the same accuracy as .45 colt. I didn't, but I need more trigger time.

[bearandoldman]

Wandered by the Richmond gun show yesterday just to look around and stock up on reloading supplies. I did a good job of just looking at the gun dealers until I found a Blackhawk .45 convertible at about $80 under the local dealer prices. Will power conquered won't power and I now have three Ruger SA convertibles: single six, .357/9mm and .45 colt/.45 ACP.

Spent the afternoon with the 3 revolvers. I warmed up the the single six and did reasonably well when I stopped shooting Centurion 40gr SV's and started shooting Xpert22s.

The 5.5" .45 shot very accurately at 15 yards with 260gr Georgia Arms colt "Cowboy loads." When I switched to 200 gr HP colt "Deer Killer" from Georgia Arms, the rounds went low and left but had consistent groups. When I switched to .45 ACP (230 gr lrn) I got some scatter. Also noticed that the .45 ACP cylinder seems to want shorter OAL that the loads that work fine in my semi-autos.

With the 4 5/8" .357 I could to a fair job of punching the center of the target out with 158gr lswc .38 special at 15 yards. 125 gr lrn 9mm rounds gave a lot of scatter. When I switched back to .38's, I went back to target center.

Ruger switched from the rosewood grips to a checkered rubber grips. The single six and the .357 have the rosewood grips. the .45 has the rubber grips. I don't like the rubber grips, especially when shooting snappy rounds.

The .357/9mm does not shoot 9mm nearly as well as .357/.38 special. Bullet size, distance to barrel, shooter? I'm not sure about the .45 ACP. I've heard your get about the same accuracy as .45 colt. I didn't, but I need more trigger time.

Was it Josey Wales that said, you going to pull them pistols or whistle Dixie?????

[Bullseye]

What is the diameter of your 9mm rounds? The .355-.356"dia. bullet may not shoot well in your convertible pistol. If you reload them, try a .357-.358" dia. sized 9mm bullet.

R,
Bullseye

[bearandoldman]

What is the diameter of your 9mm rounds? The .355-.356"dia. bullet may not shoot well in your convertible pistol. If you reload them, try a .357-.358" dia. sized 9mm bullet.

R,
Bullseye

I was wondering about that, I know 9's are just a little smaller and they may not get spinning properly to stabilize.

[greener]

The bullet diameter on the box was .356. Haven't mic'd them so I don't have any clue on variability. They seem to work well in my M&P9. The consensus seems to be that the smaller diameter doesn't work too well in the slightly bigger bore. I did a quick search and didn't come up with anyone making 9mm in other than .355-.356" diameter. I also haven't tried any commercial ammo to see if it is my reloads creating the problem. Seemed like a good idea at the time and I'm only out a few bucks if the 9mm cylinder doesn't get used.

The .45 ACP is supposedly the same size as .45 colt, so that shouldn't be a problem. Will spend more time on that after I get my OAL right for the cylinder. Didn't check that before I went toddling off to the range and should have. My .45 ACP loads aren't heavy, but the size and design of the Blackhawk really give much less recoil than my 1911. If the .45 ACP cylinder turns out to be a disappointment, I can chalk it up to experience and keep on shooting .45 colt.

The SA Rugers make for a pleasant afternoon of shooting.

As far as going toe-to-toe with Josey: I wish I was in the land of cotton...

[Bullseye]

I had the same problem when shooting cast bullets out of my Browning Highpower, went with some .357-.358 round nose cast bullets and the accuracy problems corrected themselves. Some barrels are slightly larger diameter and the larger sized bullets seal and spin better for stabilization. When you're using a combo pistol it only makes sense that the barrel is going to be capable of firing the slightly larger diameter bullets.

R,
Bullseye

[greener]

Sounds like it would be worth a try. it would take me longer to set up the press than it would to knock out enough rounds to test. All I've been shooting in .357-.358 is 158 gr. I'd guess I'd need to drop down to a lighter bullet, which would shorten the seating depth. Any concerns over powder type? Fast burn? Slow burn?

[Bullseye]

I just checked, the cast bullets I have for 9mm are 125gr round nose. I loaded them up with 3.5 gr Bullseye powder. I bought the bullets back several years ago, when I was still living in California from a distributor located in Arizona called Billy Bullets. http://www.billybullets.com/ I just looked at his website and they don't have the 125rn anymore but they do have 115rn. If you want to go a little heavier, they offer a 135gr round nosed bullet. But, any distributor's hard cast bullets would work just as good as these, so you don't necessarily have to go with Billy Bullets.

