Posted: 6/16/2026 10:41:11 PM EDT
[Last Edit: jsha22lr][Edited]
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Local shop has a used 357 nm blackhawk with a 6 1/2 barrel that has caught my eye. I'm hoping to do some horse trading for it. Its been shot but not abused. Some finish wear but nothing outlandish. My plans for it are as a range gun and possibly some hunting. There any reason to not scoop this up other than it may be a pita to carry in a holster? I've been looking around and 4 5/8ths are kinda scarce without getting into a bidding war on gb. ETA- The price is irrelevant to the discussion since what I'm trading in will cover the cost. I'm asking you people if there is anything about getting a 6 1/2 that is a detriment or if waiting for what seems to be scarce 4 5/8 would be better. That is all. |
| What is it about arf that makes people refuse to post a price on guns they bought, wanna buy or are looking at. Iv never seen this phenomenon anywhere to the degree this place puts out. EVERYTHING IS SUBJECTIVE TO PRICE. I agree with the aforementioned $500ish post. |
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Originally Posted By Phillbilly: What is it about arf that makes people refuse to post a price on guns they bought, wanna buy or are looking at. Iv never seen this phenomenon anywhere to the degree this place puts out. EVERYTHING IS SUBJECTIVE TO PRICE. I agree with the aforementioned $500ish post. I didn't put the price because what I'm bringing in will cover it. It is that simple. I thought that was clearly evident in the post but I guess not. |
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Originally Posted By Phillbilly: What is it about arf that makes people refuse to post a price on guns they bought, wanna buy or are looking at. Iv never seen this phenomenon anywhere to the degree this place puts out. EVERYTHING IS SUBJECTIVE TO PRICE. I agree with the aforementioned $500ish post. This sounds fair for a shooter. Now the original box, etc, X model with 9MM cyl. adds value. 6 1/2” is what you want for hunting and range. I have both and the both carry well in something like a Triple K Cheyenne holster and belt, for field use. You’re not concealing it |
Here is a Blackhawk .357. I traded a Vaquero for it because I had one too many. Value of my trade at the time was $350. This would be relevant information.  Also, should I buy this Porsche? No price, no photos. Is it a good deal or pass?  |
Preferred pronoun: MARINE
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Solid hunting revolver. The long barrel is a bit inconvenient to carry but gives a better sight radius and slight improvement to velocity. Stock grips are quite small; stout loads can be painful. Both Hogue and Pachmyr make grips as do others. Ruger's blueing isn't the best, serviceable but it will show wear sooner than others. Built stout as all Rugers are, I doubt you will find a load it can't handle. Optics can be a challenge, the Blackhawk isn't really designed for them. It's from an earlier era. Had one a while back. Got it cheap, used. Had no complaints at all. Sent it packing as I prefer double action revolvers. |
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Originally Posted By Ameshawki: Solid hunting revolver. The long barrel is a bit inconvenient to carry but gives a better sight radius and slight improvement to velocity. Stock grips are quite small; stout loads can be painful. Both Hogue and Pachmyr make grips as do others. Ruger's blueing isn't the best, serviceable but it will show wear sooner than others. Built stout as all Rugers are, I doubt you will find a load it can't handle. Optics can be a challenge, the Blackhawk isn't really designed for them. It's from an earlier era. Had one a while back. Got it cheap, used. Had no complaints at all. Sent it packing as I prefer double action revolvers. Thank you for actually sticking to the topic at hand. |
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Originally Posted By wildturl1: This sounds fair for a shooter. Now the original box, etc, X model with 9MM cyl. adds value. 6 1/2” is what you want for hunting and range. I have both and the both carry well in something like a Triple K Cheyenne holster and belt, for field use. You’re not concealing it I believe it does have a extra cylinder but I am not sure. There was one sitting next to it but I didn't ask about it or remember seeing it on the tag. |
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With that longer barrel chest carry will be Beter than a belt holster and in 357 the longer barrel will give you 150fps? better velocity . Now I own a similar gun (first pistol I bought 50ish years ago) and I love it but for range use I mostly use one of my double action revolvers . A single action takes forever to unload/load . Some folks find that slow pace restful but it bores the heck out of me . Different folks and all that |
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Originally Posted By wildearp: Here is a Blackhawk .357. I traded a Vaquero for it because I had one too many. Value of my trade at the time was $350. This would be relevant information. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41996/Ruger_BH_357_JPG-2979126.jpg Also, should I buy this Porsche? No price, no photos. Is it a good deal or pass? Cool. I won't apologize for not getting a picture, it was the last thing on mind. The price is 400 and what I'm trading in, a finnish m27 that I was given, will be more than enough to cover it and give the shop room to sell it. The owner has now already agreed to it. I didn't think that was relevant to discussing the merits of scooping up a 6 1/2" revolver or hold out for a 4 5/8ths that I may or may not find when it will mostly be shot at the range and maybe some hunting. |
| Go for it. I prefer a slightly longer barrel anyway. It helps with my old eyes. I own and like a .357 Blackhawk with 9mm cylinder and a 5.5" barrel. It was a good deal. I'd trade towards the same thing with the flat top frame given the opportunity though. |
Call sign: Smack
In my younger days I had one that size and liked it a lot. I ended up selling it to my roommate to fund a new gun that I thought I would like more. I did a lot of that when I was a poor sot . A crossdraw holster will make it much easier to carry when hunting and is what I use when I am shooting my black powder 1860 Army clone, which is even longer than that Ruger. I say buy it and try it. If you don't like it, sell or trade it down the line.
