The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old February 15, 2012, 05:14 PM   #1
Cornbread
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2012
Posts: 103
Anyone load for Ruger Blackhawk 30 cal. Carbine.

Like to here about some of your favorite loads and just some tall tails about shooting them. . .
Cornbread is offline  
Old February 15, 2012, 05:58 PM   #2
steveno
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 18, 2004
Location: Minden , Nebraska
Posts: 1,407
never loaded for one but I have shot one and IT IS VERY LOUD.
steveno is offline  
Old February 15, 2012, 08:49 PM   #3
jepp2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 24, 2008
Location: Loveland, CO
Posts: 1,476
I load for mine. Are you going to shoot jacketed or lead?

The reason folks talk about it being so loud is because they are shooting carbine ammo in a 7.5 inch barrel handgun. So you have a lot of powder still burning when the bullet exits the barrel. If you use the correct powder the noise will be about like a 38 special unless you are loading pretty heavy.

I have some good articles on loading lead for the 30 carbine. If you are interested, PM me your email address. They give some excellent guidance for loading lead bullets.

The problem with looking for loads in the manual is that most are for carbines so the powder burn rates are really too slow for the revolver.
jepp2 is offline  
Old February 15, 2012, 09:07 PM   #4
SHR970
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 24, 2011
Posts: 1,427
Quote:
steveno wrote: never loaded for one but I have shot one and IT IS VERY LOUD.
30 Carbine
357 Mag.
Case length: 1.290"
1.290"
Std. Bullet: 110 gr.
158 gr.
Powder: W296/H110, 4227, 2400,#9
W296/H110, 4227, 2400,#9
Charge: Pretty full case
Pretty full case

Why is everyone so surprised that the 30 carb. fired from a pistol is loud? It is just a smaller caliber version of the family of 1.290" cartridges....357, 41, and 44 mag. They're loud too in full house loadings. /Threadjack.
SHR970 is offline  
Old February 16, 2012, 12:36 AM   #5
Sevens
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 28, 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 11,755
I load for a .30 Carbine Blackhawk. It's a fun and different kinda setup. I enjoy mine, but the truth is... it's kind of a PITA, really. Still enjoy it, still load for it and still shoot it.

Full-bore loads stick in the chambers, horribly, and are a monumental chore to extract. This is a shame, too, because the available meat in that gargantuan cylinder lends itself quite well to making harsh loads, but if you do... this revolver becomes a six shooter in the most genuine sense. Like as in, six shots, then go home. Also kind of an annoyance because case length is critical. Too long and you tie up the revolver something fierce. Trim them too short and the firing pin won't reach the primer and they won't fire. Of course, you need case lube to size them and a lot of elbow grease due to the tapered cartridge design. So as a revolver round... this caliber is labor-intensive at the load bench.

I have had very good luck with Berry's plated RN .30 Carbine bullets. These have a much thicker plating than most of their pistol bullets and are rated to 1,950 FPS, a speed I won't attain from a B'Hawk. Currently, I'm pushing these slugs with 12.5 grains of Alliant 2400. I brought this down a tick from 12.8 grains because those were sticking in the chambers. Could be that I might try to bump it up again, maybe my chambers are "smoother" now than a couple years back.

I've dabbled in some Blue Dot, IMR-4227 and AA#7 loads, but I'm pretty fond of 2400.
__________________
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.
Sevens is offline  
Old February 16, 2012, 08:23 AM   #6
Cornbread
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2012
Posts: 103
Quote:
Originally Posted by SHR970
Why is everyone so surprised that the 30 carb. fired from a pistol is loud? It is just a smaller caliber version of the family of 1.290" cartridges....357, 41, and 44 mag. They're loud too in full house loadings.
For me and I shoot a 2 ½ and a 10 ½ barrel 44mag the mag seems to have more of a boom whereas the 30 carbine higher crack..

Quote:
Originally Posted by sevens
I've dabbled in some Blue Dot, IMR-4227 and AA#7 loads, but I'm pretty fond of 2400.
I use the 110 gr jacketed soft tip with 12 gr of 2400. After you get use to the noise and light show it is a kick to shoot. The one I have is dead accurate and one of the easiest to shoot.
On a side note Speers number 10 manual lists 11.2 as a max load with a jacketed 110 gr bullet. Hornady 7th edition list 13 gr. of 2400 for a jacketed 110 gr. Very seldom do you see a newer manual having a larger powder charge than a old one..

Last edited by Cornbread; February 18, 2012 at 08:38 AM.
Cornbread is offline  
Old February 16, 2012, 08:35 AM   #7
steveno
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 18, 2004
Location: Minden , Nebraska
Posts: 1,407
while I would agree that the loads I fired were probably intended for the carbine it was a much higher pitch than any magnum ( 357 , 41 or 44) revolver that I have ever fired.
steveno is offline  
Old February 16, 2012, 08:44 AM   #8
Cornbread
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2012
Posts: 103
steveno that’s me it’s a different sound. But I really enjoy shooting the thing it’s different.
Cornbread is offline  
Old February 16, 2012, 08:49 AM   #9
hodaka
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 23, 2006
Location: South Texas
Posts: 2,010
I had one for a few years prior to getting into reloading. This was back in the 80's. I sold it because it was too uncomforable to shoot. Loud with a lot of flash. It really helped me to develop a flinch. I wouldn't mind getting another and I would certainly use a faster powder in working up loads. I would probably experiment with 231 or Unique but I'm not sure if anyone publishes loads for those powders.
hodaka is offline  
Old February 16, 2012, 09:04 AM   #10
Cornbread
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2012
Posts: 103
Quote:
Originally Posted by hodaka
Loud with a lot of flash.
That’s me. Around here you don’t see that many of them . When you shoot it someone always ask what is that!!
Cornbread is offline  
Old February 16, 2012, 11:34 AM   #11
Sevens
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 28, 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 11,755
Quote:
On a side note Speers number 10 manual lists 11.2 as a max load with a jacketed 110 gr bullet. Hornady 7th edition list 12.2 of 2400 for a jacketed 110 gr. Very seldom do you see a newer manual having a larger powder charge than a old one..
While this is true in a general sense... I feel my loads are not only safe, but ULTRA-safe, mostly due to the strong construction of the .30 Carbine brass... but mostly because of the horrendously large and meaty six-shot cylinder. This is a true .44 Magnum sized cylinder and frame with but a tiny .30 cal hole in it. It's a 44 ounce handgun, empty.

