Hi All! I desire a Ruger Single Action in .357. Do any of you have one & how does it shoot? With cast loads? Like it? Problems.troubles/dislikes? It is between this and a little stainless 5 shot Smith with adj sights..... Oh , so nice..... I want it for plinking and as a trail companion.


Thanks in advance, Dale

I have an older Ruger 357 DA that is a sweetheart, but I hear many complaints about the newer guns. With any Ruger (or S&W), quality varies depending on which day of the week it was manufactured. Lots of variations in fit, alignment, and dimensions.

Dale, I own a Ruger .357mag. Blackhawk ca. 1992 and find it to be exceptionally accurate with cast bullets. I don't know if there's any trick to getting such accuracy (5 in 1" from a rest with open sights @ 25 yds.), but I do size them to .359" (.358" works, but I get lead deposits), use a good lube (e.g., Felix Lube) and wheelweights + 1% Sn without heat-treatment. Also, the RCBS 150gr. Keith (plain base) is exceptionally accurate as is Lyman #358429 (170gr. Keith, plain base). Moreover, some CB's, e.g., RCBS's wadcutter with a raised nose, work better if seated backwards. Powder choice includes B'eye, Unique, AA #9, H 110 and WC 820 (almost the same as AA #9 & H 110). The last three are better for high velocity and/or heavy CB's. ...Maven

Maven - note PM sent - Stan

I must have the one dud 357 blackhawk. I've tried 150, 158, 160, 180, and 200 gr cast bullets through mine, and 25 yd groups are around 5". It's a late 50's old model, and had been shot very little when I purchased it. I traded it off once, got it back because I missed it, but I still can't get it to group. I'm thinking there is a constriction in the barrel where it is threaded into the frame. I've tried Unique, red dot, and H-110, from mild to wild and the turkey won't shoot! For some reason I still like the gun, maybe it's that neat click, click, click each time you cock it.

Paul, you should save yourself the agony and sell it to me to be turned into a 375 mag.
I have a 4" GP-100 that is very accurate. I also have a 4 5/8" blackhawk, that I haven't spent much time with, but it seems to shoot fairly well.

PaulH
For a reasonable sum Ruger replaced a SBlackhawk I partially (catastrophically) disassembled.
The original shot like a house afire . . . the replacment would hit a barn (from the inside).
All that to say some guns just DON'T shoot.

Might I suggest driving a soft lead bullet down the bore and see if the barrel does have a constriction.

I need to slug the bore, I've just been too busy on other projects. I've considered selling the gun, but I figure it'll be a good learning project, however painful, and I just plain like the gun, and .357's. The kids like it too. I just traded with a buddy, and ended up with over 600 160 gr swc's, not to mention the Lee 158 swc 6 cavity mold, the Lee 158 rf mold and a 200 gr WFN balisticast mold. I also have a hankering for a lee 105 gr 6 cavity mold to make some real mild plinkers for the kids.

I'll get it figured out one of these days. I plan on getting a grizzly 7X12 mini lathe, which would allow me to bush the cylinder to get rid of the end shake, set back the barrel a thread to tighten up the barrel/cylinder gap, and while I'm at it, I could taylor throat it.

Paul, check for a constriction, if you find one, power lap it out with the LBT lapping paste. Make a world of difference. There are also ready made lapping boolits out there.
You can also use a lead lap by hand and just lap ahead of the forcing cone. Don't touch the rest of the bore. Most Ruger .357's shoot great.