It was nice of ruger but.

[Lloyd Smale]

Just sent im my montado for repair. the front sight blade came off from me trying to bend it over ot regulate it. Poa on that gun has allways been off about 4 inches. I told them to regulate it when they replaced the blade. This gun has probably had somewhere between 30 and 50000 rounds though it since i got it a few years ago and was starting to look a bit tattered. Now its a stainless gun and a little polishing and at the most a new barrel would have taken care of it. Ruger was kind enough to send me a whole new gun. Only sad thing is all my load developement for the gun is out the door and it was a finiky gun to start with. Took the new one out and shot a box of ammo i had left for the old one using its favorite load of 9.3 grains of herco and a rcbs swc. My 1 1/4 groups turned into 4 inch groups. Back to the bench with this one! But i cant blame ruger. I guess it was very generous of them to give me a new gun. Either that or the gunsmith on duty was a bit lazy that day.

[bigdog454]

Do you find that the .45 colt is finiky about loads, or is it just me? My 45 rugers, (2) seem to take a lot of work to find a load that is accurate, Others that I have (30 carbine, 357, 44 mags) have been fairly easy to find a load that shoots well, or have I just been been lucky with them? Of course the 30 carbine seems to only like jacketed bullets, at full (noisy) power; But I would like to find a load for it with cast at lower 32-20 velocities. But that's the fun of it.

[bigboredad]

bigdog454
have you checked your chamber throats? I have 2 blackhawks and and a birds head vaquero all in .45 one has throats at .453 and the other two are under that the exact number escapes me right now. but I size all my boolits at .454 and from my experience the .45 colt loves heavy boolits the lightest I shoot is 280 grains

Lloyd
just look at all the fun you'll have working up new loads

[txbirdman]

I've had several Ruger SA's and the 45 Colt has always been more problems than the 44's for me. My 45 Vaquero had .449 throats which I reamed to .453. That helped a lot but it's still finicky about what it will shoot well. On the other hand I've had very good results with the .44 Rugers especially the 50th Anniversary.

[Bass Ackward]

Grouping is over rated with today's handguns. That old fad went out a couple a decades ago when political correctness came on.

See if you aren't paranoid about them all going into the same spot, you don't have to worry about a silly thing like POA. Just pull the trigger enough times and you'll get it eventually. That strategy helps American industry and labor by you having to replace expended components.

[EOD3]

Count your blessings Lloyd, the good folks at Ruger destroyed (the collector value) of an unfired three screw .44 Magnum with it's original box, corrosion paper and all.

Do I hold a grudge? Yepper, that happened nearly 20 years ago.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup they are usually a pain to work a load up for. Ive got a pretty good friend that is pretty knowlegable that claims ruger uses a different style of rifling in the 45s. that and the fact that throats are rarely right and there just seems to be better bullets for the 44s especially if your trying to shoot swcs that are under 300 grain. Could be a little bit in the fact that the larger case isnt as efficient too. Dont really know all the answers but do know that i spend at least twice the time with a 45 colt working up loads as i do a 44 mag. At least in a ruger anyway. Like bigboredad said, a guy needs something to do anyway!

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Back in 82-84 when I was shooting Steel regular I knew 2 fellers that each year bought 10 SBH 44 mags to test shoot them and keep the 4 best. One for matches and the other for a backup just in case. The other 6 were sold as thay would not shoot up to Steel standards.
Rugers are just we pay for them. Mass produced for the average shooter who could care less where he hits a can at 15-25 yards. But just like assembly line cars.. you get a good one now and then that was accidently put together right.
I have numerous Ruger models and fortunatly I am a 41 mag shooter. Ruger seems to accidently get those mostly right the first time.

[UnderDawgAl]

Maybe I need to send my new Ruger 44 Special Flat Top to Ruger NOW, so that they can either re-index the barrel or redo the front sight. It's shooting 3-4" to the left--AT 15 YARDS. I can't stand having to move the rear sight all the way to the right just to get centered groups at 15 yards. That just ain't right.

By sending it now, I can get it to them before I figure out the best load for the gun. Then, if they do for me as for Lloyd by sending me a new gun, I won't be starting from square one.

