Ruger Blackhawk .22 hornet conversion

[mobilemechanic]

Has anyone converted a Ruger Blackhawk to a non factory caliber ? I have a 45 colt I am thinking about converting to .22 hornet. I will sleeve the cylinder bores and re chamber to hornet,next replace the barrel with a 10" tube. A local gunsmith will remove the old barrel and install the new one after I turn and thread it to fit. I could just trade for a Contender but what fun is that ?

 

[dpb]

You may have some problems with the bottlenecked case causing the cylinder to bind up.

 

[pdentrem]

Cylinder lock up due to the shell being forced back is very much likely. The .22 Jet S&W Model 53 died for just this reason. I suspect even any version of the K-Hornet would still be an issue, but on this site, there is mention of the K-Hornets being used.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/why-the-22-magnum-remington-jet-died-away.363499/
Pierre

 

[mobilemechanic]

I have looked into this,the chambers need to be on the tight side ,BFR has made a hornet for years now without an issue. The k-hornet can be a problem because the sharp shoulder on the case wants to force it back. I admit I may not be able to make this work and be accurate enough for shooting groundhogs out to 100 yards, but I will always be able to return to 45 colt and sell it.

 

[george wilson]

I had a .22 Jet for about 20 years. It never did jam up from the bottle neck case. Everyone bad mouthed it, saying that a .22 Hornet would be better. I finally sold it to a friend. Sometimes I'd shoot it with .22 long rifle by use of the stainless steel cylinder adapters that came with the gun.

Heck of a LOUD gun !!!!! a .357 magnum necked down to .22 caliber,I was told.

 

[jsh]

It has been done to an extent, not a bone stock hornet nor a K hornet. I know of a couple of guys doing 8 shot 25's. One is the 257 Jack Rabbit and the other was a 25acp and he may have had another cylinder as well.
You might look at what Gary Reeder has done, GNR cases.
Jeff