New Vaquero

[bbs70]

I bought a New Vaquero 1 1/2 years ago.
Good gun if you stay within standard Saa loads.

Recommended max oal for bullets in the New Vaquero is 1.600 max.
Anything over that will not let the cylinder turn.

I load 250 and 255 grain cast bullets.
I've tried 10 different powders and weights and found 10 grains of hs-6 to be the most accurate in my New Vaquero and in my New model Blackhawk.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Do yourself a favor and work up a load...don't try to go to the top end to start.....and yes the New Vaqero will go BOOM with hot loads....it is best shot with Loads that work in orginal colt saa's.....your body will thank you.

[Bucks Owin]

Ruger “New” Vaquero” comparison to Blackhawk’s


OK, some history:


Ruger got ahold of some scrap 44Mag development brass and rushed a 44Mag gun into production *ahead* of S&W by a few months. That gun was the '55 frame beefed up very slightly. It wasn't strong enough for the caliber - cylinder wall thickness was one issue, frame strength another. The "SuperBlackHawk" on a bigger frame very rapidly came out for the 44Mag; that was what the "New Model" of '73 was based on (with transfer bar of course) and when bored even bigger to 45LC (which Ruger didn't support AT ALL until 1973) proved capable of the 34,000ish psi loads that BuffBore and others ship today.

The '55 frame died out in 1973, and came back yesterday (literally). The 45LC on the '55/357 frame is a brand new development. If that frame couldn't take 44Mag, then the cylinder wall thickness in 45LC will be even worse. The heaviest of the BuffBore loads could very well grenade this gun; at a minimum, wear will be really, really bad...BuffBore sells ammo 50 to a box, it may not survive all 50 without shaking itself apart.

I think you need to study your Ruger history a little more amigo. The early "Flattop" Blackhawk in .44 mag, (see avatar, 1960 model) fluted cylinder and all, can certainly handle any .44 SAAMI load out there, though most of us don't beat them up with redline loads. That model was superceded by the "Old Model" Blackhawk. (Or "3 screw" as some call them) This frame has the protective "ears" on the rear sight. It was, BTW, chambered in .45 Colt. THAT is the model that had a transfer bar added and became the "New Model" Blackhawk of 1973...Furthermore, as to frame strength, every BH large frame, OM or NM, "Super" or not, is identical. (BTW, some Linebaugh cartridges put a thrust of FIVE TONS on this frame, more than a .458 Win Mag develops, with no stretch whatsoever..) If you think the "small" Old Model .357 frame is "weak", remember all the coversions to .44 Spl being done to them, where folks play "Elmer Revisited" and stoke them up to far more than .45 Colt SAAMI pressure...Finally, IMO, even the original .357 Blackhawk FT is certainly a much stronger sixgun than any Colt SAA, past or present....

[Wireman134]

I think you need to study your Ruger history a little more amigo. The early "Flattop" Blackhawk in .44 mag, (see avatar, 1960 model) fluted cylinder and all, can certainly handle any .44 SAAMI load out there, though most of us don't beat them up with redline loads. That model was superceded by the "Old Model" Blackhawk. (Or "3 screw" as some call them) This frame has the protective "ears" on the rear sight. It was, BTW, chambered in .45 Colt. THAT is the model that had a transfer bar added and became the "New Model" Blackhawk of 1973...Furthermore, as to frame strength, every BH large frame, OM or NM, "Super" or not, is identical. (BTW, some Linebaugh cartridges put a thrust of FIVE TONS on this frame, more than a .458 Win Mag develops, with no stretch whatsoever..) If you think the "small" Old Model .357 frame is "weak", remember all the coversions to .44 Spl being done to them, where folks play "Elmer Revisited" and stoke them up to far more than .45 Colt SAAMI pressure...Finally, IMO, even the original .357 Blackhawk FT is certainly a much stronger sixgun than any Colt SAA, past or present....

Smaller frame, smaller cylinder = lower pressure, agree. Large "Blackhawk" frame, yes same as the Super in the late 50's and larger cylinder = higher pressure, agree. Linebaugh grenade d a .45 Colt "Blackhawk" cylinder at around 60,000 psi. Maybe the "New Vaquero" cylinder will let loose at 40,000 psi., eh. Maybe more, ok... Hell the .45 "Blackhawk" has been loaded hotter than 32,000 psi.. So why not buy a Colt SAA clone "New Vaquero" to hot rod and load it to 30,000+ psi. Not what I would do to that little pistol, IMO.

[Bucks Owin]

Smaller frame, smaller cylinder = lower pressure, agree. Large "Blackhawk" frame, yes same as the Super in the late 50's and larger cylinder = higher pressure, agree. Linebaugh grenade d a .45 Colt "Blackhawk" cylinder at around 60,000 psi. Maybe the "New Vaquero" cylinder will let loose at 40,000 psi., eh. Maybe more, ok... Hell the .45 "Blackhawk" has been loaded hotter than 32,000 psi.. So why not buy a Colt SAA clone "New Vaquero" to hot rod and load it to 30,000+ psi. Not what I would do to that little pistol, IMO.

There is no such thing as a 50's Flattop "Super" Blackhawk. They are simply "Ruger .44 mag Blackhawk" This is the gun that Ruger originally built for the .44 mag. that was readily available before the M29 S&W and has a fluted cylinder.... Linebaugh TESTED (not "grenaded") .45 Colt BH's (along with HP White Laboratories) to failing point and found to be about 65K, or 80% of SBH's 80K. That leaves 100% safety margin at 32K. The Vaquero is not a "Colt clone" other than it is a SA sixgun, it is pure Ruger in design. The "clones" are mainly Italian....(Including the USFA whose Italian parts are ASSEMBLED "under the blue dome") But, you are right about the later Vaquero, it's NOT the sixgun to feed Linebaugh level loads....Picture: Flattop .44 mag, 10" barrel...