I just picked up a nice 3 screw super Blackhawk in 44 magnum, what are some of the first things that you guys do to slick these up a little? I am already planning on getting some trigger work done as it is a little rough any other little tricks to try with these models? I plan on shooting some cast at some point but for now I will be running mostly jacketed. How about some grips? I have pretty good sized hands and would like to try some different grips but my large Hogues look like they might get into the screws with those at the top. Any others out there to try? I would like to try some custom grips at some point but that will probably be a next spring project as i need to get to shooting if I am still going to try and hunt this fall with this.

Congrats on the new toy. I like my 3-screw stock. I've been very happy with it.

I personally would shoot the gun a lot over a few weekends and see how it performs and if it feels good to you, if not, then go to Plan B! If you plan on shooting and hunting with cast bullets, first make sure you slug your barrel and find what the diameter of your bore is. With cast you want an oversized slug by about two thousandths and use a good quality lube. . .I've heard "Fit is KING and lube is QUEEN!!! Next I would check/mic your cylinder and if needed (surely it will), I would then have the cylinder throats reamed no more than 1/1000 larger than your bore diameter. At this time I would also check your barrel forcing cone with a proper Forcing Cone Plug Gauge and you'll want an 11 degree taper in your forcing cone (Ruger's usually only have a 5 degree). You mentioned having trigger work, at that time you may as well get the cylinder timed. All that should have your revolver completely tuned, the rest would be load development and lots of practice. But shoot the gun first , it may just surprise you.

Good snag on the 3 screw. I like them and yes get a good trigger job. From a good Smith.
You are fortunate in that you shoes the 44 mag. Most of the throats on 44 cylinders were fine. Measure them ,,,,
More accurate is with Mic or Pin gauges if you don't have these then get a good jacketed bullet and see if you can just press fit a bullet through the throat. Ruger was pretty good on getting the 44 cylinders correct. I scream shoot the gun first and see what is going on. I have a Ruger with tight throats that still shoots a 2" group at 34 yds, oh and it has a 3 1/2" barrel
You can check the bore with a kit from Beartooth bullets. They have the soft lead inserts for doing this. I call them inserts since they have a leg to fit on a cleaning rod. this helps. Once you know the bore size you can have a better understanding about you cylinder throats. Running the lead slug thru the barrel tells you also if there is any tight spots or loose ones, and if there is thread choke in the barrel. This is the area at which the barrel is threaded into the frame. If that slug wants to stop right there then you have thread choke, and two ways to get rid of it. Firelapping, or having a Smith do a Taylor throat on the barrel. Beartooth also sells a kit for "Firelapping" your barrel if there is thread choke.
As far as the forcing cone is concerned, Ruger was pretty good on this. No matter what degrees it is 5, 8, or 11, make sure that it is even and not damaged in anyway.
You had ask about tricks,,, these not necessarily being tricks but things that can aid accuracy or functionality.
Belt Mountain base Pin GET ONE! I prefer the locking base pins. I also like to get a stronger base pin latch spring. ( heavy loads ) this is better.
Sights,,, You might not have time right now but you might want to consider some different front sights. White line in the front sight, fiber optics, a patridge front sight,
Grips, I enjoy custom grips but this is going to be up to you as to what kind and what material.
Grip Frame. This goes hand in hand with the grips, especially if you go the custom route. You might need the frame decked ( skimmed on a Mill to make sure it is flat) The middle knuckle may get hit and or bruised and you need a little relief mods on the grip frame or even trigger guard. You will discover all this soon.
But for now, start shooting that gun and enjoy it. If you want to shoot milder loads as practice and get trigger time to work on grip and trigger control and to "learn" the gun.
Try some different loads Jacketed and cast if you want,,, just to see what the gun likes or dislikes.
You do not have to have the maximum power dynamite loads the 44 will do a good job with milder Fodder.
Barnes are great,, and Federal loads Swift bullets... About 20.00 a box less than Swifts own brand of ammo. Top choices for hunting. Hornady 240gr XTP is very accurate. Not my choice for hunting But that's my 2 cents.
But if you do already, or start rolling your own, then you can load some cast HPs, or solids or good jacketed, and have more to choose from, and tweak and tailor your loads to suit your gun.
Charles

I have shot this a little this evening and and it sure looks like i am going to have to do some firelapping at some point on this one to get the cast to shoot, without measuring anything yet I do believe that the throats may be a bit tight as it is acting like my 45 colt did before doing all the measuring and lapping. It does shoot quite well with jacketed magnum loads but my 44 special cast loads are not doing the best. The cast shooting is not high on the list right now so I?ll get to that this winter. Of bigger concern to me right now is that this gun has been converted to the transfer bar system, and after shooting about 60-70 rounds it seems as if the bar is wanting to slide forward and stop under the protruding firing pin, which locks up the action. I have done some of my trigger work on the new models so I will take this apart and have a look at it, but since I have never gotten into an old style like this one I was just going to see if these were dramatically different as far as getting them apart. I am for sure going to start looking into some bigger grips but am not sure where to start looking for grips for these particular models. Is there a semi custom outfit somewhere that makes these?

Take a look at your Base pin. The newer style require a pin that uses a spring inside it. It may have one. Also the transfer bar could prolly stand to be polished. This is done on the firing pin side. Just polished and a slight taper at the top portion.
I had to hold the muzzle up on one Ruger just to cock it each time. It can be repaired.
Timing was also an issue and once everything was addressed it worked perfect.

I also suggest that you shoot the jacketed for now and start dealing with the changes after season.

Charles

I owned a Blackhawk .44 mag with a 6&1/2" tube for a while and found the action to be much smoother than newer guns from this manufacturer. I'd be careful doing anything that may be hard to replace? These are no longer made in this fashion.
Lack of grips for this grip frame was my reason for selling this gun.
My $.02, Steve

Grashorn's Grips can pretty much make grips for anything,