New Vaquero in 45LC and 335gr Cast Boolit

[countglockula]

I just picked up some Cast Performance 335 gr boolits and would like to come up with a load that will be safe in my New Vaquero. I won't be shooting many of these but would like to have them with me when I go woods walking or on a hawg hunt.

There isn't any information that I have found regarding a boolit of this weight in any of my searching on the web. Since this is not a Blackhawk, I need to be sure that the pressure of the load is safe for my gun.

I do have a number of powders available and am looking for a starting point to develop a safe load. I keep Bullseye, Unique, 2400 and Trail Boss as my basic go-to pistol powders.

Suggestions???

Thanks,
Ron

[Wireman134]

Seems the New Vaquero is not to suited to those big boolit's. For fear of the pressure spikes that may occur. If the nose length of that boolit is longer than .375" your OAL will exceed the short cylinder length. You might be on your own with that slug size. Anyone with Quikload may be able to help you with pressures of loads you desire. If you can't load length to 1.660" or less it's too long for the little "New Vaquero" That boolit is to long in the nose. Nose .385 meplat .345 This boolit will work Lee 310gr.

[countglockula]

I created a dummy load today with this boolit. Seated it all the way to the crimping groove and then gave it a firm crimp with the Lee factory crimping die. Overall length is 1.57" and leaves about .050" clearance inside the chamber when fully seated. Plenty of room for full function without locking up the cylinder.

So now back to the initial question... what would be a safe starting load with Bullseye, Unique, 2400 or Trail Boss? Or perhaps a different powder? With a boolit of this weight, velocity will definitely be low, but as long as it is point of aim at 25yd or less, will work for my purposes.

Ron

[denul]

In Handloader 231, Oct-Nov2004, Brian Pearce covers using a 338 gr. Lyman 452651 GC in the FA 97 in 45 colt, which fit the shorter cylinder of that revolver. He emphasized the need for lower pressures in its shorter and thinner cylinder,( compared to Ruger Blackhawk and FA 83 in 45 Colt), but he liked the load he worked up to. I'm not comfortable reprinting his loads, because I suspect the FA 5-shot may be stronger than the six shot new Vaquero.

[Trey45]

Wrong bullet for the wrong model vaquero. Right caliber though!

[TGM]

The New Model Vaquero was developed for Cowboy Action Shooters. Safe loads are the same as for Colts and Colt clones. If you want a revolver for hunting or protection against large animals you need a Blackhawk or Old Model Vaquero.

TGM

[Hank10]

You can probably get about 750 with the 335 or about 1000 with the 250 @ about the same pressure, will one be a better killer than the other with the hit is in the same place? You might have to shoot a lot of hogs to find out.
H10

[Rocky Raab]

I'd agree that the "New Vaquero" is the wrong gun for the job. It should be considered as no stronger than a Colt SAA - and that is good, but not "supergun" status.

You might be able to work up to loads that achieve 700 fps safely, but not much more. That's my opinion.

Far better to stick to a 255-gr bullet at 900 fps. That's the original 45 Colt loading, and it is no slouch. It was the most powerful handgun load on earth for over 75 years - and has killed everything but a blue whale. (I would not bet against THAT!)

[geargnasher]

One issue with the NV and heavy boolits is POI vs. POA. Depends on the gun, load, sights, shooter's hold on the gun, powder burn rate, etc.

My advice, having shot extremely heavy boolits from my NV, is to use 2400, start stupid low and work up from there. I've created data for several overweight boolits in this gun from scratch and it ain't rocket science. One caveat, though: You'll likely blow the cylinder before you flatten any primers, so don't use that or "sticky extraction" as an indicator of pressure in this caliber, use a slide rule and a chronograph instead.

One more thing, you're on your own here, nobody is going to just give you a load here with no published reference, so none of us can really give you what you're asking for for your particular gun. While I agree with Rocky and others about lighter, faster boolits, what you're trying to do can be fun if you're careful and use common sense.

Gear

[geargnasher]

Seems the New Vaquero is not to suited to those big boolit's. For fear of the pressure spikes that may occur. If the nose length of that boolit is longer than .375" your OAL will exceed the short cylinder length. You might be on your own with that slug size. Anyone with Quikload may be able to help you with pressures of loads you desire. If you can't load length to 1.660" or less it's too long for the little "New Vaquero" That boolit is to long in the nose. Nose .385 meplat .345 This boolit will work Lee 310gr.

I love that boolit in my NV, it's my favorite all-around since the gun shoots 6" low at 15 yards with just about any powder behind 255 grainers. Looks like you drilled the gc shank to make a PB, I did the same thing and it works like a charm. The WFN hits like a hammer, too, even at lower velocities. Mine drops at 305 grains with WW+2%Sn after drilling the base.

Gear

[countglockula]

Well, it was a thought anyway....

After doing a bit more research I have decided to stick with the traditional 250-260gr boolit weight and load for about 850-900 fps. That should take care of most anything short of a Griz or a Sasquatch, and there aren't many of either around here.

One of these days, if a Blackhawk 45LC/45ACP combo floats by I may just have to snag it.

Thanks for the info guys, probably saved me a lot of grief and singed eyebrows.

Ron :lovebooli

[countglockula]

Finally solved my dilemma... birthday coming next week and Countess Glockula pushed me into my favorite toy store and told me not to come out empty-handed.

Found a SS Ruger Redhawk 45LC with a 5 1/2" barrel, very lightly used, at a great price.

So now I have something suitable for hawg loads and can just use my Vaquero for general woods carry.

I like how life will sometimes offer up neat and tidy solutions to big problems!

Cheers,
Ron

[Snyd]

Congrats on the Redhawk! The 5.5 inch 45 Colts are kind of scarce. Now you can load the Ruger Only loads and get the full potential out of the 45 Colt. I have a 4 inch redhawk and load a 355gr at 1150fps.

[zac0419]

Nice catch with the Redhawk, I've got one of those 5.5's too. You might have to do a couple of little things to get it exactly the way you want it, but after that it'll last forever.