Ruger Blackhawk - Modifications

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Fat Boy

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I am looking at a Ruger Blackhawk - 4 & 5/8s" or 5" barrel, (full ejection rod cover) 3-screw, reported as manufactured in 1972. Unsure if it has been converted to the safety bar set up or not.
I am interested in this gun for two main reasons; 1. i would like to have a solid, reliable, durable, all-purpose gun 2. this gun was made in 1972; that year has special meaning for me as i graduated high school then (yes, there were high schools then, with indoor plumbing, phones, and lots of other ameneties)
Anyway, if i buy this gun, i would be interested in enlarging the grip space either by changing it to a bisley frame and other parts (if that is possible and reasonably priced) or adding larger grips.
Questions; what about using this as an all-purpose, one-gun-for-everything handgun, and what about the possible conversion i have mentioned, or good, after market larger grips?
thank you for the responses!
 
Good choice for an all purpose revolver.
I have seen rubber grips on Blackhawks but no way in hell would I put them on mine.
I'm sure there are larger wood grips available that would be far more appropriate for a SA than those Goodyears.
If SA is your thing, don't overlook the Italian clones. I know there are some of those available with the larger grip frame.
 
Whilst it's possible to convert to a Bisley, it's not exactly a drop-in type of modification. But chambered in .357 magnum, I don't see why you'd need to. Recoil shouldn't be enough to warrant it given the weight of a Blackhawk.

There are certainly other grip options available. But I'd suggest you shoot it first, with the "pinky underneath" grip, and see what you think. You might find you really like it that way.
 
Fat Boy said:
I am looking at a Ruger Blackhawk - 4 & 5/8s" or 5" barrel, (full ejection rod cover) 3-screw, reported as manufactured in 1972. Unsure if it has been converted to the safety bar set up or not.
I am interested in this gun for two main reasons; 1. i would like to have a solid, reliable, durable, all-purpose gun 2. this gun was made in 1972; that year has special meaning for me as i graduated high school then (yes, there were high schools then, with indoor plumbing, phones, and lots of other ameneties)
Anyway, if i buy this gun, i would be interested in enlarging the grip space either by changing it to a bisley frame and other parts (if that is possible and reasonably priced) or adding larger grips.
Questions; what about using this as an all-purpose, one-gun-for-everything handgun, and what about the possible conversion i have mentioned, or good, after market larger grips?
thank you for the responses!
Click to expand...


I have both guns; leave it as a blackhawk and get a pair of Hogue grips.

Ps. not everyone had indoor plumbing in 1972. :)
 
King Medallion said:
Could always put on a SBH grip frame, I've done that to my .41 Mag and .44 Mag OM Blackhawks.
Click to expand...

Not gonna work. Flat-top 44 OMB and SBH had larger frames than the 357 BH the OP is describing. That grip frame will not fit the gun he is considering.

OP, if the gun you are considering was indeed made in 1972 it has Ruger's XR3-Red aluminum grip frame. It was Bill Ruger's "improvement" on the old XR3 that copied the dimensions of the Colt SAA. You may find there is enough clearance for you middle finger's knuckle with the XR3-Red.

Finally, and there will be howls of protest to this, don't buy it if it has the transfer bar conversion installed. Every example I've handled has the worst of all worlds, the trigger and action is not as smooth as either the 3-screw OM or the 2-screw NM. And if is was me I'd prefer the OM 3-screw of the conversion or the NM.

YMMV,
Dave
 
Perfectly acceptable as an all purpose gun. You can get .357 Magnum loaded hot enough to handle most stuff in the Lower 48 short of heavy animal and grizzly, and get .38's cold enough to pass for a rat's fart. Adjustable sights, to dial in any load you want (or get close), Ruger reliability and support, and .... single action goodness. I've yet to see the thug or beastie stop and ask if that .357 Mag you put in em came from a Smith 686 or a Ruger Blackhawk....
 
here’s my 357/38/9 blackhawk. of course i purposely looked for a 2 screw with transfer bar safety and then put pachmayr grips on it because it’s a shooter for carry, not a looker for display. truth be told, given cheaper ammo by half, i shoot mostly 9mm out of it. in fact this blackhawk is my only 9mm handgun, the mag is its speedloader. i’ve fed it every type of commercial ammo, including the cheapest steel- or aluminum-case 38sp and 9mm ammo, without a hiccup. i suggest that f.b. get it asap and set it up to suit him as a shooter, to heck with aesthetics: make it drop-safe to carry with six rounds and comfortable in the hand to bang away all afternoon with mild to wild ammo.
 

