Hello,

For the last few years i've been using a lot of Hodgdon Longshot in my 45 LC for hunting loads.. 250 gr Nosler JHP and 13.5 gr of Longshot gives an average of 1260 out of my 5 1/2 inch barrel blackhawk bisley through the chrono. Accuracy is pretty good if i can do my part on that end of the gun. I've recently been working on going to heavier solid cast bullets at moderate velocities and i am having some pretty good success with the 310 gr Kieth style bullets and Longshot... I've used lil gun, H110, 296, unique, 231, etc.. and the longshot seems to give me matched velocites but at lower pressures and definitely lower felt recoil than using the H110...

Some blackhawks are notorious for some restriction in the barrel, small throats and large gaps and end shake to the cylinder... mine has a few of these issues ive slowly been working on... and it has gotten markedly better. They are good guns for the money though.

lightening the trigger pull will help, polishing and lubricating the trigger components where they mate will help also... the rest requires machine work to some degree to correct. the single best thing i have probably done to date is a belt mountain basepin and converting to a Bisley grip frame... i can hold onto the gun now with heavy loads without having it roll in my hand and then having to regrip before the next shot. i have shot 300 gr bullets out of this thing at 1300+ fps with H110... not fun with a standard blackhawk grip and honestly you don't need that much ooomph for deer...

there are a few good sites on the net for tweaking your blackhawk to get the most out of it... check out www.sixguns and www.sixgunner.com for some good reading on the blackhawks and 45LC... also look up the likes of John Linebaugh for his thoughts on hunting with the 45 LC.

Jamie