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Range report with new Ruger .41 Mag BH

2K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  w5cds 
#1 ·
Just got back from the range with my new Ruger .41 magnum BH and have this to report. The gun is without doubt very accurate and the user does not possess the skill to take advantage of it:eek: I seemed to keep pulling my shots to the left for some reason. The grips leave a heck of a lot to be desired and I will be upgrading to those tacky looking Houges.

The gun seemed to really like 18.5gr of 2400 behind either the Hornady or the Sierra 210gr bullets. This is good becuase I don't think I could take more than that load puts out in recoil or muzzle flash. I have never used 2400 before but have always heard how flashy it is, but great googly moogly I didn't think it was going to be FLASHY like a dang bolt of lightining:what: When I touched off my first handload I almost thought I had a kaboom. I had to stop and look at the gun just to make double certain I didn't.

I can see a lot of loads using Unique in the future to get better aquainted with this awesome piece of hardware. I'm now thinking about loading these bullets over about 9.0gr of Unique and going from there. Sure do love the versatility of the .41 Mag.
 
#2 ·
I like 6 gr of Accurate #2 with a 210 lead bullet for practice, a lot easier to develop a flinch than to get rid of it. I've had my 41 Black hawk since 82 or so, shot it today with 6 gr #2 and the Ranch Dog plain base bullets.
 
#3 ·
336A said:
I can see a lot of loads using Unique in the future to get better aquainted with this awesome piece of hardware. I'm now thinking about loading these bullets over about 9.0gr of Unique and going from there. Sure do love the versatility of the .41 Mag.
Unique is my go-to .41 powder, usually behind a 215grn cast or the aforementioned 210grn jacketed. I recently loaded some 250grn Cast Performance GC'ed bullets over some H110 for my 5.5" Bisley and let's just say I was glad I was firing them outside!
 
#4 ·
Charlie what vendor do you get your 215gr SWC bullets from. I made a mistake a while back and ordered the ones I have at the moment from leadhead, at 18 BHN I feel that they are to hard.
 
#5 ·
Another vote of confidence for Unique in the 41, I burned a ton of it under cast bullets back when my world revolved around all things of .410" diameter.

If you think 2400 is flashy, try some Power Pistol. You can signal Mars with it at night. :eek:
 
#8 ·
336A said:
Charlie what vendor do you get your 215gr SWC bullets from. I made a mistake a while back and ordered the ones I have at the moment from leadhead, at 18 BHN I feel that they are to hard.
I think the last batch was the last of the Bull-X bullets I got when I lived in Ohio (which means they are at least 15 years old.) I have a brand new box of Laser Cast, but I've not gotten into them just yet.

I've never tested hardness on my bullets, just loaded them up and lobbed them downrange... and deal with whatever cleaning chores remained.

Oz said:
Don'tja just love Unique. :) :) :)
I sprinkle it on my morning Cheerios!
 
#9 ·
If you think 2400 is flashy, try some Power Pistol. You can signal Mars with it at night.
Papajohn nice analogy.

The gent that was in the stall next to me was a Soldier as am I. At one point he turned to my wife and said that when I first touched the .41 off he thought he was going to have a flashback. Of course I was the only one there with a revolver ;D
As I stated earlier though I'm going to have to purchase some more 215gr SWC. I pay special attention to the BHN of cast bullets anymore and don't like anything over 16 BHN unless they're going to be gas checked.

I honestly can't think of a task that I'm likely to encounter which a 215gr SWC @ about 1050 - 1100fps won't be able to settle.
 
#10 ·
If you really want to shoot some pussycat loads from that 41, try some TrailBoss. I took mine to the range today, and shot 4.5, 5.0, and 5.5gr of TrailBoss behind some Speer 220gr JSPs, and was REALLY pleased with both the (lack of) recoil and the accuracy. Sweet loads. I wouldn't hesitate to use any of them for hogs (the only thing I hunt with the 41). Would have shot the 6.0 and 6.5gr loads, but was impatient to move on to the .45-70, sighting in with TrailBoss loads (.2gr increments from 12.0 to 12.8gr behind the Lyman 457193 410gr boolits). Yeah, I know: they're 405gr, but throw @ 410 w/WW.
 
#11 ·
Well I just got back from the range. I tested Leadheads 215gr SWC over 8.5gr and 8.7gr of Unique @ 10yd off hand. I didn't even bother shooting the loads I had loaded with 8.9gr & 9.1gr as the other two were right on the money:D

Now I just have to figure out which load I want to settle on.
Here is the first target with 6rds of 8.5gr of Unique as you can see I pulled my first 2 rounds:eek: I'm still trying to get used to the single action grip frame.


I made a minor windage adjustment and shot the remaining 4 rnds again @ 10yd off hand, one shot completely missed:banghead:


Here is the 8.7gr load, there is supposed to be 10 rnds but again I missed again:banghead:


I hope that either of these two loads will be sufficient for the little piggies, what do you all think. There as slight leading but not as much as I thought there would be. It came out pretty easily with some hoppes #9 and a bore brush.
 
#12 ·
Lookin' good! Just need to spend more time shooting, so it feels natural. Make sure it feels the same after you cock it; if it doesn't feel the same as it did the shot before, it won't shoot the same, and minor differences in feel make major differences in POI.

As far as the piggies go, those loads should work quite well for punching holes! ;D
 
#13 ·
I recently tried Trailboss under my Lee 195grSWC's. 6.5gr of Trailboss gives me 860fps from my 6-1/2" Blackhawk. It's accurate at normal pistol distances, very clean and recoil is almost non-existant. It's like shooting a 41Special, without having to trim the cases.... I LIKE IT!! 8)
 
#14 ·
;D
 
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