Comments on: Ruger Blackhawk Flattop 44 Special

By: John Nelson "Jack"

John Nelson "Jack" — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:49:26 +0000

Tom,
You’re sure peaking my interest in this gun. I have an S&W Mod 624 in “The Special”, and I usually load it around 6.5 gr Unique with a .430-.431-inch 240 grain hardcast semi-wadcutter. I find that less than this really cakes my chambers with leading. My Speer tables tell me I should be getting around 850+ fps, (give or take 30′ or so). What kind of velocity does 5.0 grains give you, and what kind of a lead build up do you get at the chamber mouths? I have hands that are medium to small, so I was considering this model in this caliber.
The way you write above, I surmise you know your stuff when it comes to shooting techniques, so I won’t presume to offer gripping advice re: the leftward shots. I’d send it to the factory with a letter of explanation. Ruger has always been extremely good to me when it came to backing up their products.

By: Tom Butler

Tom Butler — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:53:28 +0000

OK Folks, I did go out and shoot the 5 1/2″ .44 Special today, Feb. 17th. Nice shooter with lighter loads…say 5.0 gr Unique with an Oregon Trail 240 grain SWC, possibly a 200 gr RNFP. I also used some Trail Boss light loads with RNFP bullets. I had all this ammo around to shoot in .44 Mags, wimp that I am. IMHO, the recoil of the .44 Special Blackhawk is a knuckle rapper with more than 5 gr of Unique. I did notice that this particular gun shot way to the left, even when the sight was adjusted appropriatly. This was true for me as well as a buddy who is a good shot. Anyone have any ideas about this ? Drop me an e-mail at AC7AM [a t ] Cox [d o t] net. I once had a Single Six with a barrel cocked about 5 degrees to the left. Ruger fixed it. Anyway, whatda ya think? RSVP

By: Tom Butler

Tom Butler — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:35:52 +0000

I just picked mine up today, the longer barrel 5 1/2 inch version. The grip is noticibly narrower than a conventional wood Blackhawk grip. It is exactly the width of my Vaquero, less than 1 inch accross at the medallion. Feels great. I can’t wait to shoot it. I have a lot of .44 Special ammo that I use I .44 Mag guns. The balance feels quite nice.

By: Larry

Larry — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:51:57 +0000

I’ve already instructed my dealer to order me one of the 4 5/8 guns.

By: Larry

Larry — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:33:37 +0000

Love it ! I’ll probably buy one of the 4 5/8″ guns. Had a .357 NMBH a few yrs back, and it was great. The .44 will be better!