Also, I've fired two different brands of factory 110gr FMJ through it and both loads gave me sticky brass and while my 12.8gr loads gave me sticky brass, my 12.5 grain loads do not.

Truth is that I'd feel safe running this bull up even harder, I just don't want the hassle of trying to get the brass out of it. It's complete hell when they stick. But your reminder is a good one -- for me anyone else who is reading my load data. Check, check, and check again, always the best policy.
Quote:
I wouldn't mind getting another and I would certainly use a faster powder in working up loads. I would probably experiment with 231 or Unique but I'm not sure if anyone publishes loads for those powders.
I'm no expert, but I think this is not a great idea. Others would have better insight, but I'll still share my reservations.

You are working with a 40,000 PSI Max cartridge here. If you try running it with powders that are typical in a .38 Special (17k PSI max) such as W231, you'll get the same results as we find when you run a .357 Magnum with a powder like W231.

The results I'm talking about: fine for a target or plinking load, and can even be nudged toward a mid-range load. Use something like Unique and you can make a solid mid-range magnum load, but you simply cannot safely make a full bore magnum load in .357 Mag with Unique or Universal. The powder burns too fast and your velocity and BANG caps somewhere short of full magnum ability. It has to, because the pressure ramps up too high. It's not a linear increase, it rockets up at the top end and pressure rises while performance falls off. The powder burns too fast to peak at the proper time.

The .30 Carbine is likely to be similar to .357 Magnum.

You might believe that you can make full-bore .357 Magnum loads with W231 or Unique, but the fact is that you cannot match what can be done with 2400, H110, AA#9 or IMR-4227 in either velocity or sound or feel.

If you try to do that with Bullseye, you'll blow well past the red line before you even approach what can be done with the slower burning magnum powders.

If you want to tame .30 Carbine down to half-pressure levels... sure. Use Titegroup or W231 and make popper loads out of it. There's no harm in doing that.

But if you want to run the round as it was designed with a 40k PSI max in mind, don't attempt to do that with an ultra-fast powder or you will find the limit of that big meaty cylinder.

As for my .30 Carbine Blackhawk -- the ridiculous blast, fireball, concussion and noise, hand in hand with very little felt recoil is all part of the experience and part of the draw to owning and shooting it. That's why I like it. Light loads in it wouldn't be enjoyable to me. For a short while I was using a load of 8.0 grains of Blue Dot under a 100gr Speer Plinker or 110-grain FMJ and niether were warm enough for me to enjoy. Rather than advancing the load, I simply moved to 2400 and haven't ever looked back.
__________________
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.
Sevens is offline  
Old February 16, 2012, 11:59 AM   #12
zxcvbob
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 20, 2007
Location: S.E. Minnesota
Posts: 4,720
I haven't shot my .30 in a while, been focusing on just .38 Special with occasional .357 Magnums for about a year.

Herco and WSF work pretty well. I was loading them with cast bullets at about 45000 psi; 1700 fps with no leading, but the brass didn't last long (lots of trimming required, and the primer pockets got loose)

Enough Blue Dot will cause case head separations, and they are no fun to deal with. There's nothing to grab to get the broken case out of the cylinder. I bought a broken case extractor after that, but I don't intend to ever need it again.

2400 and AA#9 are probably the right powders to use. The next powder I'll try is AA-4100 because I have a couple of pounds. And maybe Power Pistol.

Don't go any faster than Unique unless you're trying to make a funky rimless .32 H&R out of it.
__________________
"Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth
zxcvbob is offline  
Old February 16, 2012, 12:28 PM   #13
Cornbread
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2012
Posts: 103
If nothing else comes of this thread maybe it will cause some people to say I have one of those and start digging in the safe drag it out and make some noise and maybe even enjoy it. . .
Cornbread is offline  
Old February 24, 2012, 06:21 AM   #14
TMD
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 9, 2011
Posts: 1,293
I reload mine with 6.0 grains of Unique behind 110gn JSP bullets. Eliminates the flash and bang of H110 and very accurate to boot. Also being a very mild load it's easy on the brass. You won't have to trim it as much.
TMD is offline  
Old February 24, 2012, 08:27 AM   #15
Sevens
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 28, 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 11,755
Sounds like a .30 Carb-Special load for sure.

Glad you enjoy it, but it's not even close to what I really enjoy from my .30 Carb Blackhawk, so I wouldn't have much use for that load. With very inexpensive cast lead bullets, perhaps... but not for the pricier slugs that I use. I'd rather have the full deal.

But, that's one of the joys of handloading -- being able to build what you want and enjoy the wide array of ammo you can make all along the spectrum.
__________________
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.
Sevens is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:07 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.09340 seconds with 10 queries