I got a hankering for some big iron. I want a revolver that has at least a 6" barrel and can fling a good sized pill downrange.

I have it down to a Ruger Blackhawk 45lc/45acp and a Smith and Wesson 629 Classic.

The Blackhawk can be gotten with a 7.5" barrel and the Classic with a 6.5" barrel.

The Blackhawk would be with "the hump", so it could take hot loads. The 629 of course can shoot mild 44 special, if you reload.

And that is essentially my dilemma . I just don't like to reload. The Blackhawk would allow me to shoot affordable acp rounds and expensive +p rounds. If all I used this gun for was hot stuff, I might just buy the 629, figuring that I probably wouldn't shoot more than a box of mags in a range session.

Thoughts?

Are we comparing .45 LC/.45 ACP in a Blackhawk to .44 Magnum in the 629? I adore Blackhawks in any caliber but the S&W 629 in 44 Mag. is The Bomb for me. Can't go wrong no matter what with these choices but it seems as if we are comparing .45 to .44 magnum and that is kinda apples and oranges.

VooDoo

Obligatory "both?"

The Smith does double action, the Blackhawk does not. I figure that's probably the decider right there. I'm a fan of the Ruger personally, but by all accounts you need to reload to take full advantage of the platform. That is, if you want to get up into .44 Magnum territory.

The Blackhawk is probably cheaper.

I swear this tangent is actually related - Ruger has just announced a new carbine in .45 ACP. Apparently this was their second choice for caliber on the LC Carbine chassis after 5.7x28mm. Accepts Glock pattern magazines. I think this could be the weirdest possible single caliber rifle-handgun combo you could go with.

I think M1 Carbine/Blackhawk would be a pretty cool carbine/handgun combo.

The .45LC is the most versatile as long as you have a big Ruger frame. You can load it from plinkers to T.Rexers. That big Ruger frame can be had in both single and double actions.

Good thread.

CDFingers

I like my old Smith 29 with 200grain cowboy loads bought from the gun show. I’ve never fired a Blackhawk but my S&W trigger is amazing in single action and pretty damn good in double, but it may have been worked on at some point in its 40 or so years of existence.

Well, from experience, I would recommend the Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull with the 7.5" barrel. Take it to a gunsmith and get the cylinder milled out for .45 ACP moon clips, which shouldn't be very expensive to do at all. Then you have all three loadings of .45 ACP, .45 (Long) Colt, and .454 Casull.

Why not a Blackhawk? Nothing wrong with a Blackhawk. I personally happen to prefer the flexibility and faster loading of the double-action revolver, and the fact that the Super Redhawk is even stronger--by necessity--than the (yes, very strong) Super Blackhawk.

I get that you don't like to reload. Not everyone does. To fire these bigger-bore cartridges, even .45 ACP, will add up pretty fast, though. Just sayin'.

And yes, I do have a S&W 629 with the 6" barrel as well. That, too, is a very fine revolver. Most of its diet is .44 Special, because there's no reason to abuse the gun or my hands. :-) But I do shoot the occasional .44 Magnum round through it.

Essentially, it boils down to which cartridge you want to shoot.

Thanks all. I am going to go the Blackhawk route. If I feel the need for speed after shooting 45 bear loads, I will supplement with a 44.

I'm seeing the 7.5" Blackhawk in .45 Colt for pretty darn cheap online. In theory, you can buy a conversion cylinder from Ruger directly, but you'd need to call it in. And maybe ship it back home for fitting. It will absolutely be longer to load than a double action, but if you use the off-hand thumb to cock it, I'm not sure its any slower to shoot - and the trigger is nice and light. I hope you like it!

I contacted Ruger and they are not doing cylider work at the moment. Not for new cylinders at least.