45 Colt New Vaquero

[KHornet]

About a year an a half ago or so, I stood at a gun counter debating on buying either a BlackHawk or a New Vaquero in 45 Colt, and figuring I had a 44Mag Super Blackhawk ended up with the new Vaquero. Since that time I have really come to appreciate that decision. I love the old 45Colt Ctg! It just sort of looks cool, and has a great history. Have shot a number of bullet weights in it and a number of powders. However, for the sake of lead economy, I have settled on the 452-200RF Lee 200 grain, over 6 gr of Trail Boss. The New Vaquero was designed for Cowboy action shooting, and not designed for heavy loads, and this load is very comfortable and quite accurate. I do not regret my decision!

Paul

 

[Ian]

I'm happy you got a good one, I regret mine. Unbelievable thread choke in the barrel caused the grooves to fill up with lead in short order, the cylinder throats were all different but none of them large enough to accept .452" bullets, and some of the chambers are bored deeper than others. Also, the chambers are HUGE, lots bigger than any of my Uberti SAA clones. Also, for some reason the front sight was about 1/8" too high and the thing shot way low with every powder and bullet weight I tried, even the Lee 340 grain bullet. I filed the sight blade down, lapped the throat, reamed the cylinder throats, lapped the barrel some more, fire-lapped it, and finally got it to quit leading. One cylinder still throws a shot out of the group and I marked it. Oh, and I had to make a new set of stocks that hung down 3/8" below the grip frame so I could keep hold of the thing. It's ok now!

 

[KHornet]

Wow Ian, I guess I am a lucky SOB. No problems with mine at all other than just a small bit of leading.
However, as dad always said, "better to be lucky than smart"! Believe I would have sent it back!

Paul

 

[quicksylver]

got one about a year after they came out..very nicely made , I had no problems with it..

yes I said "had'...I got the stainless steel model, 4 5/8" barrel with the white grips...WOW...but alas those sights just couldn't be seen..that along with the heft ( I figured twice that of a Colt) and the lack of sufficient clicks made it easy for me to part with..

Nice guns just too far from the real thing for me to get excited about...

Now my three screw, four clicker, pre pre fix's are another story...

 

[quicksylver]

BTW..why don't you think it's designed for heavy loads?

 

[USSR]

Paul,

Your New Vaquero is in the same strength range as the S&W N Frame Model 25's. That is: 23k psi, such as .45 ACP +P loads are. Loaded up to that level with a suitable bullet, it puts a world of hurt on any 4 legged critter in the lower 48.

Don

 

[Ian]

Ruger was adamant in stating all over their manuals and adverts that the NEW Vaquero was only intended for standard .45 Colt loads, i.e. same as modern SAA's and clones, which I took to mean SAAMI-max of 14K psi.

Having worked with the insanely tough stainless steel that it's made from, having noted the cylinder wall thickness, and also having worked up loads that will cripple a Model 29 for my Boss's 44 Magnum version without the slightest issue, I pretty much ignore the warning. The New Vaquero is no Blackhawk, "old" Vaquero, or Redhawk, but like USSR states it's a heck of a lot more capable than Ruger claims. I figured if the top strap blew off or parts started showing peening or looseness I wasn't going to complain to Ruger about it, but nothing shows ANY wear or damage from "+P" loads, granted I probably never exceeded 20K psi in my .45 Colt.

Back when the only .45 Colts in my stable were an SB2 NEF and the NV, I loaded everything above SAA levels because the brass obturated the chambers better. With a lot of "weaker" guns now I tone it down grudgingly to 14k just to be safe and not accidentally grab the wrong ammo for a weak gun.

 

[creosote]

I got mine back when they first came out, and was under the impression they were at the same strength as the colt ssa.
Are the stainless stronger than the blued?
I have the 4 5/8" case/blued. the grouping was so bad with remington factory 255 grain lead, bench rested, at about 20 yards. I had to use a newspaper opened up to the full amount to catch all the bullets. It got sent back. they re barreled it, and re case colored it. At the time I didn't have any molds and used the oregon trail bullets. the 200 grain didn't work, the 255 rfn are better with the same 6 grains of trail boss. The gun does shoot better now, but the case color redo is so bad I made it my spinning cowboy gun. During my bad back days I'd sit in front of the tv and spin, drop, spin, twirl, drop. The blueing is now gone from the grip area, and the little triangles on the factory plastic grips are worn to little round bumps. When it was at the factory I had them put the stainless hammer from the montado, or whatever it is. (the short one) then I lighted it up by sanding about a sixteenth off the thumb area sides, and deepining the curves. it looks like it should have now, with more room for your thumb to go like elmer kieth liked on the smiths. I'll have to get the new pin gauge set out and measure the throats. I would like to shoot it some more. Thanks. And thank you to all who post here, I've learned a lot.

 

[Ian]

I don't know about the steel vs. stainless steel strength. I'm not advocating anyone else go against Ruger's own recommendations for load limits, just saying what I did. If the frame and locking mechanism can easily handle all a .44 Mag can dish out, I'm not too worried about it. The thinner .45 Colt cylinder is still over-built for SAA-level loads and fired brass rattles around and falls out at SAA+25-30% pressure loads.

 

[Pistolero]

Ian,
Now you can fix the thread choke the easy, and right way. Pull the bbl, face off about .001 or .002,
calculated from the thread pitch and when it comes hand tight, angle-wise. Then screw the
bbl back in with blue loctite and be done.

Make a brass or aluminum pin to drive into the throat (make it groove diam -.001)
and let the rifling groove into the soft metal. Make it with a center drill spot so you
can put it on the live center and face the shoulder a touch.

Bill

 

[fiver]

i think they are 23-K guns too.
I had one of the original large sized ones that I bought brand new back when they first come out.
I of course sold it about a month before the new ones come out and doubled the price of the old ones.
I don't really miss the gun all that much but I did put a lot of work into it figuring out I needed to cut down 454 cases and shoot .453 bullets in it to make it happy.

it was stout and could take top end colt loads with no problems.[which were more than my hands could take doing it]
I never really needed all that power though, since I was spending most of my time wandering the west Utah desert and the biggest thing I was gonna have trouble with was an errant jack rabbit, coyote or a Rattlesnake.

 

[RBHarter]

Here's the deal the 45 Colts BlackHawk is on the 44 Mag frame . Destruction tested to 40 k by Casuall . The original Vaqueros were also on that chassis .
The new 45 Vaquero is on the 357 chassis . Large vs small frame sort of .

That is the 3 source info of 4-5 yr ago .
Do not use Ruger only loads in the New Vaquero .
I doubt the 18.5-21.0 H110 under 255 gr bullet cast or not is in the 25,000 and under class it may be but I'd bet closer to 30k .

 

[KHornet]

Very good info here folks! Learned much! Bought mine, because I wanted it
just more or less for indoor range target shooting. It has (as issued) been very
satisfactory for me for what I bought it for, and for the loads I shoot.

Paul