New Vaquero - .45 Colt or .45acp?

J

Joe_Pike

New member
Well, I've been thinking about a SA revolver for a while now and I think I have it narrowed down to a New Vaquero even though the gun shop guy says he likes the Cimarron guns because they are more "Colt-like". They have two with 3 5/8" barrels and Birdshead grips. One is .45 Colt and the other is .45acp.

I really had not considered the .45acp because the .45 Colt just seemed to be the right caliber for the SA. But, then I got to thinking about the cost of ammo and .45acp wins there unless a person reloads. I have some reloading supplies but haven't started reloading anything yet, and would need the stuff for .45 Colt.

So, any opinions (silly question)?

Now, I just need to sell the Colt Trooper MK III .22lr to fund this purchase.
 
Not a silly question. Yeah, I agree on the .45 Colt. The acp just doesn't seem right in a single action such as the Vaquero. But that's just me. If you go the .45 Colt route an investment in dies and such is a no-brainer. Commercial ammo can be quite rough on the budget that's for sure. Best of luck with your decision.
 
.45 Colt definitely. Spend the money and buy the reloading equipment for it and it'll be cheaper to shoot than factory .45 ACP. .45 Colt's a good cartridge to get started reloading with also it's very straight forward. If you really get into it you can start casting your own lead bullets and you'll reduce your cost even more (someday I'll take my own advice on this one).

Stu
 
Ruger makes a Vaquero with interchangable .45 Colt and .45 ACP cylinders (I have one). Get it, and you have both.

Nuff said.
 
...and if you do get into reloading, the .45 Colt is a much more versatile round. You can load it mild or hot.
 
As the owner of a new Blackhawk convertible 45 Colt / 45 ACP, I say go for the 45 Colt. My 45 ACP chambers are cut so tight that it doesn't like my .452 boolits and I have to hand seat each round and they don't all seat. The 45 Colt cylinder is much more forgiving to lead boolits and different types. I suspect the Vaquero cylinders are the same.
 
Quoting Edward:

As the owner of a new Blackhawk convertible 45 Colt / 45 ACP, I say go for the 45 Colt. My 45 ACP chambers are cut so tight that it doesn't like my .452 boolits and I have to hand seat each round and they don't all seat. The 45 Colt cylinder is much more forgiving to lead boolits and different types. I suspect the Vaquero cylinders are the same.
Click to expand...

HUGE question here Edward: where is the "warning label" on your barrel? You know, the "read the manual yadda yadda" stuff?

If it's UNDER the barrel, your gun dates to 2007 or later and has chambers cut the same way as a NewVaq, in which case you may be correct about the similarity.

If it's a side-barrel gun, it pre-dates the period in which the cylinder making process was upgraded to the same spec as the NewVaq. The NewVaq had the improved cylinders from 2004 forward, which is why when I went shopping in 2005 I went NewVaq over a convertible like yours which would otherwise have been my first choice.

If your gun is a side-barrel warning gun (or the even earlier no-warning) then no, what you found is NOT applicable to NewVaqs at all.

As to the original question: the 45ACP is cheaper to shoot, defensive ammo is much easier to get ahold of and of mostly higher quality in the projectile department, and you can "speedload it" by thumbing rounds into the loading gate out of cheap surplus 1911 mags :). Ain't exactly "the cowboy way" and it'll get you thrown out of SASS, but it does work really well :).

The only point where the 45LC beats it is peak power with heavy hardcast slugs. The extra case capacity can still be used to boost performance over the 45ACP, with either careful handloading or go to Buffalo Bore with their "heavy standard pressure" loads (actually more like 20k PSI) which are safe in the NewVaq45LC (specifically rated so by BuffBore) but deliver a fair bit more power than any 45ACP load in the same gun.
 
Not much use of loading a .45 colt hotter than the .45 acp in a new ruger V gun as its not built to hack that type of a load. Older big frame one yes but the new ones no.
 
Seems as though you're talking about the New Talo Birdshead or the
Davidson's Exclusive Montado. Either one is not available as a
convertable as far as I know. Hence......45 Colt would be my choice
everytime in these neat little SA guns over the 45 acp.

Both are New Vaquero's with lettering below the barrel as mentioned
before but if you're unsure get the serial numbers and call Ruger on
their 800 customer service line-They'll give you the info you need.

Again-.45 COLT for that neat little SA. As also mentioned, I just don't
see shooting an acp through cowboy action or hunting SA's. If I want
the acp I'd shoot the 1911.
 
