Ruger Blawkhawk 41 Mag

[popplecop]

I enjoy handgun hunting for anything from squirrels to deer. Like single actions for deer, been using a Super Blackhawk 44 since 87, carried Blackhawks in 357 at times and have been sucessful with both calibers. Do restrict myself to a deer slowly and I mean slowly walking or preferably standing and within 40 yds. Did go to 60 one time with the .44 on a standing doe. Yesterday I ordered a 41. Rem. mag Blackhawk with a 6.5 " bbl. Now I am getting brass, bullets and dies together to start with a new SA and caliber. Anyone else out there using the 41 mag. and looking for good cast bullet loads. Just ordered 500 215 gr. SWCs from Missouri Bullet company, probably going to have find some pistol powders for plinking loads. Any info would be appreciated.

[skeet]

Oh My PC.. The 41 is the caliber i carry in my coat when I am elk hunting. It is the backup for grizz. We have many grizzlies in my hunting area so when ya shoot an elk or even a deer they think you are ringing the dinner bell. When cleaning cutting up and carrying an animal you really don't need to have a rifle over your shoulder. I happen to carry the same gun you ordered except I carry a short 4 5/8 incher. Fits in my coat pocket. I carry it with 3 factory 210 soft points and 3 hard cast 220 gr lead bullets. The load with them is not too stout..but if i am gonna have to shoot a grizz it's probably gonna be REAL close. I have some loads with unique some with 800X and the better is with HS-6. I happen to have a BlackHawk and a 6 inch 57 Smith and just got a 4 inch M-57. Even with the not so stout loads with the hard cast..they will probably shoot through a grizz end to end at close range. You are gonna probably like the 41. I use it over the 44..which I have a few of too

[skeet]

I will also say..the 41 is a caliber that is harder to acquire all the components for usually. I buy bullets etc eveery chance I gt because the big companies are quite often out of stock. I got a couple of boxes of Sierra bullets at the last gun show. Paid a bit much at 15 a box but..still cheaper than Midway etc etc etc..and no shipping. I also get Noslers as seconds when they have 'em from Shooters Pro shop on line...in any caliber i need at the time. I get a few bullets for others too. As far as brass..I pick that up at gun shows etc too. Usually cheaper than most other venues. Let me look up some loads and I'll post 'em. At the last sjhow I went to in Bozeman I got 200 rounds of new 357 Rem Max brass..Even harder to find than 41 Mag. It was cheap too. 15 bucks a hundred

[wrenchman]

I like it just never got one its one of the things were you one day for me

[Adam Helmer]

popplecop,

I got a .41 Magnum Ruger 6.5-inch about 5 years ago. It is my favorite woods carry gun. I have loaded 210 JHP and my hard cast 195 SWC with 2400 powder. I ran the loads over the chrony a while back and got 1295 fps out of the JHP and 1382 fps out of the 195 cast bullets. I cast my bullets out of OLD wheelweights, put in a dash of tin and drop the bullets from the mould into a bucket of water and lube with Alox.

Hope this helps.

Adam

[skeet]

Bought a bunch of reloading stuff from a fellow up in Billings today. Got presses powder measure 10-10 scale ..8 sets of dies..And lo and behold in the brass there was a whole box of new 41 mag Remington brass. No 41 dies or bullets. In fact no handgun dies at all. Just the brass. Also got 9 boxes of 270 and 243 bullets. The 41 brass was one of the things tha made me buy all that stuff, though. In all the stuff there was a Lee pan luber for...410 bullets. It is new. I had a couple of loads 10 gr of unique with a 210 gr JSP bullet for approx 1350 FPS and another with Blue Dot 13.8 and a 220 JSP bullet for about 1375..Then the 2400 load..for more velocity 18.2 2400 for about 1400...approach this load with caution..it is a bit hotter..ok by the book..but every gun is different. These were out of a 4 5/8 inch bbl...with a really tight cylinder gap. Check the new loads by Hodgdon for Lil Gun powder..don't have 'em in front of me right now. WW296 orH110(same powder by the way) is a good powder for the 41..but a narrow range of powder weights. and the pressures are up at the top..Lil Gun may get the same velocity at a lower pressure.

