45lc vaquero deer hunting?

[huntnut]

I was wondering if a 45LC vaquero would be allright for deer hunting out to 50yrds? I've allways used a 44mag ior rifle calibers in handguns but never a 45lc.

[Graybeard]

So long as it hits to point of aim it should do well. I'm not much of one to believe in holding off to compensate for a gun that doesn't shoot to point of aim and for me at least that is necessary with EVERY fixed sight gun I've ever fired.

[Dee]

The 45lc will do ANTHING a 44mag will do, and  just as well. The poi issue regarding the sights that GB brought up is however a concern. If one knows how, this can be taken care of however.

[Lloyd Smale]

Im hunting with one myself this year. Vaqueros are my favorite rugers. As to point of aim with a little work any fixed sighted gun can be made to hit the point of aim you want by using a little creative loading and some filing and barrel turning. Its sure not rocket science. If i can do it anyone can.

[44 Man]

Lloyd, you own a file?

Huntnut, I agree completely.  A properly loaded .45lc will do anything you want to do!  And regulating sights is no big deal.  44 Man

[Sverre A.]

"And regulating sights is no big deal"

But I feel that my Vaquero-sights is not as good as my Bisley, FA and custom-sights.
At short range - no big deal, but at 40-50 yds - I don`t feel happy with Vac-sights.

[Lloyd Smale]

AND A HAMMER!!! Actually i think a vaqero has a real good sight picture except the stainless guns. The front sight was right out in the sunlight on them for me. A real nice upgrade to a vaquero that gives a real good sight picture and cures the windage problem is to have clements put a drift adjustable post front sight on one. Its about a necessity on a stainless gun and is nice on a blued one.

Lloyd, you own a file?

Huntnut, I agree completely.  A properly loaded .45lc will do anything you want to do!  And regulating sights is no big deal.  44 Man

[Sverre A.]

What bulletweight do you guys need in your Vaquero`s 5,5"/.45 LC - to hit POA at 25 yds?

[Camel 23]

What bulletweight do you guys need in your Vaquero`s 5,5"/.45 LC - to hit POA at 25 yds?

300's at about 1200fps are real close for me with the factory sights.  Are you reloading?  Slow and heavy will raise the poi, faster and lighter will lower it.  But you'd be better off finding a load that shoots well out of that gun and then making adjustments to the sights for your load.

[Lloyd Smale]

camel has got it right. First thing to do is figure what you want to use for a main load. Bullet weight velocity ect. DONT FOOL WITH THE SIGHTS YET!! Work up the different combinations until you settle on a load that will be your main load. Its a good idea to pick a main load that is either a fast heavy bullet or a slow lighter one as it will be easier to get two loads to shoot to the right poa later. Now to adjust the elevation by filing. If your chosen load is shooting low. VERY SLOWLY FILE the front sight down. A little goes a long ways. I allways stop the first time when the bullet is hitting about an inch  low still from what I actually want. Ive just seen to many times where ive filed them and went back the next day in differnt light or just with a differnt attitude and found out I filed to much. Now using your go to load shoot about 300 rounds over a week and make sure your happy with the fact its hitting an inch low. Then work on your lighter load. Find one that shoots well and ujust speed up and down until it hits within an inch of the poa of the main load. Now recheck your mail load adjust your windage. The proper way is with a barrel vise and turning your barrel. Bending the sight blade works too but be careful as ive broken them out of the solder. FIling on one side or another works too. The reason you left that inch of elevation is that when you turn your barrel slightly to adj windage it can slightly effect elevation too. IF when your windage is correct your elevation needs a tad more now is the time to file it a bit more. Again using your go to load. When this is all said and done then fine tune your secondary load. I have two thoughts for primary and secondary loads. I look at a gun as to whether it will be primarily a hunting gun or a fun gun. If its a pure hunting gun i want my heavy bullet load to be tuned in and thats the one im going to start with as its the one im most conserned about accuracy in. When im tuning in the secondary load it will require changes in powder levels or possible alloys to change weights and theres no guarantee its going to hold the accuaracy it had when i first worked it up. If the gun is mostly a plinker id go the other way and look for my one inch load to be the light one. For some reason shorter barrels tend to shoot closer to poa with different loads and bigger bores tend to do it too. My 4 inch 500s will shoot any load i put in them withing 3 inches of any other load. Its a little bit of work to make loads up for a vaquero. Much more then an ajustbable sighted gun. But theres also satisfaction when it all comes together and you wil be getting alot more intimate with your gun along the way. Just remember to go VERY slowly with ajustments. Especially sight filing as you cant put metal back on once you go to far. Believe me I KNOW THIS!!

[Mikey]

Ha ha ha ha ha.  File???  Hammer???  Barrel turning??   Gar - I'm stayin' outta this one................... Mikey.