[44man]

Too many things going on and it can make a guys head spin.
A boolit change or powder change can walk boolits left to right or up and down. A change in velocity and boolit weight will do the same.
Long ago it was common to work the load to POA and it has been lost today. Too many expect their loads to shoot to the sights.
My Vaquero will shoot one boolit right of the bull and another left of the bull. I filed my front sight for one boolit and found I needed more sight for another.
Then enter the semi wad cutter! This boolit needs a PERFECT gun.
I have several perfect BFR's yet they refuse to shoot any Keith style. Not a single Ruger I owned has ever shot a semi wad cutter to my liking.
If the throats, forcing cone and bore is correct, the .45 is just as easy to get accuracy from as any other caliber.
No, Ruger does not use a different style of rifling in the .45. It is faster at 1 in 16" and needs a boolit with more drive area, a heavier boolit, not a short semi wad cutter with the funny edge and a nose that does nothing. If you use a soft Keith it will slump to an LBT and give more length.
You can't ignore the twist, boolit length, hardness, pressure bump, skid or entry into the barrel.
The .45 is a wonderful gun and you can make it work.

[mtgrs737]

I talked with a guy from Ruger at length about how they manufacture guns and I can say that Missionary is right, Ruger is all about economy of production. They strive to produce a product that meets a wide range of use at a cost that most shooters will pay and make a profit at it. That is one of the reasons for the "Variation" that we see in their revolver cylinder throats, as long as a reamer is within their tolerance they don't change it out with a new one just to ensure that all throats are the same diameter. (Ruger uses a gang reamer set up that reams all six throats at the same time). Ruger builds a strong gun that works with the average ammunition and is affordable for the average shooter on the average budget. The problem is if you are not the average shooter striving to shoot smaller than average groups then you must work with the gun/load combination and or do some refinement(s) on the gun.

[Lloyd Smale]

well 300 rounds of load development today. I shot the rcbs 255 swc that the old gun liked. The lee group buy copy the babore copy a lbt 260swc a lbt 280 wfn and lbt 260 lfn all with the old load it liked of 9.3 grains of herco and also 17.5 of 2400 and 19 wc820. It did not like the old load of the rcbs swc and herco but hands down the best load in it was the same rcbs bullet and 19 grains of 820 followed by the same bullet and 17.5 of 2400. Lots more powders to try and once i get my babore 260 lfn mold back from my buddy i can throw that one into the mix. Its been a great 45 bullet for me lately.

[txbirdman]

I made a poor man's Montado out of my 4 5/8" old style Vaquero by adding a SBH hammer. This revolver has only like the Lee 255 RFN in the past but shot to the left by about 2" at 25 yds. I widened the sight channel and now it shoots about 1" left. Awhile back I tried a technique I read about on another board in which I placed my strong hand thumb on the recoil shield when firing. This technique made the revolver shoot to the right for me. I should have tried the new hold before widening the sight channel I guess.

[Bass Ackward]

well 300 rounds of load development today. I shot the rcbs 255 swc that the old gun liked. The lee group buy copy the babore copy a lbt 260swc a lbt 280 wfn and lbt 260 lfn all with the old load it liked of 9.3 grains of herco and also 17.5 of 2400 and 19 wc820. It did not like the old load of the rcbs swc and herco but hands down the best load in it was the same rcbs bullet and 19 grains of 820 followed by the same bullet and 17.5 of 2400. Lots more powders to try and once i get my babore 260 lfn mold back from my buddy i can throw that one into the mix. Its been a great 45 bullet for me lately.

If a gun is unbalancing a slug for any reason, then it will stabilize better the faster you spin it, assuming that it can hold bore center and launch well.

Just be patient. Another 1500 rounds or so and the 9.3 Herco load will return as the gun cleans up.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup bass it definately shot better when i pushed them harder. Just about reached the limit of that little montado though. I will shoot this gun a bunch and dont want a load that is going to shake it apart. The gun itself is pretty mild at these levels but i have big framed 45s to shoot stomping loads out of.

[redneckdan]

Lloyd,

I'm in the process of obtaining a 3 screw in .30 carbine. We'll have to get together and have a ruger blasting day.

[jh45gun]

Got a 45 Colt Uberti with the standard front sight and groove on the top strap rear sight (Typical Single Action setup) and even with my poor eyes I can shoot it very well. I cannot say that about the last two Rugers I owned a Single Six and a Super Blackhawk 44 mag.

[Lloyd Smale]

come on down dan!

Lloyd,

I'm in the process of obtaining a 3 screw in .30 carbine. We'll have to get together and have a ruger blasting day.