They are hard cast bullets designated as 9mm/38 sized at .357 and .358 diameter. Since you're using the reloading dies for 9mm Luger, the only adjustments beyond your normal settings are to the seating die for proper bullet depth.

Hope this helps.

R,
Bullseye

[bearandoldman]

I just checked, the cast bullets I have for 9mm are 125gr round nose. I loaded them up with 3.5 gr Bullseye powder. I bought the bullets back several years ago, when I was still living in California from a distributor located in Arizona called Billy Bullets. http://www.billybullets.com/ I just looked at his website and they don't have the 125rn anymore but they do have 115rn. If you want to go a little heavier, they offer a 135gr round nosed bullet. But, any distributor's hard cast bullets would work just as good as these, so you don't necessarily have to go with Billy Bullets.

They are hard cast bullets designated as 9mm/38 sized at .357 and .358 diameter. Since you're using the reloading dies for 9mm Luger, the only adjustments beyond your normal settings are to the seating die for proper bullet depth.

Hope this helps.

R,
Bullseye

Those bulets should work fin, the normal 9's are usually .356.

You just have to by bullets sized to .358 like for .38 Special but lighter than the normal .38 loads. I use 138 grain?? wadcutters loaded with the bult 1/16 out of the case with 3.5? grains of Green Dot in MMy 50th Anniversary Blackhawk.

[greener]

I've been real unadverturesome with my .38 special bullets. The 158 gr bullets seem to do better than lighter ones. So, those are all I have on the loading bench. Pretty much the same with 9mm. 124gr/125gr seem to work better than 115 gr I've bought, so all the 9mm I have is 125 gr. 147 gr 9mm isn't all that uncommon and I've seen load data up to 150 gr. I suppose I could SWAG a 158gr load that would leave the revolver and me intact without too much difficulty. My thoughts were with the longer round in the smaller case would I get somewhere on the pressure curve I didn't want to be. The Blackhawk is pretty sturdy and would probably take it as long as I didn't try for "oh, wow" loads.

It's about time I got out of my rut and tried some lighter .38 specials.

[Downeaster]

I noticed the problem with OAL on the ACP cylinder on my Blackhawk as well. Took me a few minutes to diagnose the problem.

I don't plan on shooting a whole bunch of ACP out of it anyway, tho I may try some "uploaded" stuff down the road. I found some recipes for "hot" ACP on another board. If I do that, I can adjust the OAL accordingly. I'll have to keep it separate from my Combat Commander fodder tho. It'd no doubt chamber it fine, but the power levels wouldn't be compatible.

[greener]

I might shoot more .45 ACP since I reload that regularly, but I probably wouldn't do hot loads. Despite the "here be dragons" warning I'd put on the on the box, it would more excitement than I want pumping them through a 1911.

The savings shooting 9mm vs .357/.38 or .45 ACP vs .45 lc aren't that much if you reload compared to significant savings if you buy commercial ammo, but I like the idea of shooting different rounds out of the same handgun. The Ruger SA's are fun way to spend an afternoon.

[greener]

I loaded 125 gr lrnfp .38 special rounds into 9mm cases using 4.3 gr W231. I also loaded .38 special casings the same. Both the 125gr loads shot pretty well in the Blackhawk. No real problems but the Lee carbide seating die (9mm) gets a tad cranky. You also have to watch the OAL.

Seems to be something worth playing with.

[Clem]

Most people have accuracy issues with the 9mm cylinder. My 9mm cylinder throats are .358", same as the .357 cylinder. That plus the .357" barrel often means accuracy issues. Loading larger lead bullets may help.

I have several .45 Colt NMBHs with .45 ACP cylinders. The .45 Colt had tight, inconsistent, strangely shaped throats. A .4525" reamer worked wonders for the accuracy. My .45 ACP cylinders were also often tight. They work better after reaming as well. One is a nice .451" and shoots military ball so well, I don't want to change it.

I also had my .45 ACP cylinders trimmed so I can shoot .45 AR. I use the same .45 AR loads in the Rugers and S&W 625. That way I don't have to fool with clips for the 625. The same loads shoot very well in both guns.

[greener]

Thanks. Will take a look at the .45 cylinders. Between family and weather I didn't have any time to take it to the range over thanksgiving. I'm not sure which bullet and loads work best yet.

Wandered through the Local Bass Pro shops for the first time today. Based on the prices I saw there, I got a real deal on the .45 convertible.