|
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,668
Campfire Regular
|
OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,668 |
I've found a nice Ruger Vaquero in .44-40 that looks really good to me. It's got an after market hammer that easier to catch, an action job and the sights are regulated for a 25 yd. zero with factory loads. So tell me, can I reload for it using .429 dia. bullets such as the 200 gr. stuff for the .44 Special ? How does the Starline brass hold up to reloading ? I understand the WW brass is pretty thin, and doesn't last long. My alternative is a .44 Special in a Ruger Blackhawk. It would have adjustable sights, etc. which are nice to have. Thoughts, ideas welcomed. E
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 54,284
Campfire Kahuna
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 54,284 |
The Vaquero is a gun made to look like a Colt SAA and the sights are far inferior to the Blackhawk's adjustable ones. If you're not wedded to a gun that looks fairly historically accurate and/or the 44-40 cartridge, I'd go with the Blackhawk or even a Super Blackhawk in 44 Mag. Either the Special or Magnum will be much easier to work with than the 44-40. ALL 44-40 brass is thin at the neck. I can't say Starline is better or worse than Winchester. That said, there shouldn't be any problems with Magnum diameter bullets because from what I understand, all the 44-40 Vaqueros were built to utilize that diameter bullet instead of the .427ish of the old 44-40's.
If you want to magnumize the 44-40, one of the Super Blackhawk's that Buckeye came out with back in the 90's (IIRC) is the way to go. They are convertibles and should have a cylinder in 44 Mag. too. I owned one of the first Vaquero's in 44-40 as well as two of the Buckeye's and a fairly rare Colt New Frontier in the same cartridge.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 24,667
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 24,667 |
I've found a nice Ruger Vaquero in .44-40 that looks really good to me. It's got an after market hammer that easier to catch, an action job and the sights are regulated for a 25 yd. zero with factory loads. So tell me, can I reload for it using .429 dia. bullets such as the 200 gr. stuff for the .44 Special ? How does the Starline brass hold up to reloading ? I understand the WW brass is pretty thin, and doesn't last long. My alternative is a .44 Special in a Ruger Blackhawk. It would have adjustable sights, etc. which are nice to have. Thoughts, ideas welcomed. E .44/40 is somewhat less than fun to work with from a reloading standpoint. You'll have to use steel dies and lubricate cases, and ALL cases are pretty thin. I have also noticed something rather peculiar about the .44/40, there seems to be a great deal of difference in dimensions from case maker to case maker. I had a Colt with a very tight chamber that wouldn’t chamber Remington brass at all (rim was too thick), Starline brass had to be fully sized, and Winchester worked about 90% of the time…that was annoying. With a Ruger I have never had this problem. Performance wise, I didn’t find the .44/40 lacking for most reasonable jobs. I bought up a Saeco 200gr FP bullet mold for the .44/40 because it had a very wide meplat, and it actually turned into my favorite bullet mold for .44 special and light magnum loads. I generally tell people to reserve the .44/40 for those who want historical accuracy. For the guy who just wants to shoot, stick to .44 special/magnum, or .45 Colt. Much easier cartridges to work with.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,736 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,736 Likes: 1 |
GunGeek Quote {I generally tell people to reserve the .44/40 for those who want historical accuracy. For the guy who just wants to shoot, stick to .44 special/magnum, or .45 Colt. Much easier cartridges to work with.}
^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
NRA LIFE MEMBER GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS ESPECIALLY THE SNIPERS! "Suppose you were an idiot And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself." -Mark Twain
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 12,533
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 12,533 |
I agree with the others that the .44 Magnum or Special is the PRACTICAL way to go. It just makes more sense dollar-wise, and as a practical matter.
I had a .44 Magnum Rossi 92, when I wanted to play cowboy I loaded it on my Dillon 550 with carbide dies and loaded the 200gr. WFN bullets to 1200fps, just like the .44/40 factory loads. We called them 'popcorn' loads because the recoil was about like a mouse fart, and they were fun to shoot without the calories. According to Waters' Pet Loads, that's what the factory .44WCF loads did, and did well. Carbide dies are a wonderful thing, and it behooves us to make use of them whenever possible.
You can roll a turd in peanuts, dip it in chocolate, and it still ain't no damn Baby Ruth.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,668
Campfire Regular
|
OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,668 |
Thanks everybody for your input. E
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,193
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,193 |
The .44/40 is a cantankerous beast but can be fun to mess with. I had a Colt SAA and an Uberti Henry, both in .44/40, for awhile. The Colt would not chamber rounds with .429" bullets but the Uberti would. In the Uberti, reloads with both W-W .427" 200 gr. JSP .44/40 bullets and the classic Lyman cast bullet (427098) would pop down into the cases when under spring pressure in the magazine, despite the use of a Lee FCD. There's a reason that .44/40 factory ammo has a crimp both above and beneath the bullet. The only way I could prevent this was to either use a casefull of blackpowder or a polymer filler over the smokeless charge.
Cartridge cases are fragile but I was careful and only lost 2 or 3.
There are much better cast bullets now that incorporate a proper crimp groove and would prevent this, but they were not available 25 years ago when I was messing with the .44/40.
But I am a gun crank and sort of enjoyed the challenge.
Last edited by wildhobbybobby; 02/24/18.
Life is like a purple antelope on a field of tuna fish...
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,736 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,736 Likes: 1 |
I don't remember the exact year but Rugers catalog told stories about different things that had happened to Ruger Revolvers. (It was in a Yellow Cover) In it were two brothers who were camping in Arizona and a black bear came in the tent and attacked both guys, one more serious than the other. So you have a dark tent with a dark bear going crazy with these guys and one was able to find his 44-40 Vaquero and killed the black bear. Problem with a Vaquero or any of them that does both 44 Mag and 44-40 and the barrel has to be bigger for the larger .429 bullet. I like the idea of a 44-40 because of my age and the number of old westerns I've watched but for real life purposes I'll stick with a 44 mag with 44 mag ammunition or 44 Special ammunition. I like them both.
NRA LIFE MEMBER GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS ESPECIALLY THE SNIPERS! "Suppose you were an idiot And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself." -Mark Twain
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 159
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 159 |
On my vaquero, while the bore was set up for .429 bullets, the chambers were not. .429 bullet in 44-40 case would not chamber, had to open the chamber neck in order to use .429 bullets. After that it shoots quite well. Reloading the 44-40 case, I have WW brass, was not much different than any other bottleneck cartridge.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,736 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,736 Likes: 1 |
Stratton, you've done what needs to be done to get the best performance out of the gun. Nothing much you can do otherwise.
But you might as well have a 44 magnum because the only thing you've got left is the brass which is necked up. That's the case that was made earlier by a few different people.
NRA LIFE MEMBER GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS ESPECIALLY THE SNIPERS! "Suppose you were an idiot And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself." -Mark Twain
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 159
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 159 |
Yes, for that vaquero the brass is necked up. Haven't checked to see if that brass will chamber in my marlin, I will have to remember to check that.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,736 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,736 Likes: 1 |
I would be curious myself.
NRA LIFE MEMBER GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS ESPECIALLY THE SNIPERS! "Suppose you were an idiot And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself." -Mark Twain
|
|
|
|
167 members (280shooter, 1OntarioJim, 257 roberts, 222Sako, 2500HD, 16 invisible),
1,594
guests, and
929
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,192,372
Posts18,488,334
Members73,970
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|