By Tank Hoover

A Terrific Two-Fer!

This is the first time the 10mm/.40S&W has been chambered in a stainless steel Ruger Blackhawk.

Pure Genius…

Lipsey’s pulled another fast one on us with their latest exclusive! Which one, right? They’ve been on a roll lately! Managing to miraculously market a gun capable of putting smiles on the likes of Sonny Crocket and John Wayne’s firm-jawed faces, they released a 10mm/.40 S&W dual cylindered Blackhawk! Both power and efficiency are well represented in these cartridges.

Not since Buckeye Sports brought out the 10mm/.38-40 as a 1989 Distributer Exclusive did we see a 10mm chambered in a Ruger Blackhawk.
Merging these calibers into a single-action six-shooter is just pure genius! That’s right! With the resurgence of the 10mm in Ruger’s SR-1911 platform this year, Ruger may as well corner the market and bring it out in a sixgun so revolver shooters can jump on the bandwagon too! And get this! By making it a dually, you can burn up all your stockpiled .40 S&W ammo to boot!

The dual cylinder Blackhawk is like getting two guns in one.

Fast Way To Load

It’s a whole lot more fun shooting 10mm/.40 S&W through a sixgun than a piece of polymer, right? No brass to chase or bending over to pick it up at the range! Being a hoarding handloader, I appreciate emptying my brass in my hand as I shuck them out with the ejector rod.
But, hold onto those magazines! They’re a fun way to load your single-action six-shooter straight from the lips of your high capacity magazine through the shute of your loading gate and into the cylinder. Simply thumb your cartridges from the magazine into the cylinder. It’s a handy way to carry extra ammo, too.

Those short-stroked brass hulls of .40-caliber configuration will make for some nifty, fuel-efficient fodder for handloaders, too! Using lightweight bullets, like those cast from LEE’s 140-grain SWC bullet mold is just the ticket to regulate with your 10mm hot loads with some paper-punching powder-puff .40 S&W loads, giving them the same point of impact without screwing around with your sights.

I was able to get pretty darn close with 6 grains of Winchester 231 and LEE’s 140-grain SWC cast bullet loaded in .40 S&W brass along side some 175-grain LEE cast slugs loaded with 9 grains of Hodgdon Longshot in 10 mm cases.

Loading with semi-auto magazines is both quick and fun and a great way to bridge the gap with younger shooters.
That’s Doc Barranti’s mag pouch sittin’ there.

Some Specs…

The Ruger Blackhawk chambered in these .40 caliber cartridges is stainless steel and my test gun has a 6.5″ barrel. It’s also available with a 4 5/8″ “shorty” barrel, and comes standard in Ruger’s satin-brushed stainless steel, giving it a tough and durable finish you won’t have to baby.

Rosewood stocks provide a positive grip while adding stylish good looks to your pistol. The transfer-bar safety allows the safe carry of six rounds loaded in your cylinder. Adjustable rear sight and pinned ramped front sight are standard.

Overall length is 12.5″ and weight is 50-ounces. The throats in my cylinders were a consistent .401″, promoting uncommonly good accuracy for both cast and jacketed bullets.

LEE molds are handy for those who cast their own slugs. It isn’t hard to regulate the powerful 10mm loads with lighter
.40 S&W loads so you don’t have to adjust your sights. The target shows 12 rounds of each load for a total of 24 shots.

Uncommon Versatility…

I’ve got a pile of Ruger single-action 6-shooters. Some are dual-cylindered configuration. It’s like getting two guns for the price of one! Usually, one cylinder is designated for the heavy hitter, while the other is saved for a lighter, paper-punching duties.

For those who have a thing for the historically hyphenated .38-40, it wouldn’t take much to punch out that .40 S&W by a gunsmith. Hmmmm…

Sneeky Seduction?

So whether you’re a cast bullet shooter or want to whittle away your pile of jacketed hollow-points, the Ruger Blackhawk 10mm/.40 S&W will be up for the job, shot by shot. I really like the uniqueness of blending ammunition usually designated for semi-auto shell shuckers into more traditional single-action sixguns.

What a way to draw the younger black plastic crowd into the sensational sixgun scene by shooting the same ammo as them. Once they learn to thumb-cock a sixgun, there may be no turning back as they learn the roots of the revolver.

At the least, you can always burn up their ammo while they’re picking up their empties…

Have your dealer contact Lipsey’s to get your very own Ruger Blackhawk in 10mm/.40 S&W to bridge the gap from tactical to traditional.
The MSRP is $875.

For more info: https://americanhandgunner.com/company/lipseys-llc/

Be sure to check out Tanks write-ups in American Handgunner Magazine on this gun and the Ruger GP100 7-shot .327 Federal, also a Lipsey’s exclusive, in the near future.

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