Nra ruger 44-40 ruger vaquero

[downwind]

I happened to see one of these at a gun show at a fair price.

It has a 6 1/2" barrel, color case finish frame wood NRA emblem grips, with case and manual.

Through my research, I have found that there were only 500 or 550 (depends on who you talk to) made for "FRIENDS OF THE NRA" events.

Unfortunatly, it had the dreaded throats too small for the bore- throats .425 and bore .430 (best I could tell with verniers- all I had with me)

Was looking for a shooter but, realized that this might be more of a collector.

Do you think it should remain as is (a collector) or be reworked to be a shooter?

Anyone have a "REAL WORLD" value on this?

The "TINKERER" in me wants to jump on this project.:guntootsmiley:

THANKS
DOWNWIND

[Deep Six]

Personally I don't see how opening the throats would hurt value. Done right, nobody could tell it wasn't like that from the factory. Its not like re-finishing or something. Then again I'm a shooter, not a collector. The thought of having a gun but not shooting it is very foreign to me.

[Bodydoc447]

I have the NRA and the 50th Anniversary Ruger .22 pistols and they shoot fine. If you want a 44 WCF then get it and open up the throats then enjoy it. Not a hard thing to do. I had to do it with a special run of 38 WCF/40 S&W convertible Vaqueros they did. I am glad I did and have shot many, many enjoyable rounds through them. There may be some minor collector value to the pristine gun but it is less than the fun value of shooting it.
Just my dos centavos' worth,
Doc

[No_1]

They are all collectors until someone pulls the trigger. The question would be how bad do you want it?