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Fat Boy

You might try looking for a set of Herrett's (herrettsstocks.com) Shooting Star grips for the Ruger Blackhawk with the XR3-Red grip frame. Don't know if they still make them but a friend of mine had a pair of them on his Ruger Super Blackhawk and they worked wonders on reducing felt recoil in your hand and cutting down on the amount of muzzle flip you experienced. They filled in the gap between the grip frame and the trigger guard and were also a bit longer at the bottom of the frame.
zLDlX18.jpg
 
Fat Boy said:
I am looking at a Ruger Blackhawk - 4 & 5/8s" or 5" barrel, (full ejection rod cover) 3-screw, reported as manufactured in 1972. Unsure if it has been converted to the safety bar set up or not.
I am interested in this gun for two main reasons; 1. i would like to have a solid, reliable, durable, all-purpose gun 2. this gun was made in 1972; that year has special meaning for me as i graduated high school then (yes, there were high schools then, with indoor plumbing, phones, and lots of other ameneties)
Anyway, if i buy this gun, i would be interested in enlarging the grip space either by changing it to a bisley frame and other parts (if that is possible and reasonably priced) or adding larger grips.
Questions; what about using this as an all-purpose, one-gun-for-everything handgun, and what about the possible conversion i have mentioned, or good, after market larger grips?
thank you for the responses!
Click to expand...

My “New Model” Blackhawk in .45 Colt also would not sit well in my fat fingered hands and shooting it with a “pinky” underneath, or hanging down or out to the side was unacceptable to me.

My solution was to change to factory SBH (Super Blackhawk) grip frame and grips!
Fits like it was just meant to be - and looks like the SBH design team knew what fills my hand perfectly!
85181A4B-D9BD-42AB-A722-355781A62439.jpeg
 
Sudden Thunder said:
My “New Model” Blackhawk in .45 Colt also would not sit well in my fat fingered hands and shooting it with a “pinky” underneath, or hanging down or out to the side was unacceptable to me.

My solution was to change to factory SBH (Super Blackhawk) grip frame and grips!
Fits like it was just meant to be - and looks like the SBH design team knew what fills my hand perfectly!
View attachment 1081993
Click to expand...

I put rubber ones on my Super Black Hawk, They work just as good on it as they do on the Black Hawk.
 
I have converted a wrangler to a stainless birdshead grip. Same process to do a bisley on a BH. It can be accomplished with basic files and sandpaper. In fact, it should be accomplished by hand with files and paper. I did start some areas that needed a lot of material removed on the belt sander. I polished mine to a high lustre, so i spent a LOT of time sanding on it, up to 3000 grit.

I have a bisley single six in 32 H&R. Im a big fan of Ruger's bisley grip. Fills the hand well and is at a good angle for bullseye style shooting.
 
Jimfern said:
I put a Super Blackhawk frame (used $120), Ruger grips (new $40) and a wide trigger (used $33) on my 1968 converted 357 BH.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?attachments/8099b0ad-4161-440f-ab3e-02bf64c1dd4b-jpeg.1077064/
Click to expand...
THAT is sweet! I've thought about it but I finally found a set of grips I like for my 6-1/2" .357.
index.php
 
I did the modifications because that ended up being the easiest way for me to get a wide trigger. The narrow trigger hurt my finger during extended range sessions.
 
Dave T said:
Not gonna work. Flat-top 44 OMB and SBH had larger frames than the 357 BH the OP is describing. That grip frame will not fit the gun he is considering.
Click to expand...

The grip frames for all Ruger single action centerfire revolvers are interchangeable - with the slight caveat of the 1998 shift in ear height on the rear of the grip frames.
 
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