Deer hunting with a Blackhawk

[stew71]

Has anyone here taken their Ruger Blackhawk deer or pig hunting? I have a 7.5in 45 Colt model that I think would be excellent for hunting our CA blacktails here in the deep timber. In all my years, I have yet to take a deer in CA beyond 100 yards so that has me thinking it would be fun to use a revolver instead of packing a rifle. Go fast and light.

Since my eyes ain't what they used to be, I'd probably mount a 2x scope on it and pack it in a shoulder rig. Any scope or holster suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Blaine]

If you can hit it (in the right place), you can kill it All I had to hunt with at one time was a 2X scoped SBH....never saw anything close enough to take a shot....Prolly at 50 or so yards with a good supported/sitting position....

[86er]

For a few years I hunted exclusively with a 44 Mag Blackhawk with open sights and then for one year with a 45 Colt with a 2.5X scope. I practiced on a deer target at 100 yds but was not confident enough to do it in a hunting situation that was not perfect. I limited myself to where I had a steady sight picture and a deer posed as I felt it needed to be for the shot. That amounted to several animals at 25 yards or less from a tree stand and the furthest being about 60 yards. I concluded that I like the performance of the 45 Colt better with 260 gr NP or 300 gr bullets compared to the factory 240 gr Hydra-Shok and FP I had used in the 44. However, the scope was heavy and it enhanced every little movement, sometime actually making it harder to shoot. During the last stages of my pistol hunting I ended up using the 45 Colt without the scope and limiting myself to 50 yards. To me, this was the most reliable and useful hunting package. If you are using a treestand, you must take into account the stand itself and your safety harness when picking a holster. I picked a nylon crossdraw - across the chest holster. I started with leather but it was very noisy. The nylon was cinched down tight against me and the inside of the holster was some kind of soft material. It was quiet. I'd where it over my left side so it was out of the way for right handed shooting. Once in the tree and secure I held the gun in my lap most of the time. I put a rope-sling on it that went over my neck in case I dropped the gun. In full-extension shooting position, there was light tension on the rope-sling that actually helped stablize the gun. I also found it helpful to shoot from the top of an A-Frame ladder at targets so I could get used to that seated position that I would encounter in the stand. Good Luck!

[Pisgah]

Here's mine --





.45 Colt Bisley Blackhawk, 7.5 " bbl., Tasco Pro Point sight. I eliminated the holster altogether by mounting a sling stud to the butt. Great for carry, secure on the stand, and works as a shooting brace, too!

[AJMD429]

There are sight 'leaves' for the Ruger rear sight that are actually a large 'aperture' sight that makes it much easier to use open sights for 'old eyes'. If I can get a picture of mine I'll try to post it. Mine resides on a Redhawk, but the blades replace any of the Ruger rear blades on Redhawk OR Blackhawk guns.

http://www.warrencustomoutdoor.com/ohs-ruger.html It just cost a few bucks (well, $24.95, actually).

The picture on this thread is out of focus (from a post someone else made on the Rugerforum) and makes the sight look like it sticks out to the rear, which it does NOT, but it shows the general idea...

http://rugerforum.net/ruger-double-acti ... sight.html

Here's all there is to it...



Anyway, you could get an idea of it by using some masking tape and a few small washers to approximate the field of view (a thinner rim than most stock washers, so a 'lock nut' might be more approximating the real sight picture). I have made rear sight blades ('v' notch type) for Rugers before you could buy them, but for me it was worth the $24.95 not to spend all that time fiddling around trying to make one myself.

[wolfdog]

I took one deer at about 75 yards with a 10 &1/2 inch barreled open sighted SBH. Took 10 or so pigs with same set up, 240 grain Rem Soft points. Scoped it and have not killed anything but Armored Dillos with it since.

[rimrock]

You want holster suggestions--here's 2 ihappen to own a simply rugged with Chesty Puller shoulder straps--

http://www.ringlercustomleather.com/catalog/i2.html

http://shop.simplyrugged.com/ecommerce/ ... parent=669

[Grizz]

I shot quite a few deer with this rig:

130812_0003.jpg

I loaded 320gr cast bullets to something like 1150 or so, I never chronoed them but someone did and was smirking because he thought they were way too slow to do any damage. Made lots of head shots and lots of heart shots and always made 2 holes and never wasted meat and never lost a deer and shot plenty from a skiff in various stages of bounce depending on weather, etc. It was one of my most productive meat makers.

I filed off the blade, filed a dovetail and installed the finest brass bead I could find. It was kind of a no miss type of gun, the bullet always made holes where the bead was. My daughter shot some deer with it and a caribou, the natives had never seen anyone kill one with a hand gun. She wowed 'em.

so, yeah, a hand gun is a very fine, effective, and efficient harvester.....

... Grizz

[AJMD429]

Here are some pics of the sights I'm referring to...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43947

Hard to make the camera focus on the front sight but your eye does so automatically.

[stew71]

Awesome guys. Thanks for the suggestions.

Of course, on my way home I stopped by the LGS and drooled over a T/C Contender chambered in 30-30.

(sigh)

[Mike Armstrong]

Never killed a blacktail with a handgun but killed a number of whitetails with a Ruger Bisley .357 with a 7 1/2" barrel (Now THAT is one sturdy--and heavy--revolver). Longest shot was 55 of my short paces, probably about 45 yards, and that's about as far as I'd shoot a deer with a handgun, due to aging eyes. All one shot kills with the deer running a few yards and piling up. Factory Speer 158 "Gold Dot" JSPs mainly.

Have killed CA pigs with my Ruger Bisley .44 Special at about the same ranges; only had to shoot one twice. I'd say a handgun is excellent for blacktails in the chaparral as long as you can take your time and not try to shoot thru a manzanita! Those things are made of cast iron.