Ruger Balckhawk in 30 carbine.

[damienph]

.30 Carbine Blackhawk

I handload for mine as well.

I haven't had great success with hardcast lead but I have had good reults with various 110gr JSPs and the 90 grain XTP.

Most of my handguns are either fixed or adjustable open sites but I do have a few that are scoped, including my .30 carbine Blackhawk. It is a very accurate revolver but the scope gives me the confidence to take coyotes past 100 yards.

 

[Tusker10mm]

Hippo Ivory is hard to come by. A great number of years ago I came upon them in a good offering so I just had to get them. Hippo's are TOUGH. In addition, they are quite hand filling as well.

I did a lot of playing around with my hand loads but then I discovered the Hornady 30 cal 100gr SJ bullets and bought a couple dozen boxes. This target photo is 4 different groups. Will do any thing I can ask around here.

 

[jski]

damienph,

How hard are your hard cast bullets, i.e., what's the BHN? Are they gas checked? What is the diameter of these bullets?

 

[jski]

Tusker10mm,

I couldn't help myself, I posted that pic you sent of your .30 Carbine Blackhawk on the Ruger forum. Someone had asked for a pic of these butes. She's simply too gorgeous not to share with others.

 

[MEHavey]

The .30 Carb. BH will fire the 32-20 rimmed case....

Not one to EVER pass up a challenge, I ordered up some Starline 32-20 (aka 32WCF).

Since the 30 Carb has a SAAMI case length of 1.290" and the 32-20 comes in at 1.314, I figured on some robust case trimming to fit the cylinder.
Lo and behold, I open the box from Starline and the cases all measure 1.286" -- perfect for the 30 Carb, but very definitely Un-SAAMI.

Any thoughts from the Peanut Gallery ?





postscript#1 - I took the Ruger out tonight at dusk with a handful of (30-Carb)-sized 32-20 cases
and the RCBS 30-115RN-GC(Lyman#2) over a modest 4.0grains of W231 (i.e., a 32-20 load).
Film at Eleven.....

postscript#2 - On closer inspection, I see SAAMI actual specifies a case length of 1.315-0.040
... which means Starline split the difference. So Noted.

 

[damienph]

Lead bullets

Jski, the lead bullets are .309" 115gr bevel base, not gas checked and I don't know what the hardness is. They were sold for .30 Carbine. They are good looking bullets, blue lube, just not as accurate for me as jacketed bullets.

Also, I've heard that some use .32-20 brass in their Blackhawks but i can't in mine. It chambers ok but the rim is too thick for the cylinder to rotate.

 

[jski]

Damienph,

I've used Montana Bullet Works gas checked, hard cast bullets:

Linotype, BHN 22, MBW heat treated, BHN 22
DIAMETER RANGE .308, .309, .310
WEIGHT 115gr
CALIBER 308
NOSE TO CRIMP 0.355

With 15 gr of Hodgdon H110, CCI Small Rifle Mag Primers, and Starline brass ... of course, in my .30 Carbine Blackhawk.

No problems.

 

[MEHavey]

...use .32-20 brass in their Blackhawks but i can't in mine.
It chambers ok but the rim is too thick.

Have you checked the case length ? The Starline 32-20 brass i mentioned above (case length 1.286") chambered/rotated just fine.
Anything longer than that will bind up since the case headspaces inside the cylinder and excess protrudes out the back.
(Found this out the hard way with actual 30 carbine cases)

 

[Rutin2Tin]

I see that Dog Soldier knows his P's and Q's when it comes to handloading the 30 carbine round.

Back in the day, I used to trim, clean, and reload a bunch of those rounds, weekly, for a Ruger Blackhawk.
The bullet used was the Speer 100 grain plinker, backed with W-W 296 and a Federal Sm Rifle primer.
Although I haven't loaded any 30 carbine cartridges in nearly 25 years, I still have My RCBS file and trim die, as well as the RCBS loading dies.

Way back then, I had wished a carbide sizing die was available, but back then, only straight walled revolver cartridge carbide dies were available.

Ruger's 30 carbine Blackhawk was a great gun for moving target shoots, such as a motorized running fox target on a cable, due to it's flat trajectory and high velocity from a revolver.

 

[damienph]

Gas checked

Jski, i'll look to to those. I've only tried these Penn Bullets in mine. I didn't post the manufacturer before because I didn't want to blame the brand, I think they are good quality bullets, they just didn't work as well for me.

 

[damienph]

.32-20 case length

MEHavey,
Why in the world case length never occurred to me.... I had two once fired cases that I tried, didn't work, oh well..

It's funny, I've been handloading since 1976 and currently load for around 30 cartridges with dies for more. Thanks for the suggestion, I'm going to try again!

 

[Powder296]

When I got my .30 carbine Blackhack it had a couple chambers that the cases stuck in with commercial loads. I had it polished and make sure all my star line brass is 1.285" and have no problems since. Commercial loads do have a bit of a bark to them, mine now have a bit more. But no fireballs. I use Win 296 in all my revolvers too, as well as XTPs, makes that end of inventory easy.

 

[MEHavey]

 

[HOWARD J]

I picked up a 30 Blackhawk many years ago
The kids wanted a gun to shoot with our 30 M1 carbine
We used it as a plinker
Wilson will not make a proper 30 cal gage for reloading so I use the revolver of the pistol . Spin it with cartridges--if any one jambs they are not fit for rifle or pistol
I don't reload anymore to save money---I reload for a hobby
shoot straight & stay safe

 

[MEHavey]

Tusker... what range are you standardizing on for Post#52 ?

 

[dbmjr1]

I'm using Bayoubullets.net 115gr LRN coated bullet over 12.2 gr of H110. You have to go to an older Lyman manual to find data that light.
(Warning: H110/296 are prone to detonation with light loads. Always consult a manual before doing any handloading)

This over a small rifle magnum primer.

The bore is cleaner after shooting than before.

I'm averaging ~ 1470 FPS.

 

[MEHavey]

Actually, that's 87% case fill, and not
overly "light" at all for case-fill purposes.

But for ignition consistency while maintaining
your velocity I'd recommend using Accurate #7
as in Post #63 above. (work up)