the point of my question is whether going from a 4-5/8" barrel to a 7-1/2 inch barrel will make it a reliable 50-yard gun, as the shorter barrel, clearly is not. Within it's limitations, my short-barreled Vaquero is a great handgun. But I can shoot better than the gun can and am wondering if going to the longer barrel will pay off with extended range capability. Honestly, my current Vaquero is a 25 yard gun. I feel that it would be worth it if 7-1/2" would give me 50 yards of good accuracy, but not if it won't.
It is a rather rare situation when the shooter can shoot better than the gun. Have you considered it might be you, and not the gun??
Or that it might be you, and that particular gun?
Not doubting your word, just saying that if you can't shoot that gun well at 50yds, there is no guarantee that you would do better with a longer barrel. You MIGHT, but I wouldn't put serious money on it, without seeing you shoo, first.
I have a 7.5" Blackhawk .45 Colt, 7.5" SuperBlackhawk .44Mag, a pair of original Vaqueros 4 5/8" stainless .45 Colt, a blued original Vaquero and Vaquero Bisley 5.5" .45 Colt, and a New Vaquero 5.5" .45 Colt, so I am a little familiar with the guns.
I find the stainless guns a bit more difficult to shoot accurately, unless you blacken the sights. I don't find any difference between any of them, between 25 and 50yds, but that's just me.
I will admit to doing my best shooting with the 7.5" Blackhawk, but that could be the result of 35years of practice with that particular gun. I could balance a dime on the front sight (at arms length) and the dime never moved until the hammer hit the frame, I could ring the 200yd gong on the range 5 out of 6, (on a bad day) off hand, one handed, left hand in my left hip pocket.
Longer barrels do have longer sight radii, but my experience is that it is the shooter, at least as much as the gun. A longer barrel (and a shooter who can use it well) might be the difference between a 9 ring hit and an X ring, but when your target is bigger than that, like a gong, or the boiler room of a deer, I've never found the longer sight distance to matter, in MY hands.
I do favor the longer barrels because of the increase in velocity, over the short ones. I'm on the opposite side of the fence from many here, as I will accept the "awkwardness" of packing a longer barrel pistol to get the most performance, from it when I shoot. Never saw the point in a short barrel magnum, but a lot of people apparently do.
A long-barreled revolver helps us poor shooters hide our weaknesses.
I'll see you that, and raise you this...
A long-barreled revolver helps good shooters show off their strengths.
I will admit, it took me a bit to warm up to the 7.5" Super Blackhawk. I had a stainless 7.5" Vaquero in .44 Mag, it was nice, but I traded it for a Super Blackhawk, because I'm one of those odd sorts who wants adjustable sights on a .44 Magnum.
I found the grooved trigger and lower, larger hammer spur of the Super to be a bit "off-putting" after 3 decades of shooting the Blackhawk, but only until about a box of ammo had been shot, then I didn't notice the difference at all.