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I have an Old Model 6 1/2" Blackhawk in .357. The 6 1/2" barrels do make it a bit of a pain to carry, but a simple crossdraw holster helps a bunch. Although I'm a huge fan of 4 5/8" and 5" barrels on all my Blackhawks, the slightly longer sight radius can be helpful. Sounds to me like you got a hell of a deal! |
"People tend to have a proclivity towards an object rather than their own skill."
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Open carry woods gun, the 6&1/2 doesn’t bother, and I second the idea of a cross draw. I have used/ carried a lot of longer barrel single actions and a cross draw makes it pretty painless. I am an old school colt guy but for the right price a black hawk is a good option, and bring a new model can be carried with 6 rounds. All my old style traditional guns were carried with 5 and the hammer down on an empty chamber. My dad had an old model Blackhawk 6&1/2 and carried it hunting frequently |
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The problem with a 357 Blackhawk is it’s built on all 44 mag parts just small bore for 357. A small frame 357 Blackhawk is already unnecessarily heavy and the regular Blackhawk is heavier. A 4” SP101 would handle full power 357 ammo and be over a POUND lighter if you want something that makes sense to carry. For bench shooting a Blackhawk is better. |
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Originally Posted By TheQuadfather: The problem with a 357 Blackhawk is it’s built on all 44 mag parts just small bore for 357. A small frame 357 Blackhawk is already unnecessarily heavy and the regular Blackhawk is heavier. A 4” SP101 would handle full power 357 ammo and be over a POUND lighter if you want something that makes sense to carry. For bench shooting a Blackhawk is better. With the same barrel lengths, there's 3 oz. difference in weight in a large frame .357 and a large frame 45 Colt, so the difference in the .357 and .44 Magnum is probably 2 oz., which is pretty negligible. Contrary to what one would think and all things equal, the larger framed Blackhawks are usually lighter than their mid-frame counterparts in the same caliber. I own a large frame 4 5/8" Blackhawk in .41 Magnum that weighs 39 oz. I had a .41 Magnum built mid-frame (50th Anniversary .357 Magnum) with a 5" barrel that weighs 42 oz., 3 oz. heavier than its large-frame brother. The difference is in the grip frames. The large frame Blackhawks typically have aluminum grip frames while the smaller mid-frame Blackhawks use steel grip frames. the lightest Blackhawk I own is a large-frame 3-Screw .44 Magnum whose barrel has been cut to 5". It weighs but 38 oz. So while the .357's are a bit heavier, it's not by much. I own a 3-Screw Blackhawk in .357 that has a 6 1/2" barrel. The long barrel makes it a bit more unwieldy, but it is a bit easier to shoot with accuracy than the larger calibers. |
"People tend to have a proclivity towards an object rather than their own skill."
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The big frames have aluminum ejector rod housings too. The best 357 is a flattop with an aluminum grip frame and ejector rod housing. A 4 5/8” all steel 357 flattop is still almost 6oz lighter than a 4 5/8” big frame 357 with the aluminum parts. But if you really want to carry a solid reliable 357 a 3 or 4” SP is a much smaller more manageable size and will save you a pound. That’s not insignificant. I carry an SP but if I wanted to carry a full size single action it would be a Colt, if not a Colt pattern. Rugers are just too heavy for what they are. |
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Originally Posted By TheQuadfather: The big frames have aluminum ejector rod housings too. The best 357 is a flattop with an aluminum grip frame and ejector rod housing. A 4 5/8” all steel 357 flattop is still almost 6oz lighter than a 4 5/8” big frame 357 with the aluminum parts. But if you really want to carry a solid reliable 357 a 3 or 4” SP is a much smaller more manageable size and will save you a pound. That’s not insignificant. I carry an SP but if I wanted to carry a full size single action it would be a Colt, if not a Colt pattern. Rugers are just too heavy for what they are. Where New Model Blackhawk's are concerned, the large frame examples do indeed have aluminum ERH's in addition to aluminum grip frames. I own three New Model Flat Top's and they all have factory steel grip frames and steel ERH's, which is what makes them so heavy....or heavier than one would think they should be. Flat Top .357's with aluminum grip frames and ERH's haven't been made in a long time, like is 50+ years, I believe. I'm not sure where you're getting your specifications for these revolvers, but the New Model mid-frame Flat Tops are not lighter than the big frames, certainly not 6 oz. lighter. Pictured here is the aforementioned custom .41 Magnum with a 5" barrel that was built off of a mid-frame .357. Also pictured is a large frame .41 Magnum with a 6 1/2" barrel. As can be seen, the larger frame revolver, even with an extra 1 1/2" of barrel, is still slightly lighter than the mid-frame. Attached File Just for gits and shiggles I weighed my mid-frame Flat Top .44 Special and was really surprised how heavy it is- Attached File You're absolutely right about the SPs being lighter. |
"People tend to have a proclivity towards an object rather than their own skill."