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Old November 5, 2012, 03:04 PM   #29
Sevens
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 28, 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 11,753
Quote:
A Ruger .30 Carbine thread that's been open for more than 6 days, and Sevens hasn't replied yet?
Just found it.

I'm already too late to help the OP!
No worries, I like mine a lot. It's not something that everyone has. I've definitely got my complaints -- not enough to make me get rid of it, not even enough to keep me from enjoying it. Frankly-- not even enough to tell someone not to get one! But definitely enough to pass along some things I learned about it as a warning before someone else buys one.

Here are those things: If your .30 Carb B'Hawk doesn't take factory ammo and stick the empties, you are fortunate because most of them do. Mine does for darn sure. I've fed it only 112 rounds of factory fodder and that was enough for me to know. Bad enough that I pounded out the balance of my factory ammo for the components with a kinetic hammer-type puller. That's enormous work!

It loves my handloads, but I can't run them hot. The gun is built for it, for sure, it'll take WAY more than I will ever feed it, but you'll be pounding empties with a mallet just as was said above.

And handloading for it is an annoyance compared to most other rounds. Simply-- sizing the brass sucks as you've got to lube each case and the physical press lever effort is extreme for a small round. Also as was said by zxcvbob, you better have done your homework with case trimming. If it's stretched, the design of the face of the revolver is such that you'll wedge that thing in the chamber and you've to remove the cylinder to get it out--this is pure pain in the tuckus right here. Embarrassing, too. And if you trim it too short you simply won't hit the primer and the round will never fire for the rest of it's life, at least in a B'Hawk. That brass is now ruined and useless.

Also, bullet selection is slim for the .30 Carbine. As I don't hunt with it, I'm thrilled with the Berry's 110gr plated RN. Affordable slug, accurate as you could ask and I can buy them 1,000 at a time.

I like mine -- it's VERY accurate and for a gun that gives a tremendous blast and fireball, it's a pussycat in felt recoil. It's fun, very fun, and precious little else. But fun is really what I want out of most all of my handguns.

If someone is interested but does NOT yet own one...I'm recommending the .327 Federal Magnum Ruger Blackhawk instead. Basically -- it does the same thing, much easier to handload, better bullet selection (but at more $ for those slugs) and the brass is harder to get, but so much easier to work with at the load bench. And the .327 Federal is an 8-shot revolver with a more manageable barrel length.

The two rounds are very, very close outside of bullet construction.

I am not at all surprised you were able to find a .30 Carbine Blackhawk. Do most people realize that Ruger produced these guns before they ever built and sold a .45 Colt Blackhawk?! They've made them on & off since the late 60's, IIRC. They aren't wildly popular, but there's plenty of them out there. If you are patient, you can typically snag a decent used one for as low as $400. I've never seen one cheaper than that, though anything is possible.

I would love the idea of what I could do with a scope on mine -- but it will never happen. I'll admit, aesthetics mean a lot to me, and my stomach turns at the look of that. I couldn't do that to my revolver. But I've shot rested groups at 100 yards with it -- the gun & the round are highly capable, and a scope would make that so much easier.

Fun, loud gun. Different! But with it's own specialized set of warts.
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Attention Brass rats and other reloaders: I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.
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