[TheBig1]

Good morning everyone, my 13 year old son has been on me asking to get a revolver that he can shoot and reload for. Last night I stopped by my local gun shop and found a used Ruger Blackhawk 357 with a 6 1/2" barrel for $294. I snatched it up right away.


So my questions begin with:
1. Can we hunt with this gun also?


2. If so, what is the biggest game that you'd hunt? I'm reading whitetail deer.


3. Just to make sure, can I shoot and practice with 38 Special's out of this gun?


4. If so, do I need to get a 38 Special die or can that also be done with the 357 die?


5. Does anyone else have this gun, hunt with this gun, and possibly have any load data (power, primers, bullet) information that they'd care to pass along to help?


I know that these are probably basic questions to some, and I apologize, but I've never had a 357 and am only about 6 months or more into reloading. So any help would be greatly appreciated.
Chad

 

[rflktrman]

I hunt with my .357 Ruger and have taken deer. I would limit myself to deer and predators. You can shoot and reload .38's in your .357 and .357 dies. I use mostly 2400 for powder but check with several reloading manuals and also Hodgdon's online site. For bullets I usually use Hornady.

 

[Fallair]

Some people would advise against it, but I think a heavier load on the .357 will do the job on a deer. I use a .44 mag in the same gun and it packs a heck of a punch.

 

[TheBig1]

Thanks Rifle, I appreciate the input. That answers a lot of basic questions to get me started.

 

[TheBig1]

Thanks Fallair. I've been looking at the Hornady 158gr XTP as a hunting round. I'm not around my books at this time, but I have plenty of Blue Dot powder for reduced rifle loads. I'm wondering if there's any data using Blue Dot with the XTP.

 

[slavage]

for that price i would of jumped on it and them some...
You can send it back to ruger an get a 9mm cylinder for it i would call them up see what the cost would be..
and if its not to costly any you want to up the power of it.... there is a wild cat that lots of guys use in that black hawk.
357 B&D bain and davis i think you can find dies on ebay in the 30 $ range..
its a 44 mag brass necked down to 357 neck .
you could have a second 9mm cylinder reamed out for about 150 ish give or take to take that round..
that would give him an you a very large range of things to shoot..
9mm mild plinking when you want, 38 spec 357 mag for mild to mildly hot for med and large shooting.
357-44 shooting 180 Xtps or in the 200 grain hard cast lead to drop larger things even up too 75+ yard shots if you have a nice shooting lane.
i'm all ways on the look out for a stainless one like that for just that reason.
Best of luck
dave

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Had a 357 mag single shot rifle for many years. Daughter wanted to shoot and reload so I let her load 38 S&W cases with black powder and later with 4198 rifle powder. With a slow burning low pressure powder, it is simply impossible to overload or double load the cases. Just be able to set the bullet seater to proper length. She loaded and shot a few thousand rounds with that old gun. Then she discovered the guys who shoot because their dad brought them to the range.

 

[TheBig1]

Thanks Slavage, I appreciate it. Zimmer, I hope that I too don't run into that with my little girl but I have a feeling that it's inevitable.