"Cowboy load" .44 shoots REALLY high.

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

ArmedBear

Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
23,171
I loaded up some 240 grain Oregon Trails LaserCast LSWC bullets in .44 Magnum brass, over 6.5 grains of IMR Trail Boss.

This should be good for about 875 fps in my Super Blackhawk, for target shooting at a local range with a velocity limit. It's also a fun load, that I could shoot all day.

They group okay, but they shoot REALLY high. I cranked the rear sight all the way down to the bottom of its travel, and it still shoots 6" high at 25 yards. The gun doesn't shoot high with regular factory .44 Magnum loads. I have also shot cast lead low-velocity .38s in my Blackhawk, with no such trouble.

I have no previous experience reloading for .44 Magnum, or any other smokeless revolvers, so I thought I'd ask here.

Anyone seen this before?

Thoughts?

Advice?
 
The longer the bullet is in the barrel the higher the gun will shoot.

This is true for heavy bullets and light slow "cowboy" loads.

The gun starts to recoil as soon as the bullet start moving (says Sir Isaac Newton).

A typical .44 mag 240gr at 1400fps gets out of the barrel a lot sooner.

I had the opposite happen to me with the Hornady 240gr load in .454 Casull @ ~1950 fps, I ran out of "up" adjustment on my SRH and it still shot about 4" low at 50 yards.
 
Change your powder charge load, higher or lower or both and keep testing. Change the weight of your bullet, or shaper of your bullet. Change your primer. Sometimes a faster, flatter bullet is better, sometimes a slower bullet is best. Keep testing.

If all else fails aim low.
 
Kludge is right, and the problem is agravated when the handgun has a long barrel. Sometimes you can bring the point-of-aim/point-of-impact together by installing a lower rear sight blade, or having a gunsmith machine off the original front sight blade, cut a slot in the ramp, and install a higher blade.

Also while it is less likely with light loads, see if the gun is rolling up in your hand during recoil, and if so try a set of Pachmayr rubber grips, or even converting to Ruger's Bisley style hand grip.
 
the problem is agravated when the handgun has a long barrel.
Click to expand...

I should have mentioned, it's one of these Super Blackhawks.
150T.jpg


I still want it for hunting and shooting 50-100 yards.

Maybe I can get a second front sight and swap them for the two different jobs I'm asking the gun to do.:)

Thank you!

This has been enlightening. I had always thought that hotter loads shoot higher, but now that you've explained it, I was thinking backwards.

Interestingly, the light loads are also displaced to the left a bit.

Would slow-moving bullets have more or less issues with rifling torque?
 
I don't know how much light-load shooting you plan to do, but check your front sight ramp to be sure the present blade isn't separate and pinned.

If altering the front sight doesn't appeal to you, considering getting a second rear sight assembly and cutting the blade down. Changing rear sights is easy, but you need a pin punch with a concave end. These are available from Brownells (www.brownells.com). Also after changing the sight(s) you'd have to zero them again, because to remove the sight you have to unscrew the elevation screw.
 
I believe the front sight assembly screws on. I'll check when I go home.

If I can get a second one, remove the sight from the base and make a larger one, I figure that I can have screw-swappable sights that should re-zero easily.

In theory, I could count rear-sight windage clicks and file the tall front sight to the right elevation so I won't have to mess with the rear elevation screw. Hmmm....:)

I also have a nice buffalo gong target made by a friend -- it has horns, eyes and is anatomically correct. I don't care to put .44 slugs through it, so I have other uses for the light loads...

That gun just screams buffalo gong, IMO.
 
I can't help you with your loading issue, but what a great gun that stainless Super Blackhawk 10.5" is!
 
Last edited:
Everyone I know who has had a 7 1/2" or better Ruger SBH has had the same complaint. I friend sent his back to Ruger for a new sight blade but it is still limited on the light bullet high velocity end. This was my solution http://www.jackweigand.com/interfs.html. I put this on my 7 1/2" SBH for the same reason. I now have two blades and can shoot lowly 44 Specials to 300 LBT with the change of blade. Total cost was $100 which included removal of the old and installation of the new. It is silver soldered on the Ruger. You have your choice of blades styles as well. Hope this helps. Bill
 
Mine's the 10 1/2" model. I think the sight might be screwed on.

