.45 ACP Cylinder for Vaquero

[Rio Grande]

Hi All,
I was doing some horse trading with a buddy and ran across this Vaquero new in the box. It's .45 Colt and I don't reload .45 Colt but have 1000's of ACP's. I've seen Vaquero's with both .45 Colt and .45 ACP cylinders, and THOUGHT Ruger would be able to fit a .45 ACP cylinder to it.

WRONG...........

The nice lady at Ruger said they stopped doing that.

Any advice on getting an ACP cylinder fitted to this gun - or am I stuck with .45 Colt? I've become attached to the gun and want to carry it at the ranch, but don't want to have the expense of reloading yet another caliber.

Also, I've looked through the manual and found nothing on shooting reloads. The Colt ammo is not as powerful as ACP, but this is a modern handgun and if I load for it I'd like to heat them up to the specs of good ACP +P loads. I've heard of folks loading hot .45 Colt ammo for hunting. Any advice against that with this gun?

Thanks for your time,

 

[JCM298]

.45 ACP

Check the ruger forum: http://www.rugerforum.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/rugerforum//Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true. There were a few postings about this subject within the past week,
John

 

[Nightcrawler]

The Ruger Vaquero is just as strong as the Blackhawk and Redhawk. That is to say, most hot factory .45 Colt loads aren't going to hurt it at all. The thing will laugh at .45ACP.

 

[Jim March]

In 45LC, you can load stuff WAY hotter than the 45ACP+P. Slightly hotter than 44Mag, in fact . BUT you don't get there with the same recipies that work in 45ACP or 45 Auto Rim cases.

Basically, the supersized case volume means a whole different type of ballistics going on, even if the bullet weight and type is the same. The case volume affects the ignition cycle and burn rate. Stick with 45LC load data versus 45ACP. Some loading manuals show "45LC+P" loads which are "RUGER ONLY!" (or a Thomson Center, or maybe a Marlin 45LC levergun).

There's a bunch of load notes for the 45LC/45LC+P at:

www.sixgunner.com/linebaugh

Also, go to www.sixgunner.com and look for the load notes by Paco Kelly, John Taffin and others. Taffin has his own site at www.sixguns.com and this page in particular:

http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt45lc.htm

WARNING: while that data is undoubtedly "good" in that it's John's page and he wrote it in good faith AND he knows what he's doing, it's not very recent data and some powder formulas may have shifted a bit over the years. Plus primers vary. Even case volumes may be different. Some of those loads are pretty hot, work your way up to them slowly, OK?

 

[caz223]

I think gary reeder will make you a new cylinder for about $200.00
He's busy most of the time, and he doesn't let anybody 'cut in line'.
He also doesn't compromise his work to rush it out the door.
He does really great action jobs to boot.

http://www.reedercustomguns.com/information/services.htm

His speciality is ruger single actions.

 

[aerod1]

That is a good looking Ruger! How do you like the "birds head" grip? I haven't made up my mind if I like it or not. I really do like the looks of it but how does it handle?
Jim Hall

 

[caz223]

Unbelievable!
The hammer pulls back light and smooth, the cylinder spins very smoothly, the sights were adjusted well, and the trigger is soooo smooth and light it's unreal.
It certainly needed a lot of help the way it came from ruger.
Gary Reeder is a magician for vaqueros (And other ruger SAs).
As far as the bird's head grip goes, it is easily shot with one hand, and is the most fun gun to shoot that I own.
All my friends that know guns marvel at the way that gun feels.

 

[Topgun]

Bad thing about the birdshead grip is that it slips off when tacking up "wanted" posters or nailing barbed wire on the posts.

 

[Rio Grande]

Thanks All for the Feedback !!

Hey Guys, Thanks.

John, the Ruger forum page was a big help.

Jim, the reloading information is great. I do have one reloading manual with a section on .45LC for Ruger and Contender only. Now I just need to find a bucketfull of cheap brass - when I have time I can probably buy some in bulk. I ordered the dies for .45LC but don't have any desire to load it up as hot as a .44mag - just hot enough to expand a hollow point well.

Guess I'll pass on the $200 cylinder, at least for now.

aerod1, The reason I fell for this gun is the way the grip and short bbl. feel and handle. My friends that have shot it give it nothing but compliments. I can hit good with it, handling is fast and light, it's small enough to stay out of the way or even conceal, and it's big enough to let you know you have a handful of gun. I got a western holster that holds it high up on the back of my hip out of the way and looks good. Great utility piece for wearing on the ranch. Has a unique look, and fits in well in West Texas around the old ranch hands (who scoff at scopes and semi-autos).

Topgun, I can usually find a rock laying at my feet to use as a hammer for those wanted posters.

Thanks,
Dave W.