[fowler]

I have had a scheduled elk hunt that I had planned on taking my 5 1/2" Bisley Vaquero in 45 colt but I have been bitten by life and will not be attending this years elk camp. Something about my second child being scheduled to be born within a week if my return was cutting a little close for work and the wife for some odd reason. Anyways it has been sighted for a 335gr LFNGC bullet at 1050fps at 50 yards and I know within the 75 yard limit I am confident too.

Any 255gr+ Keith or LBT style bullet at 750fps+ would be plenty for any deer that walks this earth. Just practice till you can keep ALL of your shots on a paper plate every time and you are ready for anything up to that distance.

[huntnut]

Souns like I should go with a superblackhack with movable sights

[Lone Star]

300's at about 1200fps are real close for me with the factory sights.

NO NO NO!  This is far too hot for a current Vaquero and this must be understood for safety's sake.  In the old large-frame Vaqs the load is about max but okay - but not for the lightweight ones you can buy today. 
Keep your loads to those listed for the SAA, not the Ruger-only loads with small-frame Vaqs.

.

[corbanzo]

300's at about 1200fps are real close for me with the factory sights.

NO NO NO!  This is far too hot for a current Vaquero and this must be understood for safety's sake.  In the old large-frame Vaqs the load is about max but okay - but not for the lightweight ones you can buy today. 
Keep your loads to those listed for the SAA, not the Ruger-only loads with small-frame Vaqs.

.

Listen to the man.....  Anything that is made to look replica shoots replica. 

[kennisondan]

IIRC, from talking with him elsewhere, the gun to which Fowler refers is an older model and tightened up by Linebaugh to boot; but iI ahve learned on this site that t would be very unsafe to shoot that from a new Vaquero, as you guys stated... the 255 grain load at 750fps that Fowler talked about seems in accord with what you guys are saying is ok for the replicas.
But -- it could have looked like he was saying that his load for elk was ok in any vaquero... good snag guys..
I applaud you guys taking the time to monitor safety and I really wanted to say thanks...

thanks again from all of us who have a lot to learn and could make a grave error by missing the point or assuming something that is incorrect.
This is a great site and these are great people.
dk

[Lloyd Smale]

Im not going to clean this up because for one no specific loads were posted. Thats why i dont like specific loads posted on here. If a guy was to load a small framed ruger like that it probably wouldnt blow up but it sure would ruin it fast and there is a chance of injury. As the moderator of this fourm id feel pretty terrible if someone got hurt using a load from here. Im not on this computer every single day and its possible a load could slip by me. I guess we could allways state what sized rugers we were talking about but not every guy that buys one even knows theres two sizes. Ruger needs a boot in the ass for even doing this! They would have sure saved alot of headaches if they would have just chambered it in 44 special instead of 45 colt. Ive got a 45 colt montego and its a neat gun but they really pushed the design shoehorning the 45 colt in it anyway. If you have a primer that isnt just perfectly seated it ties it up. Youd never get a heavy bullet in it anyway and use the crimp grove as the cyl isnt long enough. Even most 255s are right at the end of the cylinder and if your not crimped just right will tie the gun up too. A 44 special is made for a gun like that! It can be loaded to everything and even a little more in a small framed gun and would fit much better. Buy typical of ruger there going to tell us what we want rather then listen to what we really want!! If theyd chamber the montego and the aniversary ajs. sight gun in 44 special therd be smoke on my credit card!!

[fowler]

Heck didn't think I was raising a red flag here on loads. I mean a 335gr LFNGC at 1050fps is hardly a hot load certainly under 20K psi and probably under 18K. I have run a few in my Smith Mountain gun but that is not what that gun is for unless there are big bears to worry about.  I suppose it would be better to define what Vaquero we are shooting but then I guess I did that to, and it is unreasonable for some to know the Bisley Vaquero was discontinued several years ago and has only produced in the older large frame configuration that handles 30k PSI loads or so as published in dozens of reloading manuals and articles.

The point is that for deer, whitetail or mule deer, any 45 colt cast bullet load from 255gr up is plenty. What is more important is to learn to hit well with them.

Lloyd the Matado is a intreging gun that I have yet to rap my mitts around in any shop. It was produced, according to Ruger, for the mounted cowboy action shooters who shoot blanks from horse back! That is why it is stainless steel (so they can clean their guns in the dish washer!) and 45 colt (because it is the only cartridge allowed, they all shoot the same blanks from the same box to level the field). I think it would be a pretty cool small gun to tinker with and shoot a lot. I wouldn't be tempted to hunt big game with it but it's little size might be tempting to carry CCW with! So being limited to lighter shorter bullets would not bother me. Heck a lot can be said for a 255gr or a 280gr WFN at moderate distances! Heck I might special order one but the wife watches the credit card balances too close! But I will agree that both guns are begging for a 44 special factory model, and a blued matado, better yet a Bisley griped, round butted blued version!

[Sverre A.]

H110/21 gr. and 300 XTP is POA with my Vac.
Similar load with 325 gr. cast is 3" higher.

(having the old model  )

[Lloyd Smale]

your making my credit card tremble!!

