.45 new vaquero convertable

[maxpress]

would like a 45acp cylinder for my 45 vaquero. anyone know who does this work.

sure would like to see ruger offer a convertable new vaquero off the shelf.

 

[sdoyl123]

They make a Vaquero in 45acp/45 LC. I have it in the shiny stainless. Not sure if they are still producing at this time. Looked at GB's and did not see one.

 

[GaryA]

I would like to see that also. Colt has offered a .45acp auxilary cylnder for their SAA from time to time and Uberti/Cimarron offers that option, as does U.S. Firearms and perhaps others. Based on cylinder dimensions, etc., one would think that Ruger could do the same, should they see fit to do so. I have only heard one possible reason given for not doing so. A knowledgeable Ruger person, a gunsmith, on another forum suggested that Colt, USFA, and Uberti use a shorter, fatter cylinder stop which requires a broader but shallower cut in the cylinder. Ruger uses a thinner, deeper stop which requires a narrower but deeper cut in the cylinder. I don't know if this is really an issue or not, since the cut is offset from the chambers so I don't know if it affects the thickness at the thinnest part of the chamber walls. I would have to leave the technical considerations to those who are engineers and better suited to sort that out but I remain hopeful that Ruger might offer some limited runs of New Vaquero .45 convertibles at some point. It wouldn't bother me in the least if they even cautioned against using .45 acp plus P in the smaller cylinder. I would be happy with plain ol' 230 grain .45 acp. They have not produced any Vaquero convertibles since dropping production of the Vaquero in favor of the somewhat smaller New Vaquero.

In the meantime, I will have to be content (and I am) with my convertible Blackhawks.

 

[JWhitmore44]

edit
Sorry , I went back and re-read that you were talking about a New Vaquero.


A New Vaquero with a 45acp cylinder would be sweet.

 

[REP1954]

To make a New Vaquero into a 45 Colt/45 ACP would require having a custom cylinder made for the 45 ACP or the other option would be to contact a gunsmith like Hamilton Bowen , Alan Harton or the likes and see if they have a 357 cylinder that could be used to make a 45 ACP cylinder out of. This would require setting the barrel back to the 357 cylinder length and then machining the 45 Colt cylinder to match. If you cant do the work yourself then a new custom cylinder would be the best way and you would still have a stock gun.

 

[sdoyl123]

Here is a quick image of the one I have

 

[maxpress]

well they do it in the blackhawk so it shouldnt be to far of a stretch i wouldnt imagine

 

[GaryA]

True, maxpress, but the Blackhawk has a substantially larger frame and cylinder than the New Vaquero and .45 acp has a substantially higher pressure than standard .45 Colt. The Blackhawk has more than enough cylinder to handle 21,000 psi, 23,000 psi, and more. The question is more about what pressures the New Vaquero cylinder can handle and why or why not.

 

[GaryA]

I might add that I had a 45 Convertible Vaquero some years ago, actually two of them. I sold them for some reason that made sense at the time which now I can't remember at all. :roll:

 

[w5lx]

would like a 45acp cylinder for my 45 vaquero. anyone know who does this work.

The best place to have a fitted cylinder made is Ruger. The last price I heard for a new fitted cylinder was $150. Well worth it.

 

[GaryA]

Apparently some people contact Ruger to have an auxiliary cylinder made and get one without problem. Others contact Ruger and are told point blank that Ruger won't make a cylinder unless the gun left the factory that way. It's quite a confusing policy. Perhaps it's who you talk to?

 

[REP1954]

I dont think Ruger will fit a new cylinder to a gun unless it is a cylinder that they already make or have made in the past. Ruger has never made a production medium frame 45 ACP cylinder that I know of.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

I dont think Ruger will fit a new cylinder to a gun unless it is a cylinder that they already make or have made in the past. Ruger has never made a production medium frame 45 ACP cylinder that I know of.

100% correct
Jim

 

[pete44ru]

Please don't confuse the issue - A NEW VAQUERO is NOT the same as the previous model/standard Vaquero.

The previous Vaquero uses a Blackhawk-sized (.44 Mag) cylinder frame; while the New Vaquero uses a smaller, Old Model .357 sized cylinder frame that's almost identical in size to the original Colt SAA.

I've already explored the .45ACP extra cylinder possibilities, for the .45 New Vaquero that I recently sold.

Ruger WILL NOT make a .45 NV into a convertible via making a .45ACP cylinder for it, since they catalog no such gun.

Ruger NV .357 cylinders are a different/wrong length for reboring to .45ACP, and fitting/timing.

The ONLY option is a custom-made new cylinder route, ala Bowen ($500), Harton, or other custom gunsmith.

.

 

[Meeteetse]

I've contacted Ruger several times over the last few years to see if they would fit a 45 acp cylinder to my 45 Colt "old" Vaquero and each time they have said NO. Their only comment has been. . . "we are not offering that option at this time".

I have two BH's with 45/45 cylinders and they are fun. I would like the same option with my Vaqueros. Since they offer the extra cylinder for the full size BH, you would think it would be a no brainer. They also won't sell a cylinder separately since it has to be "factory fitted".

 

[JWhitmore44]

I had the same issue, Ruger would not fit a 45acp cylinder to my Vaquero as the Vaquero never came with a 45acp cylinder (Ruger's words). I bought a acp cylinder from a gentleman online here where the cylinder measured out the same as mine. If it is close the fitting is easy, although I'm sure you can run into issues. I had to take off a hair from the front bushing and I still had a good barrel to cylinder gap. the lock up looked good and the alignment was good.

But I don't think there are any 45acp cylinders that were ever made for the New Vaquero frame size.