I needed (wanted?) a new field gun. Something to carry in the field for what have you. Personal Defense? Rabid Wombats? Suicidal deer? Exactly!

Now, I have several guns that can fit that bill. Trouble is.........I love them too much. That doesn't mean I won't take them out on occasion. But, what I needed was a work horse. Something I liked......but did not love. Something I could sweat on, bang against the gate I climb, get blood and guts on it, lay prone in the dirt...........and not cry. I needed a mule.

I wanted it to be handy, packable, but still have a good enough sight plane to afford accurate shooting. Snub noses need not apply.

Enter the 4.6" Ruger Super Blackhawk.







A fine weapon right out of the box, no doubt. But.......we all know that can never be. As always, I dislike the factory Ruger front sight. It's horridly inaccurate for me. The changing light and resulting glare drives me bat guano crazy. Enter my new found love of SA sights.........Hi-Viz. Who, in their insanity to find some way to piss me off......has either discontinued my preferred color of green or made it most difficult to attain. Either way.........I was left with no choice but to opt for red. A sad substitute, but still better than a ramp front.

Next, of course, was the trigger. Out of the box, it broke at a not-so-bad 3 lbs 4 oz. Which, is MUCH better than both my factory or even improved Redhawk triggers. But still.........gotta tinker. So, I installed another Wilson Custom Tune Spring Kit. The swapping of two springs in the SBH resulted in a reduction in trigger pull to an acceptable 1 lb 12 oz. That'll work!

Went to the range today to get her sighted in with my 240gr Hornady XTP handloads.







At first, I was getting erratic groups with high flyers. Initially, I was rather erked. Thinking I had a lemon. Then I though it was the loads. But........upon closer inspection, I noticed that my trigger guard was contacting the metal elevation wheel. I was unaware as the wheel is covered by my "blast blanked" I use to protect my front rest when actually shooting. Discovering this, I scooted the revolver back ever so slightly to allow space in recoil.

VOILA!!!!



Problem SOLVED!!!

I'm pretty ecstatic about the accuracy from a sub 5" barreled gun! I can live with that all day. The Hi-Viz sight undoubtedly aids in the accuracy department. Providing a more definitive POA. Gotta love Hi-Viz!

In the process of sighting her in, I got the velocity out of curiosity.



1,377 fps

Not bad for a short barrel. The same load clocks 1,414 fps out of my 7.5" SBH-Hunter. Not much velocity lost from a 3" deficit. Recoil, due to the lighter weight, is rather abrupt. Not painful in any way. Just.........abrupt.

I LIKE this gun!!! I do not LOVE this gun. Which..........is exactly what I wanted. My Mule.

Speaking of love...........I swapped the front sight on my 5.5" SBH Bisley Convertable while I was at it. Sighted her in today as well.



That gun................I unabashedly lust for every time I see her. She is my Thoroughbred. The other is my Mule. See the difference? Follow my justification? It all makes sense in my head. When the voices pipe down.

Good shooting, as usual! To you, it may be a mule, but from those pictures it looks more like a quarter horse.

Thanks. The upper half of the gun, I do love. But, I am unashamed to say that I am a Bisley Snob. Much preferring that grip.

Being as my new SBH is plow handled.........it may touch my heart..........but never win it.

Which, was the purpose.

ZEE, which front sight is that.

I WANT A NEW MULE NOW!!!!! I love the Ruger SBH, but I prefer it with Jack Huntington's grip extension on it. Fits me very well, and is even better than the bisley I used to have, at least for me. But without sending a gun off to Jack, I agree with ya Zee, Bisley or bust!

Great job! Well done!!

A little home brew holster making.

That'll work!

What did you use to make the chest strap? I have a similar holster for my 460, but it doesn't have a chest strap, and it's kind of a pain to wear on the hip.

Flight Bag (Duffle Bag) straps with hooks.

Just picked up a spare piece of 1/4" plexiglass I am going to cut to just larger than the belt loop. Then, drill holes in the corners to clip the into.

Voila! Universal plate.

That could work.

I'm trying to think of the name of the straps I use for my binoculars. You know, the ones that consist of four straps connected to the binoculars with two hooks, and then by a leather patch on your back? That would probably go great with that type of holster.

Yep. As long as the straps are not the stretchy foam kind. They need to be nylon without flex in order to hold the gun against your chest without bounce as you move.

Hmm, looks like the straps on my binos have a bit too much stretch and elasticity for that. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

I found my plate material today.
1/4" plexiglass



Works perfectly!!

Looks pretty good!

Well, it "looks" like crap. But it works like a champ. That's all I ask.

Total cost?

$14

That's awesome Zee. I may have to try that. I'm a bit of a cheapskate.

I have the mate to your Bisley, know exactly how you feel.