[Adam Helmer]

skeet,

My .41 Magnum loads are my accuracy loads and not Maximum loads. After much testing, my best loads are with cast bullets. I use cast bullets in all my handgun loads because they are better than factory jacketed bullets and less costly.

Adam

[skeet]

Cheaper Adam For some reason the 44 Special just shoots cast bullets well.. And my S&W Model of 1950 in 45 Colt has the larger 454 bore..so shoots my cast bullets better. In the semi autos mostly jacketed bullets There are cast bullets I like as well as jacketed though. The 200 gr H&G bullet in the 45 auto for example and a good 160 gr hard cast in the 357. That hard cast load in my 41 is accurate enough for my shooting. And as you said..much cheaper. One of my loads in the 44 mag with a 240 gr Nosler bullet with Lil Gun powder is the most accurate load in the 44 I have ever shot. I have been impressed with the Lil Gun powder. All that being said..I shoot many more cast bullets than jacketed. Some shoot very well indeed. My 6 inch S&W 57 does not shoot cast bullets very well at all...and i don't know why. Jacketed are fine...very fine in fact. The 4 inch one is fine but i haven't had it all that long..Just a month and have only put about 200 rounds through it. The Ruger..shoots 'em ok too. Bullets have really gotten expensive lately. Ammo has even more so.. BTW Adam. Have you ever loaded 44 Russian?? I have found a bunch in all my brass. 44 Special is the one i have the least of..and was gonna shoot the Russian brass. Cast bullets of course cause that is what it was made to shoot. I guess the 44 Sp was too. Do you have a good load for the 45 Colt with the larger bore? Lighter bullet may be better. My wife's carry gun..yep 45 Colt SAA. She can shoot it...or even a lighter bullet mould number that i could look for. Just gave a good friend a bunch of cast bullets for the 45 auto this afternoon. And a half a can of Win 231

[Adam Helmer]

skeet,

I do not load for the .45 Colt. My .45s like the Lyman #452460 200 grain SWC and 700X or Red Dot powder.

Adam

[skeet]

I have one or two of the 452460s.. They don't really suit me..might suit the gun though. I truly do like the 200 Gr H&G bullet though. I bought a 1000 of the bulk packed 45 auto 185 gr match bullets this AM.. Sold 'em this PM. Also got 1000 Rem Bulk packed 230 gr HPs for the 45 too. Kept 300 and sold the rest...to the same fellow. Bought 'em for 8 bucks per 100..sold 'em for 14.. Had no use for the 185s

[skeet]

Bad thing is..I checked the newer prices and they go for more than 23 dollars per hundred

[popplecop]

I just got 500 215 gr. swc from Missouri Bullet Co. Have a friend that told me about them. They come in a U.S. Priority Mail Box and very promt service and reasonable. Got 500 for little more than a first class mold and handle would cost. Friend is both a target and IPSIC (?) shooter and swears by them. Starline said it will not have brass till mid Jan. Am going to run over to Wis. Cartridge Co. in the morning and pick up 100 new loaded 220 JSP for 63 bucks. Will pick up Ruger Tuesday but the bad news is we are to get 10"s of snow on Thurs. If I can get some empty cases by doing some shooting on Wed. Thurs should be a great day to load up some. Leaving for SW Louisiana the day after Christmas for annual duck hunt with my son. Want to get used to it in case come across a hog. Glad to hear from fellows on how well you like the 41. Probably wind up giving my Super Blackhawk 44 to my daughter. We'll have to wait and sehow things work out.

[popplecop]

Well, liked the Ruger BH in 41 so much, now I went and did it again. Ordered out a BH in .45c with the extra .45acp cylinder, again with the 6.5" bbl. This has to stop, am ok if Ruger doesn't bring out any new calibers. Should arrive Tues., but he highs this week to be in the single digits, might have to wait to get shot.

