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Which cowboy pistol to buy?
- Thread starter Pa.Frank
- Start date
Jbar4Ranch
New member
Vaquero. Old model. Caliber .44-40 WCF. Second choice .44 mag. Built like a tank and ain't gonna break anytime soon. The Colts and Colt clones are lighter, and are going to break sooner. Not that they're going to break during your first season, but they're going to need work before the Vaquero will.
The .45 is great, but bullets less than about 230 grains sometimes are difficult to stabilize at reduced velocities used in CAS, and the bigger bullets generate more recoil which takes longer to recover from and get back on target. I know folks that shoot 160 grain bullets in the .45, but I've never been able to make them work acceptably well below 200 grains. The .44-40 and .44 mag both work very well with 200 grain bullets, and a 200 grain bullet still has enough energy to knock down the occasional plate. The .44-40 has very thin walls and takes a little more care to reload, but that same fault makes it a better choice for CAS as the thin walls seal better at low pressures than the others. The .357 and .38 spl are the best for CAS if you want to be competitive, as long as there are no knock downs.
The .45 is great, but bullets less than about 230 grains sometimes are difficult to stabilize at reduced velocities used in CAS, and the bigger bullets generate more recoil which takes longer to recover from and get back on target. I know folks that shoot 160 grain bullets in the .45, but I've never been able to make them work acceptably well below 200 grains. The .44-40 and .44 mag both work very well with 200 grain bullets, and a 200 grain bullet still has enough energy to knock down the occasional plate. The .44-40 has very thin walls and takes a little more care to reload, but that same fault makes it a better choice for CAS as the thin walls seal better at low pressures than the others. The .357 and .38 spl are the best for CAS if you want to be competitive, as long as there are no knock downs.
Old Dragoon
New member
That depends solely on you. Do you want a real cowboy looking gun or a modern almost cowboy looking gun, both build quality pistols.
I'd choose 45LC over 357- 38 Big and slow is the concept. I shoot 44 Rem.(which you cannot find in a cartridge gun, only Conversions by Kirst ) but it emulates the 45LC in that the bullet is 248 grn. 30 grns BP it is big and slow and when I found one bullet below a CAS steel target. it had mushroomed to Original(1880's) Silver Dollar size. I found some 375-38's also, they had not mushroomed much past the original dia at all. little buttons as it were. Some of us use our pistols for more than CAS or punching paper. Some have taken deer and wild boar with their BP pistols. Depend on what you want to use the pistol for.
I'd choose 45LC over 357- 38 Big and slow is the concept. I shoot 44 Rem.(which you cannot find in a cartridge gun, only Conversions by Kirst ) but it emulates the 45LC in that the bullet is 248 grn. 30 grns BP it is big and slow and when I found one bullet below a CAS steel target. it had mushroomed to Original(1880's) Silver Dollar size. I found some 375-38's also, they had not mushroomed much past the original dia at all. little buttons as it were. Some of us use our pistols for more than CAS or punching paper. Some have taken deer and wild boar with their BP pistols. Depend on what you want to use the pistol for.
I have an Uberti but really like the new Taurus Gaucho. I haven't shot CAS yet, need more guns, but plan on doing it one day. After going to a match and watching the guys with their 38/357s fail to knock down a target and be ridiculed for their "wimpy loads."
If you aint carrying a 45 (or at least something with a 4X) you aint no stinkin cowboy!
If you aint carrying a 45 (or at least something with a 4X) you aint no stinkin cowboy!
I am big fan of the Vaquero, (old model) in 44 Rem Mag. You can shoot 44 specials or light loads out of the mag brass. They are very versitile guns.
Having said that, prices on used old models have recently gone up because all of sudden shooters recognized their strengt and durability. The new models by the way are not made in .44 so they have become more desireable.
Dana
Having said that, prices on used old models have recently gone up because all of sudden shooters recognized their strengt and durability. The new models by the way are not made in .44 so they have become more desireable.
Dana
strat_1957
Inactive
quality for Colt SA clones??
I heard that some of the Colt SA clones were very low quality. Does Uberti fall into that catagory? I recently shot a Ruger Vaquaro in 45LC, what a sweet gun. I was at my local shooting range with my Sig 45 and a newly aquired Ruger P89 in 9mm. The gentleman next to me had his new Vaquaro and allowed me to shoot it. It was very accurate for me at about 45 feet. I Just like the feel of a Colt, anyone know what I mean, they feel different holding next to the Ruger. Want everyones 2 cents before I lay the hard earned cash down.
