.44 Magnum fluted Vaquero cylinder..."Ruger Only" loads?

Tallbald · Aug 18, 2014

I'm a very lucky man. I have my new-to-me 7 1/2 inch glossy stainless old Vaquero AND a handsome 4 5/8 inch stainless Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum. I have read about "Ruger Only" loads made by some cartridge manufacturers and wonder if the fluted old Vaquero cylinder would handle the "Ruger Only" loads should one accidentally be shot in my Vaquero. Sure wouldn't be loaded on purpose in either. At my age recoil hurts. I'll be reloading and .44 Special level loads are on my agenda. Just curious. Thanks. Don

VAdoublegunner · Aug 18, 2014

They both will handle any SAAMI spec commercial 44 Magnum loads and handloaded equivalents.

A few folks may hotrod the 44 Mag, but most of the time "Ruger Only" loads refers to hot loaded 45 Colt. If you like full fury 44 Mag loads, you'll have all the fun you can handle. And yep, they will handle the "Ruger Only" heavy 44 Mag loads too (e.g. Buffalo Bore) if you are so inclined.

protoolman · Aug 18, 2014

All .44 mags are built on "ruger only" type full sized frames. The new vaqueros are built on a smaller frame and Ruger has not chambered any of that size in .44 magnum. So yes, your .44 magnum vaquero would be on a full size strong frame fully equal to any Super blackhawk fluted or unfluted makes no difference.

Tallbald · Aug 18, 2014

Thanks. As I said, I will be DOWNloading for my wimpy old arthritic joints. Don

Varminterror · Aug 18, 2014

To clarify something here:

The fluted Ruger 44mag SBH and pre-2005 Vaquero cylinders will withstand just as much over-pressuring as the non-fluted SBH 44mag cylinders. The thinnest portion of the chamber walls is over the locking bolt cuts (indexing cuts), which is the exact same dimension for either fluted or non-fluted.

In other words, the fluting does not weaken the cylinder in any way. It simply lightens it, and gives it a more traditional look (and aids in cooling).

Now, regarding how hot a 44mag Ruger single action revolver can run, well, that's a story for another day - but be confident that the 44mag SBH's, fluted or not, can handle considerably more than what SAAMI has certified as safe for the 44mag, and certainly far more than what is "comfortable" out of a hand cannon.

Hondo44 · Aug 20, 2014

John Linebaugh, an industry leader in Custom Ruger big bore smithing has written that the Ruger 44 mag proved to be 100% over built when he had it tested. The .44 magnum is loaded to 40,000 CUP (Copper Units of Pressure). H.P White's lab report to him states that the Ruger 44 Mag in a controlled test wasn't destroyed until approximately double that pressure was reached, (80,000 CUP).

Rclark · Aug 21, 2014

Ruger 44 mag proved to be 100% over built

I think 'over built' is the wrong word here. More like offers a 100% safety margin which means the cylinder can handle .44Mag max SAAMI loads for it's life and never put an 'strain' on the steel (ie. In .44Mag, the cylinder is not over built). You would not want a cylinder that only offered a 1% margin for example blowing at 40,400cup . In fact Linebaugh encourages one to stay at 100% safety margin regardless. That is why the .45 Colt large frame BH (Ruger Only Loads) was set at 30K ... 100% safety margin. Safety margin might be the wrong term too for this 'technically' (Hey, I am not a metallurgist) .

Now, you could say the .45 Colt BH is 'over built', as SAMMI 14K isn't even close to the 30K that the cylinder will easily digest. That is why the medium frame (New Vaquero and Flattop) is more reasonable for .45 Colt (looking at it from a SAAMI point of view).

Not trying to be picky, just don't want people to get the idea that if test cylinder blows at 80K, then it is okay to load up .44Mag 70K cup cartridges for the said 'over built' (S)BH.... Which it is NOT.

Stay at least than 40K (SAAMI I think is now 35K psi for some reason) and all is well.

Laserbait · Aug 22, 2014

Rclark said:
Ruger 44 mag proved to be 100% over built

Click to expand...

I think 'over built' is the wrong word here. More like offers a 100% safety margin which means the cylinder can handle .44Mag max SAAMI loads for it's life and never put an 'strain' on the steel (ie. In .44Mag, the cylinder is not over built). You would not want a cylinder that only offered a 1% margin for example blowing at 40,400cup . In fact Linebaugh encourages one to stay at 100% safety margin regardless. That is why the .45 Colt large frame BH (Ruger Only Loads) was set at 30K ... 100% safety margin. Safety margin might be the wrong term too for this 'technically' (Hey, I am not a metallurgist) .

Now, you could say the .45 Colt BH is 'over built', as SAMMI 14K isn't even close to the 30K that the cylinder will easily digest. That is why the medium frame (New Vaquero and Flattop) is more reasonable for .45 Colt (looking at it from a SAAMI point of view).

Not trying to be picky, just don't want people to get the idea that if test cylinder blows at 80K, then it is okay to load up .44Mag 70K cup cartridges for the said 'over built' (S)BH.... Which it is NOT. Stay at least than 40K (SAAMI I think is now 35K psi for some reason) and all is well.

I have to wonder what the safety margin is for the 357 mag Redhawks! Actually, I'm serious about that, I love stats like that.

Varminterror · Aug 23, 2014

Rclark said:
Not trying to be picky, just don't want people to get the idea that if test cylinder blows at 80K, then it is okay to load up .44Mag 70K cup cartridges for the said 'over built' (S)BH.... Which it is NOT. Stay at least than 40K (SAAMI I think is now 35K psi for some reason) and all is well.

First off, I do agree with the statements regarding the premise that "just because 80K = catastrophic failure, 70k isn't actually safe." These cylinders aren't designed to shoot ONE TIME, they are made to last multiple lifetimes. Stress/strain analysis and pressure cycle analysis is a finite science with a long history, but still a lot to learn. Would you rather run 300,000 rounds without significant metallurgical fatigue, or have your cylinder fail catastrophically after 50 rounds, or after 5? The motor in your car will run a lot more miles if you don't have the pedal to the floor all the time. Same with revolvers.

BUT... to clarify something here: THE CURRENT SAAMI SPECS FOR 44MAG ARE 40K CUP AND 36K PSI. Same pressure, just different units.

Current SAAMI Publication from their site = PSI units

Current SAAMI publication from their site = CUP Units

Both are current, even though one is 1993 and the other 2013. The site publication copyright is 2012, and if you CALL SAAMI, they'll assert that both are current and equivalent, based on their measurement standards.

Tallbald · Aug 27, 2014

Very interesting and helpful responses. And reassuring. Thank you all for the education. Don

.44 Magnum fluted Vaquero cylinder..."Ruger Only" loads?

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