[skeet]

Good Grief PC.. Talk about coincidences.. I talked to the gal here that does the gun shows that sells Rugers. Asked her if she could get the same gun for my wife except in the short bbl version. She actually has one in stock and momma is gonna go get the darn thing tomorrow. And I have a friend who happens to have a LOT more 45 Colt cases than i do.. And yesterday I ordered 500 cast bullets from Missouri Bullets and another 500 .357 140 gr 500 215 gr 41s and 500 44 cal 200 gr bullets. Luckily I have nuff 45 auto cast bullets and heavier 44 bullets...My moulding chores have just expanded again.. I am going to sell mommas 45 Colt copies. The Rugers are much stronger handguns. I also had another friend give me a 1 lb coffee can full of 30 cal hard cast 170 gr bullets.. and I bought a Contender carbine bbl in triente triente new in the clamshell package for 180 bucks..I just gotta play with that sucker. Now I know this is out of character for me(I like the bigger boomers)..but I'd like to have a Blackhawk in 327 Federal..for some odd reason. So I have a suggestion..you buy one and let me know how ya like it..Then maybe I can get one too...if you like yours. I have to tell you all though.. A good friend gave my wife a New Model Blackhawk in (supposedly)357 for her truck(the one she stole from ME)..It turns out the cylinder in it is a 9mm from a Convertible. So I talked to Ruger and I have to send the gun in so they can make another cylinder for it in 357. The original was stolen. Ruger will do it..but it ain't cheap. He told me he also has a Single Six in 22 mag that needs a cylinder for it for 22 LR(also stolen). So we're gonna send 'em both in..

[Larryjk]

popplecop, I have been shooting a S&W 57 with 6 1/2 barrel for about 25 years. Absolutely love that gun. Shoot 215 gr. cast bullets ahead of 8.0 grs. of IMR SR7625. Use the standard CCI primer (300) and mine chronographs at about 1050 fps. Gentle load, very accurate; that is all I use because if I am expecting big trouble I use the 45 Colt in a Ruger Bisley. 300 gr bullets at 1300 fps. Hurts on both ends but goes way through an elk.

[skeet]

Larry..I have a Smith 57 in 6 1/2 inch..but it is nickle and it does shoot well Gonna try your load cause i found a 4 or 5 lb can of 7625 today while cleaning out the powder lockers. What i really want is a 4 inch M-57..any as long as it ain't stainless.

[Rapier]

Skeet,
Before you send in the two Ruger guns, look for a cylinder. Ruger is a parts house, they make frames by casting and buy the rest of the parts from jobbers, made to spec. I bet you a thin dime if you find a 22 cylinder and 357 cylinder, both will fit the guns. Might not, but I bet they will. I have done that twice now and it worked both times without any spitting of lead.
Ed

[popplecop]

Well, got my Blackhawk converible, 45C & 45 ACP, came with the 4 5/8ths barrel. Absolutely love it, but the .41 will be my der hunting gun. Now have to find 45C loading dies, but no rush as have lot of 45 acp to use in, in fact came across 5 boxes of National Match I had squirreled away. But the temp is stll below 0, -5 right now, just an old softy I guess.

[skeet]

Same gun my wife bought..much stronger than the Uberti made SAA she was carrying around. I looked at a Uberti(Cimmaron) yesterday in 44-40 but the fellow wanted waaaayyyy too much for it. Off to Vegas again..fun this time..then a gun show next two weeks..

[popplecop]

Just back from Vegas, yearly trip so I can donate to their economy. Think I might just start sending them the money, would save on air fare.

[skeet]

Hahahahahahaha read that and started laughing..funny as all get out.....wait a minute...that might happen to me too..NOW it's not so funny!! What's airfare..you FLY?? Commercially?? Not me brother.. If I ain't flyin the darn thing myself..I ain't getttin on it...Whoa..that had too many conotations attached..Better retrace my steps there..

[Rapier]

Thing I like about big planes is I get to return on at least a pretty regular basis. The little planes get stuck to often for me, as I must get back to my business and FL is not very close to most places I would want to fly to. However, that last goat roping in Vegas by American in January made me wish I was on a private job.
Ed

[popplecop]

Love the way they schedule flights, in order to return to Wis. was in 4 time zones. Only Delta would send us from Vegas over Wis. to Detroit and then back to Madison.

Am leaving on the 13 for 6 weeks in the south, but we're going in my pickum truck.