Super Blackhawk
I like the Trail Hawk Conversion but I already have a 4 5/8 Super Blackhawk that is just fine. One question, can it handle some of the hotter loads, most likely 300 gr. hard cast for wandering onto bear territory while fly fishing in some of the western states. Probably never see a bear but it doesn't hurt to be prepared and give it some thought.
I have a Super Blackhawk in 4&5/8"
Gary knows best and my experience is pretty much the same. What I have found is that if you're staying within SAAMI specs or close to them with 300gr. hard casts, the Super Blackhawk is fine as-is. But... Those Buffalo Bore and Underwood 340gr. +P+ loads are too much for repeated use in my humble opinion. They have pressure way over SAAMI specs. In that case, I'd go 5-shot conversion like Gary said. Or you can go with a few other options that I have found hold up to those loads, being Redhawk, Super Redhawk, or the BFR. Again, this is just my two cents, and I defer to Gary as he has much more experience than I do.
No plans
to "hot rod" it or go over SAMI specs. 300 gr. hard cast is probably the biggset round I would shoot thru it. No desire to shoot Buffalo Bore.
Smart move. I don't know of any animal that can tell
a 300 grain at 1300 from a 400 at 1400. but the gun itself will tell, by shaking loose and wearing out parts real quick. I have always opted for a medium weight bullet at reasonable speed. I have seen 2 elephant taken with my 510 GNR and a 350 grain hard cast gas checked bullet at 1300 fps. Both were taken with 2 rounds each.
John Abraham, my African PH is offering me the African hunt of a lifetime, an old bull elephant with my revolver in 510 GNR. I would like to say I have taken an elephant but I really don't feel good about it. The bull would be an old bull way past his breeding age, probably close to 100 years old. He is just trying to die a peaceful death with nobody bothering him. But the game commission wants me to put the old fellow down and I just don't agree with that. The good side would be it would feed a couple of villages of natives for a few weeks but there is another side. As I get older the years I have left are special and I am sure it is the same with a 100 year old bull elephant. But the game commission has a drawing every year and the PH gets one permit in a lifetime but I would rather pass on it and let some young stud have the experience.
I do want to go on one more African lion hunt with my 510 GNR revolver. That is out of 16 hunts in Africa my favorite hunt.
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Sorry to get off the subject of extreme heavy bullets at hyper speeds. I just remember good friend John Taffin telling more than one young hunter on here that it isn't the bullet weight and it isn't the bullet's speed. It is where you put the bullet that counts.
And if you have pissed off this fellow and he is at 10 yards you better put that bullet in the right spot.
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Back in the day it was the SBH vs the M29
The 240 gr. was the standard. Everyone knew the S&W would need attention (after several thousand rounds) before the SBH. Recoil would eventually shake things loose and wear a bit. Nothing a little maintenance would not fix.
Then I personally think it was folks like Larry Kelly and JD that got the heavy bullet thing in .44 cal. going. Kelly was running all over the world with a .44 Mag. killing critters. They came up with a truncated nose 270 gr. at first, then it got a little wild. I still have several boxes of their plain base SSK 330 gr. Truncated flat nose. It's a bit difficult to load those where they don't recoil harsh! But they were hunting bullets, not intended to shoot thousands through the guns. I run them about 1200 fps and they will shoot clean through a treated power pole!
Ruger came out with the Redhawk in 1979 (nobody saw them till 1980 and later - except Elmer Keith or Bob Milek). Guys were going 300+ gr. on their .44 Mags. It was rough on even the RH. Enough Ruger came out with the "Super" RH. I understand the biggest wear issue (back then) seemed to be the junction of the frame and barrel threads. The Super has this area way overbuilt and threaded area doubled. This and the early issues with thread lock compound really created fun for some gunsmiths working on Super RH.
If you shoot a few dozen heavy loads it unlikely will not present any problems other than a sore palm. It's rough on everyone. But if you want to shoot hundreds (!) it sure helps to have something specifically addressing the rough treatment. Just me remembering and my views. I was a teenager back then and really was excited about it all.
In 1986 I adopted the Freedom Arms 454
and never looked back. My heavy .45 Colt loads in my Ruger stayed around 1100 fps and worked fine. When I wanted to shoot heavy bullets at higher velocities the 454 was the one to use!
With great anticipation I awaited each month the issue
of G&A to see what Ross Seyfried was up to. I worked in a grocery store through high school and Jr. college. We had a magazine rack and I was there when it was fresh stocked.
Ross helped publicize Dick Casull's hot .45 loads and the advent of the .500 Linebaugh, Maximum, and .475 as well. Later in life I got to sample all examples myself first hand. The reality of physics can be harsh. They all basically push holes through stuff, once through, the remaining energy, is a macho waste. I always found the .454 with factory loads particularly unpleasant. Yet I decided I needed one in my collection before the prices got all stupid. My procrastination made me pay a lot more than prior but it was less than half of what they are now!
I never understood Bob's (maybe it was his Dad) smallish trigger guard. The gripframe seems odd too but works ok. I personally don't like it, so I had Gary "fix" it. I was tempted to have some engraving done but somehow the understated Premiere finish seems a bit elegant. It is in my mind and for my purposes the perfect .454.
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