Heck didn't think I was raising a red flag here on loads. I mean a 335gr LFNGC at 1050fps is hardly a hot load certainly under 20K psi and probably under 18K. I have run a few in my Smith Mountain gun but that is not what that gun is for unless there are big bears to worry about.  I suppose it would be better to define what Vaquero we are shooting but then I guess I did that to, and it is unreasonable for some to know the Bisley Vaquero was discontinued several years ago and has only produced in the older large frame configuration that handles 30k PSI loads or so as published in dozens of reloading manuals and articles.

The point is that for deer, whitetail or mule deer, any 45 colt cast bullet load from 255gr up is plenty. What is more important is to learn to hit well with them.

Lloyd the Matado is a intreging gun that I have yet to rap my mitts around in any shop. It was produced, according to Ruger, for the mounted cowboy action shooters who shoot blanks from horse back! That is why it is stainless steel (so they can clean their guns in the dish washer!) and 45 colt (because it is the only cartridge allowed, they all shoot the same blanks from the same box to level the field). I think it would be a pretty cool small gun to tinker with and shoot a lot. I wouldn't be tempted to hunt big game with it but it's little size might be tempting to carry CCW with! So being limited to lighter shorter bullets would not bother me. Heck a lot can be said for a 255gr or a 280gr WFN at moderate distances! Heck I might special order one but the wife watches the credit card balances too close! But I will agree that both guns are begging for a 44 special factory model, and a blued matado, better yet a Bisley griped, round butted blued version!

[Lone Star]

Heck didn't think I was raising a red flag here on loads...

Did anyone even read my post? I was clearly refering to what is a near-max load for a Blackhawk  (300@1200) - and no where in the post did the poster say it was used in an old model Vaq.  The OP is 'likely' talking about a new model since he is buying, but what we really need to remember is that there are hundreds of lurkers on this site, many of whom do not understand the difference between old and new model Vaqs.  And with the various search functions - that what we say in our posts echoes for eternity. 


.

[44 Man]

I load a 265 gr SWC at about 950 fps in my 'New' Vaquero.  (It's listed as safe but max in SAA)  With the small grip frame and lighter weight, that backs up and raps me pretty good.  It will do all I ask of it.  I know that Lloyd is used to those REALLY BIG BORES, but I do not need more than this from a .45 colt neither do I want to shoot anything heavier in this gun (from a comfort level).  You do definitely have to match your loads to your guns when talking .45 colt.  44 Man

This is a stainless gun.  I was fortunate for this load shoots right to the sights.  I did however file the rear of the front sight to get a flat surface and then serrated it with a checkering file to cut the glare.  That works pretty good!  44 Man

[jakes10mm]

Souns like I should go with a superblackhack with movable sights

Had one of the Blackhawk Hunters in 45 Colt, but had to let it go.  The replaceable front sight was nice, but I could not get accustomed to the forward CG on the revolver.  Definitely helped dampen the recoil when I went a little too long under the powder measure.  Was thinking about a USFA Rodeo for next season, but will probably take out my standard Blackhawk 4-5/8".   

[Lawful Larry]

Lone Star you are totally correct.  We should have placed a disclaimer on this thread at the beginning.  Our problems is that we get so involved in our discussion, that we do forget about the novices that listen to our talks and go off with it. 

Now as far as my OM Vaquero, they can go be loaded to Blackhawk levels.  But that is not necessary for the type of hunting that this gun can perform to. 

First we need to understand our limits as to yardage.  I, personally, would keep my distances down to under 50 yds. with this gun.  My eyes dictate this distance so that is why I only use my OM Vaquero for a woods carry gun at times. 

Now as to  the cartridges, I load up using a XTP Mag 240 gr. bullet using Unique powder.  The powder charge gives me a round that will travel just barely over 1000 fps.  I must admit I would only use this gun for very up and close shots.  For anything  else, I have my Super Blackhawk Hunter with a 2x Burris handgun scope.  Now this gun will go out to over 100 yds and perform well. 

[warrior1]

not to hijack this thread,but i understand the new vaquero is not up to blackhawk loadss,but is the new model blackhawk up to old model blackhawk loads?dan

[Chris Potts]

Yes the new model blackhawk frame is as strong as the old.  The new vaquero is significantly smaller the the old vaquero  and should only be loaded with the lower pressure level loads listed for colt clones.  The old vaquero used the same frame as the blackhawk and could be loaded the the same levels as the blackhawks.

Chris

[warrior1]

thanks chris,i've got an old vaquero 45 colt 5.5"barrel. that barrel. this gun is growing on me,
but it has been too cold to shoot outdoors, and i really do not like indoor shooting.
the last time i went the lighting was hanicapping my ability to see the front sight.

when you think about it they use to have heated driving ranges. just about the same principle.
only difference would be the guy driving the cart would probably need an armored personnel carrier.

the reason i was asking about the blackhawk is i am thinking of getting one with a 45colt/45acp cylinders,and i just wanted to know the blackhawk was still as strong as ever. dan