I heard that some of the Colt SA clones were very low quality. Does Uberti fall into that catagory? I recently shot a Ruger Vaquaro in 45LC, what a sweet gun. I was at my local shooting range with my Sig 45 and a newly aquired Ruger P89 in 9mm. The gentleman next to me had his new Vaquaro and allowed me to shoot it. It was very accurate for me at about 45 feet. I Just like the feel of a Colt, anyone know what I mean, they feel different holding next to the Ruger. Want everyones 2 cents before I lay the hard earned cash down.
losvaqueros
New member
John Krzos
Inactive
Cowboy Guns
Howdy,
I got 4 Ruger Bisleys 5 1/2" barrels and 1 4 5/8" in stainless. These are my main match guns and I love the way they feel in my hand. My best guess for you is to go to the local gunshop and try each one for fit. I tried the blackhawks before settling on the bisleys. I got big hands and the bisley frame just fits right. I shoot .45LC on them with 300 gram bullets. Love to hear bang/clang they make.(others take notice, too). I have been doing CAS for about 5 years and looking forward to this year. I also have an 1878 Dakota by EMF/Jager chambered in .30 carbine. Lots of fire and smoke when it goes off-always someone commments on it. Anyway good luck in CAS and maybe we'll meet on the trail someday
John Krzos
Howdy,
I got 4 Ruger Bisleys 5 1/2" barrels and 1 4 5/8" in stainless. These are my main match guns and I love the way they feel in my hand. My best guess for you is to go to the local gunshop and try each one for fit. I tried the blackhawks before settling on the bisleys. I got big hands and the bisley frame just fits right. I shoot .45LC on them with 300 gram bullets. Love to hear bang/clang they make.(others take notice, too). I have been doing CAS for about 5 years and looking forward to this year. I also have an 1878 Dakota by EMF/Jager chambered in .30 carbine. Lots of fire and smoke when it goes off-always someone commments on it. Anyway good luck in CAS and maybe we'll meet on the trail someday
John Krzos
Right now I have a New Vaquero .45, and I'm very happy with it. I had a Bisley Blackhawk .45 before-- admirable gun, accurate, utterly reliable, but I always had this stupid emotional fondness for the trimmer Colts. So in spite of its being a great revolver from any engineering point of view, I never really connected with it.
So I also had two Colt clones, one after the other, trying to get one that functioned properly. Maybe I was just unlucky, but I never did. On the other hand, I've never had a Ruger that DIDN'T work properly.
Which is a wordy way to get to the point; if the gun doesn't work you won't keep it, but if you don't connect with it you won't keep it either. Get what fires your imagination.
Of course, since the proper number of guns in a collection is "just one or two more," I'm also pondering a Schofield replica. I haven't gotten one yet because I don't know if they're reliable and, of course, they're costly.
My third Old West revolver is a break-top Smith and Wesson, you see. It wouldn't be legal in a SASS match because it's double action. On the other hand, it's a real Old West revolver. My great-grandfather used it in his one and only gunfight, foiling a bank robbery in Nebraska. So if I do actually start CAS, as I've thought to do, I have a strong temptation to have at least one of my revolvers be a break-top Smith repro, in his honor.
So I also had two Colt clones, one after the other, trying to get one that functioned properly. Maybe I was just unlucky, but I never did. On the other hand, I've never had a Ruger that DIDN'T work properly.
Which is a wordy way to get to the point; if the gun doesn't work you won't keep it, but if you don't connect with it you won't keep it either. Get what fires your imagination.
Of course, since the proper number of guns in a collection is "just one or two more," I'm also pondering a Schofield replica. I haven't gotten one yet because I don't know if they're reliable and, of course, they're costly.
My third Old West revolver is a break-top Smith and Wesson, you see. It wouldn't be legal in a SASS match because it's double action. On the other hand, it's a real Old West revolver. My great-grandfather used it in his one and only gunfight, foiling a bank robbery in Nebraska. So if I do actually start CAS, as I've thought to do, I have a strong temptation to have at least one of my revolvers be a break-top Smith repro, in his honor.
SixForSure
New member
The Ubertis are generally of very high quality. The Cimmeron are Uberti made with a little extra attention to fit and finish. The New Vaquero is closer to the feel of a colt than the original Vaquero but somehow it still just isn't quite the same.I heard that some of the Colt SA clones were very low quality. Does Uberti fall into that catagory?