4 5/8”

[rjtodd]

Oct 26, 2024 17:13:31 GMT -5 lar4570 said:

One of my absolute favorite revolvers is a Stainless 4 5/8" Blackhawk in 45Colt.
It's fairly light, easy to pack, and accurate enough to pop the heads off of snakes.
I mostly shoot 275gn cast out of it now, but have shot up to 405s in it.



My eyes are starting to get a little old, so I put a red dot on it. Still not sure if I like it that way or not?


I've puzzled on that gun until my puzzler is sore.  Cylinder looks blued, rest looks stainless.  And I don't think I've seen that barrel length offered on that gun.  Tell us more about it??

[lar4570]

4 5/8" stainless Blackhawk in 45 Colt bought new in the early 90's. A friend had recently received a Linebaugh built 475, and I had a severe case of 475 envy. So I ordered some 405 gn 45-70 cast sized to .452" and wanted to see how close I could get. I pushed it a little to hard and stressed the cylinder. So I bought my friends blued 45 Bisley cylinder and fit it to my gun.

[rkcohen]

...let's see..

- if you shoot a dear/bear/pig with it and eat one of them - it's a hunting pistol
- if you carried it with you in some sort of holster type rig - it's a packin' pistol
- if you shot a bear with it while playing poker - it's a bear/poker-table gun

sort of a multi-function tool.... congrats!

[reflex264]

One of my most prolific hunting handguns is a 4 5/8" .45 topped with a 2X Leupold. I literally don't know how many critters have fell to that gun. My .460 Rowland/45 Colt Blackhawk shoots 6 shot 1" groups at 40 yards when I can see. Just one kill on it so far as I rotate a lot of guns now.
I love a good 4 5/8" gun.

[lar4570]

I bought 2 of the Sig Romeo 5's. One is on my 45 Blackhawk, the other one went on my 4" 500S&W, it lasted 5 shots! Oops!

[z1r]

Oct 31, 2024 9:23:20 GMT -5 lar4570 said:

I bought 2 of the Sig Romeo 5's. One is on my 45 Blackhawk, the other one went on my 4" 500S&W, it lasted 5 shots! Oops!

Oops!

[joeb4065]

4” Bisley vaquero, octagon barrel, round butted 45 colt is my most carried, and has been used on deer out to 60 yds successfully. Essy to tote in a barranti

[Cholla]

I've hunted with and killed game with revolvers in 4 5/8", 5 1/2" and 7 1/2". IMHO the 4 5/8" is by far the most practical for those of us who carry revolvers todo el rato. As such, I've shot, and shot at, more game with 4 5/8" revolvers in .41 Magnum, .44 Special, and 45 Colt than all other barrel lengths combined.

 

[bigbrowndog]

Cholla, is that a blue quail in one of the pics??

Trapr

[Cholla]

Nov 1, 2024 10:17:56 GMT -5 bigbrowndog said:

Cholla, is that a blue quail in one of the pics??

Trapr

It is. It was shot with a 250 gr. RN loafing along at about 750 fps. One had to part the feathers to see the bullet hole(s)! Great small game load/bullet.

[bearskinner]

I’ve carried a 4 5/8 stainless Blackhawk in 45 Colt for years, as a belt and truck gun. Usually had the first or 1 or 2 loaded with my own snake shot, then 3, 300 grain hard cast GC’s. Installed a Hunter cylinder and Bisley grip frame in it after about 20 years.
I used this little 4 3/4” 5 shot that John built quite a lot too. They both are showing their age. Just a perfect packin pistol size, and caliber. Both are sporting Bowen Rough Country’s.

[LeverGunner]

I carry my 4 5/8" New Model Flattop Blackhawk daily and have for about 3 years now. I consider it a do all gun. I pack it, I hunt with it (though I haven't blooded it yet), and it's my concealed carry gun.

I prefer the 4 5/8" length, though I'd tolerate a 5 1/2".

[bigbore5]

My project gun. Now has Bisley trigger and hammer. 45C,acp, and added a 460 Rowland non fluted cylinder. Easily my most accurate Ruger that equals or betters my FA and MRI guns. Holster by Randy Miller (Big Bore on here).

[bradshaw]

My late shooting partner, Ed Verge, drilled a whitetail through the neck @ 70 yards with his 4-inch M-29. Another friend, with whom I was hunting at the time, missed a buck with his Ruger Number One in .270 Winchester as it sprinted across a clear cut. He dropped the falling block Ruger in the snow and drew his 4-inch M-29 to punch it through the lungs with the old Hornady 240 JHP. This gentleman with his strong competitive nature ranks as the best student I ever instructed in field shooting with a magnum sixgun. He was partial to the Smith & Wesson and unlike Ed Verge and some others did not have the same touch with a single action.

While a Colt Peacemaker with 4-3/4” barrel is the sexiest of all single actions, it was up to Bill Ruger to transition the concept to magnum performance. In so doing, and now with the help of Ronnie Wells grip frame innovations to conserve shooter anatomy, the single action remains the most compact instrument for dispensing big power. A four or 4-5/8” barrel shows its practicality as you seat yourself in a tractor or log skidder and don’t want the bulk of a shoulder or chest holster, nor the challenges posed by shorter barrels.

Just as a sub-4” barrel doesn’t equal the 4”+ length, nor do 4" guns equal 5-1/2” to 10” sixguns for hunting.
David Bradshaw

[rexgigu]

For actual packin’, I find 4-5/8”, 4-3/4”, and 5.5” to be so close as to not really matter, much, if at all, in comfort, and in speed/efficiency of deployment. Some of my favored holsters, most of which I acquired pre-owned, are for the shorter sixguns, which introduces some amount of limitation, depending upon which trousers I am wearing. (Belt loop placement and ride height vary.) All else being equal, I favor that extra bit of sight radius, when shooting for best accuracy.

My reasons to carry a single action sixgun have not included hunting game animals. During my 33+ years of LEO-ing, I was required to use DA revolvers and autoloading pistols for hunting or otherwise engaging men, so, I did not normally pack single action sixguns, and largely favored DA revolving pistols during personal time. Within the past year, however, Arthur of Itis has decreed that my days of long-stroke DA trigger-pulling are over; first with my right hand, in November 2023, and then my left hand, last April. (I will still work to preserve overall hand strength, but, no more concentrating stress on the second knuckle of my index fingers.) So, my single action pistols, both revolving and reciprocating/auto-loading, are now fully in the game, and the SA sixguns are finally getting their time in the sun.

The balance of the weapon can be a factor. 5.5” of barrel is too muzzle-heavy, for my taste, in the case of a New Model Ruger Flat Top Blackhawk .357/9mm Convertible. I very rarely part with SA sixguns, but, decided to sell this one.

My most-likely-to-hunt sixgun, by default, in the pest control arena, four-legged category, is likely to be my Ruger Single Six, 5.5”, chambered .22 WMR.

I had thought that my thumbs would be the first to age-out, but, no, it is the darned index fingers. Forty years of DA sixgunning will do it to a fellow.