lonegunman
New member
Sorry I couldnt come up with a good title for this thread.
Vaquero in 38-40 can i think fire 40 S&W? How about 10 mm?
Vaquero in 38-40 can i think fire 40 S&W? How about 10 mm?
Ruger Vaquero 38-40...? 40S&W and 10mm?
- Thread starter lonegunman
- Start date
lonegunman
New member
does the 40 S&W cylinder allow you to shoot 10mm also? or do you need seperate cylinders?
Negative.
The gun usually comes with a .40 cylinder. You have to ream it out to accept 10mm Auto cartridges, as there's a little shoulder inside that the case mouth headspaces against.
Once you ream it out to take 10mm, it'll no longer work with .40, as the cases will just slide all the way in.
Double-action 10mm revolvers with swing-out cylinders can shoot .40, if you use moon clips.
lonegunman
New member
Ok, so does Ruger or anyone else make a 10mm cylinder?
What we're trying to say here is that any .40S&W Ruger SA cylinder can be altered by a gunsmith in a matter of minutes to be 10mm (or 10mm Mag, for that matter) by just boring the fat part of each bore where the shell goes, a bit deeper.
But the alteration is permanent, and won't allow the use of shorter shells.
There have been runs of .38-40/10mm factory convertibles made, and .38-40/.40S&W convertibles. So far as I'm aware, no Vaqueros ever shipped with all three, although I think some Blackhawks may have gone out the door that way long ago.
There was also at least one run of .40S&W Vaqueros (single cylinder only).
Any .40S&W cylinder can also be converted into .38-40 by a gunsmith, although it'd be a little bit harder than the dead-simple 10mm or 10mmMagnum conversions.
(Stupid question: if you were handloading .40S&W for the Rugers, you wouldn't need to worry about exceeding the overall length, would you? You could run an abnormally heavy round set a little bit shallow, run more powder to use the extra case volume you get that way, and make it perform like a 10mm, couldn't you? You've have to work up SLOW, keep it under 40,000psi, but...damn, a really advanced handloader (which ain't me yet, , this is just speculation at this point) could have some fun
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But the alteration is permanent, and won't allow the use of shorter shells.
There have been runs of .38-40/10mm factory convertibles made, and .38-40/.40S&W convertibles. So far as I'm aware, no Vaqueros ever shipped with all three, although I think some Blackhawks may have gone out the door that way long ago.
There was also at least one run of .40S&W Vaqueros (single cylinder only).
Any .40S&W cylinder can also be converted into .38-40 by a gunsmith, although it'd be a little bit harder than the dead-simple 10mm or 10mmMagnum conversions.
(Stupid question: if you were handloading .40S&W for the Rugers, you wouldn't need to worry about exceeding the overall length, would you? You could run an abnormally heavy round set a little bit shallow, run more powder to use the extra case volume you get that way, and make it perform like a 10mm, couldn't you? You've have to work up SLOW, keep it under 40,000psi, but...damn, a really advanced handloader (which ain't me yet, , this is just speculation at this point) could have some fun
.juliet charley
New member
Just a quick observation/question:
Why would you want a 10 mm Blackhawk? You can pick-up a NIB Blackhawk in .41 Magnum for around $325-$350. The .41 will do everything the 10 will do and more. Buy your .38-40/.40 S&W convertible then pick-up a .41 Magnum.
Why would you want a 10 mm Blackhawk? You can pick-up a NIB Blackhawk in .41 Magnum for around $325-$350. The .41 will do everything the 10 will do and more. Buy your .38-40/.40 S&W convertible then pick-up a .41 Magnum.
lonegunman
New member
JC:
Why do I want one? just for the novelty of having one handgun that ccould shoot 3 different rounds.
Why do I want one? just for the novelty of having one handgun that ccould shoot 3 different rounds.
juliet charley
New member
lonegunman -
Sounds like a good reason to me. I know a gunstore with a couple of the .38-40/10mm convetible Vaqueros in the case, and I've toyed with the idea of buying one and having in bored out to accept 10 mm length brass just for the fun of it.
Sounds like a good reason to me. I know a gunstore with a couple of the .38-40/10mm convetible Vaqueros in the case, and I've toyed with the idea of buying one and having in bored out to accept 10 mm length brass just for the fun of it.
lonegunman
New member
Where is this gunstore, JC? I may have to beat you to them.
Also, is it a 40 S&W or 10 mm convertible?
Also, is it a 40 S&W or 10 mm convertible?
juliet charley
New member
They're in San Angelo, Texas--they're .40s.
lonegunman
New member
practimacality is not the issue as much as the funness factor.
38-40 is a lot more fun than 22 short.
38-40 is a lot more fun than 22 short.
Stephen Ewing
New member
Recently picked up a .38-40/40 Vaquero with just such a goal in mind, though I'm going to go the 3 cylinder route for all three calibers. I blame Tamara for this part, of course.
I wish I could remember who it was that told me about removing the "paragraph" on the side of the barrel, but that's the second project.
I know who it was told me about Brownells and the Bird's Head frame, but that's the third project.
Since it's a Vaquero, it goes without saying that it needs a trigger job, so that's the fourth project, but at least it's the fastest and cheapest.
This gun cost me $106.50, counting tax, and look at what it's going to cost me in gunsmithing. Practical has nothing to do with it at all.
Steve
I wish I could remember who it was that told me about removing the "paragraph" on the side of the barrel, but that's the second project.
I know who it was told me about Brownells and the Bird's Head frame, but that's the third project.
Since it's a Vaquero, it goes without saying that it needs a trigger job, so that's the fourth project, but at least it's the fastest and cheapest.
This gun cost me $106.50, counting tax, and look at what it's going to cost me in gunsmithing. Practical has nothing to do with it at all.
Steve
lonegunman
New member
Stephen:
How did you get one for $106???
Where are you going to get the 10mm cylinder? Is it a drop in type thing, or does it require fitting?
How did you get one for $106???
Where are you going to get the 10mm cylinder? Is it a drop in type thing, or does it require fitting?
Stephen Ewing
New member
Lonegunman, I got the gun really cheap through what amounts to gift certificates, and there are only two other guns in the store that interested me in the slightest. No great buying insights to offer, I'm afraid. 
Will temporarily have two .40 cylinders, and then ream one just like everybody else. My understanding is that Ruger is very touchy about the timing on cylinders, so I think I have to send it back to them to get the third cylinder timed.
Steve
Will temporarily have two .40 cylinders, and then ream one just like everybody else. My understanding is that Ruger is very touchy about the timing on cylinders, so I think I have to send it back to them to get the third cylinder timed.
Steve