Note that it's the target sight with the reverse slant on the blade, same as on a target model Ruger .22 pistol, not the standard holster sight that's on the 7 1/2" and shorter Blackhawks and Super Blackhawks.
 
If that's the case, screw it off and screw on a taller one. Ruger should sell them in different heights.
 
Just confirmed it!

It's screwed on.

Now for a call to Ruger...

Old Fuff, the gun was in semi-free-recoil, with the barrel resting on a plastic sight-in rest. So it was definitely allowed to rise freely when I fired it, though I had one hand on the grip. It did seem to shoot a bit lower when I shot it two-handed offhand, though not so much when I shot it one-handed.

So what else can you tell me about shooting a high-recoil revolver well?

I'm eager to learn whatever I can.
 
Last edited:
I haven't seen 160s, but if I can find some, I'll try them. I'll have to find a good source of lead if I need to cast them myself.

Since I'm handloading these, maybe I can tailor a "work" load and a "play" load with similar POI.

Reloading centerfires is already teaching me a lot. I'm glad I started.
 
So what else can you tell me about shooting a high-recoil revolver well?
Click to expand...

The plow-handle seen on most single action revolvers was designed to allow the revolver to roll backwards in the hand so as to position the thumb to cock the hammer for the next shot. It wasn't so bad with black powder, but smokeless has a sharper/quicker recoil, and this can cause vertical groups and high shots. Ruger's Bisley style grip was developed to reduce this "upward roll" effect, and has proved to be popular with many shooters. Relatively inexpensive Pachmayr rubber stocks for the plow handle guns also help.

And as pointed out before, a lighter bullet may come up with a point of impact you're looking for. Experimenting is half the fun. ;)
 
Do you think it's possible to bring down the POI by developing a good, consistent hold on the grips?
 
Do you think it's possible to bring down the POI by developing a good, consistent hold on the grips?
Click to expand...

You can try, because you have everything to gain and nothing to loose, and your chances are better with the lighter load(s). The problem is that the shape of the backstrap combined with the smooth wood panels are working against you. More modern double-action revolvers have a knuckle at the top of the backstrap which presses against the web of the thumb and keeps the gun from rolling. That’s part of the reason Colt came out with the original Bisley, and Bill Ruger (sort of) copied it later.
 
Do you know if anyone out there makes a wood one-piece grip that adds a little bit over the backstrap?

I have an old H&R .22 that has a grip like that, and it seems like it'd be just what the doctor ordered for the SBH Dragoon grip frame.

3236085401_752a8ac57d_o.png 3236085367_daef320d7b.png 3236085429_826788ac0b.png

The grips I've seen for the SBH, in wood or rubber, have been really big and bulky, felt wrong, and looked worse.

Is there something better out there that I haven't seen?

Thanks again for all the good info!
 
Hey, thanks everyone!

I just loaded up 50 rounds with 180 grain flatnose bullets, got things dialed in, then proceeded to plink at a gong target from a measured 90 yards. My last cylinder was 6 gongs.

That was fun!

Looks like light bullets are part of the equation. I'll have to order some of those 160s.

Thanks again!:)
 
something similar out of my Uberti SAA clone; Winchester 255gr & most 250gr leadheads shoot just a tad high @ 15 yards at indoor range at my club; switch over to Ultramax 200gr leadheads & I'm hitting @ 4" lower
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
  • Locked
Cowboy Loads
Replies
7
Views
615
DWARREN123
D
F
  • Locked
Winchester .44-40 Cowboy Loads
Replies
1
Views
666
maytom
M
T
  • Locked
Super Blackhawk shooting high for me
Replies
7
Views
534
rcmodel
R
A
  • Locked
.44 Specials from a Blackhawk .44 mag?
Replies
9
Views
5K
BCRider
BCRider
L
  • Locked
H110 loads for 44 russian
Replies
15
Views
2K
Dave T
Dave T
Back
Top