Last edited:
Radom said:
Not much use of loading a .45 colt hotter than the .45 acp in a new ruger V gun as its not built to hack that type of a load. Older big frame one yes but the new ones no.
Click to expand...
Did you read Jim March's post (immediately above yours) before posting?
 
It looks like posting procedure is more important than the OP's request for info.:eek: Anyway .45 Colt is what I shoot and reload, and enjoy doing so.:D
 
The .45ACP is a wonderful cartridge in a little single action. It is a very useful cartridge and the handloader can take full advantage of what it offers. The .45Colt is a lot of wasted case capacity at the pressure levels the New Vaquero can operate at. The ACP is much more efficient, getting the same bullets to the same velocity with much less powder. One can utilize any .45ACP or standard weight .45Colt bullet on the market. My preference would be 200-230gr .45ACP SWC's at 800-900fps. One thing that has not been brought up is that the long .45Colt case coupled with the short barrel and subsequent short ejector will make ejection a tad more difficult. The short ACP case will eject easily. An important factor if you're running a single action fast. Cheap 1911 magazines can be used as speed loaders.

The mid-frame .45Colt New Vaquero is safe for loads in the 21-22,000psi range. Which means a 260gr cast bullet at up to 1100fps. Something that you may or may not want to do in a short barrelled Sheriff's model. The ACP just makes more sense in this particular sixgun.

http://www.gunweek.com/2002/feature0701.html

http://www.leverguns.com/acp/bigbore_bellyguns.htm
 
Recently there were runs of New Vaqueros with birdshead grips and 3.75 inch barrels. Most were chambered in 45 Colt but there was a significant run of 45 acp guns, NOT convertibles. I have several convertibles in Blackhawk and Vaquero trim but when I purchased my short-barreled birdshead, I opted for .45acp and couldn't be more pleased. I think you'll be happy with either choice.

Newfrontier45 makes an excellent observation about the ease of loading and ejecting the short, stubby 45 acp round from these revolvers.
 
I was at the same crossroad not long ago. I opted for the .45 Colt.

It's worth it. Just get yourself the dies and buy a bag of 500 Starline brass, it should last you forever.

Remember only .45 Colt gets you in the cool club. :cool:
BirdsHead.jpg
 
The .45 ACP uses far less powder than an equivalent .45 Colt load and the ACP is far less sensitive to powder position. ACP brass is cheaper and easier to find, and the same goes for factory ammo.
 
I have a convertable Blackhawk and very rarely use the ACP cylinder. But a smaller New Vaquero in 45 ACP sounds very appealing to me. I do reload but for standard pressure loads the 45 Colt case is really wasted space and a small SA in 45 ACP would be cool.
Darn-it, now there's another gun on my wish list!
 
If it's not clear yet: ALL the mid-frames from 2004 forward have the improved cylinder. Doesn't matter if the barrel warning is under or side.

The mid-frames are:

* New Vaquero (all calibers).

* 50th Anniversary Blackhawk Flattop in 357Mag. (The bigger 50th 44Mag of 2006 not marked "Super" is the only large-frame with a side-barrel warning and the improved cylinder!)

* All 44Spls, Blackhawk or NewVaq (the latter might be marked plain "Vaquero").

* Montado - all variants.

The under-barrel warning is only important on large-frames and tells you it has the new type cylinder.

What's "new" is that all chambers are reamed with the same bit/reamer set in sequence instead of all-six-at-once with the old process. Since it's easier to check one reamer set than six, average chamber quality went way up and variances between chambers vanished.
 
+1 Iron Man's correct in his comment about there (also) being a (limited) New Vaquero .45 convertible from Davidson's IIRC--standard gripfarme, standard barrel length(s?).

Laz said
"Recently there were runs of New Vaqueros with birdshead grips and 3.75 inch barrels. Most were chambered in 45 Colt but there was a significant run of 45 acp guns, NOT convertibles. I have several convertibles in Blackhawk and Vaquero trim but when I purchased my short-barreled birdshead, I opted for .45acp and couldn't be more pleased. I think you'll be happy with either choice."

It's very odd to me Ruger did not make these recent NV Birdsheads as convertibles--would seem a no brainer--unless their accountants figured they'd sell x% more guns over time doing them separately.
 
Question

I already own a New Vaquero in .45 Colt. Is it possible to buy an additional cylinder in .45 ACP so that I can interchange them?
Is that an option for then Vaquero?
Pete
 
I don't reload so the .45LC would be out, and I've never been a fan of auto caliber revolvers so neither. I do have a .357 Vaquero that I love and is affordable to shoot. Have you considered that option?
 
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