Production of Vaquero and Blackhawks

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While it's possible that a cylinder from another gun will fit, there's no assurance it will, and there are several possible ways it may need to be fitted. If you think you'll ever want dual caliber capability the dual cylinder gun from the factory is the way to go, IMO.
 

jack black

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Who is buying the Vaqueros? The market is very small and with cowboy shooting almost dead I see few if any being produced in the near future. The Italians have taken over the replica market and Ruger is left in the dust SAD.
 

Snake Pleskin

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Who is buying the Vaqueros? The market is very small and with cowboy shooting almost dead I see few if any being produced in the near future. The Italians have taken over the replica market and Ruger is left in the dust SAD.
Like everything else, Cowboy Shooting or SASS shooting is a large investment. You need two Pistols, a Rifle and a Shotgun, then all the accessories of holsters, belts, cartridge holders, carts any modifications to the firearms so they perform and hold up, etc etc etc. $$$ I believe that has led to the demise of this genre in many areas. I sold all my stuff years ago for that reason. Many of the "Italian" replica are fine firearms and shoot well. The firearms made to day are a different breed from the original ones. Better steel, better heat treatment, better fitment etc. many of them are quite nice. Still by the time you purchase everything it is easily $3-4 K!(IMHO) Look at the price of a Blackhawk or Vaquero! Not cheap!
 

eveled

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What do you like about it? Lower recoil? Cheaper ammo?

Fair question.

Its a relatively slow big boar cartridge. Those stubby rounds are easy to load, and eject. The spent shells almost fall out on their own.

It can handle .45acp+p so its no slouch.

I have the lypsy flat top convertible. Its the extra gun I take to range if I'm shooting my 1911's. You can actually load it right from a 1911 magazine.
 

Snake Pleskin

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Fair question.

Its a relatively slow big boar cartridge. Those stubby rounds are easy to load, and eject. The spent shells almost fall out on their own.

It can handle .45acp+p so its no slouch.

I have the lypsy flat top convertible. Its the extra gun I take to range if I'm shooting my 1911's. You can actually load it right from a 1911 magazine.
What ever works for you. It's all good!
 

louiethelump

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Rcclark:
I became a believer in the 45 acp revolver when I discovered how accurate they are, to begin with.

Then the cost of things went up and I discovered 45acp brass with small pistol primers. I have LOTS of small pistol primers. Not so many of large pistol required for 45 Colt. NOW, with primer costs as they are, that alone would bring a move to 45acp.

But there is more. Powder costs and availability. A full power load in the 45acp with the same 200 grain cast bullet used in the 45 Colt can be created with Unique powder with a small charge compared to the 45colt. The 45acp is extremely easy to load and the brass costs (once fired brass) much less than 45 Colt brass.

In a word: economy

The 45acp became my favorite revolver round, and also superb in my Bond Derringer.
 

eveled

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Saami pressure put the .45acp at the top of the non magnum options. .45 colt is at the bottom!

In order of Saami max pressure.

.45 colt 14,000
.44 sp. 15,500
.38 sp. 17,500
.45acp. 21,000
.45acp+p 23,000

The pressures dont really factor into my preference, but I still found it interesting. Not being a reloader, I'm not well versed in the subject. @louiethelump makes good points.

Of course @Snake Pleskin is correct too. Do what works for you. After all there is no wrong answer. Have fun be safe. All single actions are pretty cool.
 
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Biggfoot44

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Not a Ruger , but my ASM SAA clone is wearing its .45acp cylinder .

And I like .45 Colt also , with some Vaqueros and a BH .


They both have useful niches , with fair amount of overlap in the middle .
 

Snake Pleskin

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I have narrowed down my pistol reloading to two cartridges. .38special & .357 magnum. I can use the .38 in everything from my snub guns to my K frames & Blackhawks. I use the .357 in my Rossi 92's, Marlin 1894 and of course the Blackhawks. It makes my life much simpler to keep only one caliber of molds, bullets, powder etc that can be used interchangeably. I find the .38 to be very versatile with many different loads available, easy to reload, very accurate . The .357 has all the power I will ever need in a pistol round, and also gets quite a boost out of a 16-20 in rifle barrel giving me capability to 100-150 yards if needed.
 

eveled

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All good points @Snake Pleskin. I'm very fond of my .357's from J frame to N frame. A .357 Blackhawk was my first handgun. I also have a .357 Rossi 92. If I had to choose only one cartridge it would definitely be it.

To the original question.

The single action market was basically dead in the 60's. The popularity of westerns and Ruger revived the market.

Realistically how long can it stay revived? Especially if CAAS is declining.
 
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Snake Pleskin

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The single action market was basically dead in the 60's. The popularity of westerns and Ruger revived the market.

Realistically how long can it stay revived? Especially if CAAS is declining.
I agree. The shooter of today is obsessed with "personal" protection and the Plastic Fantastic that holds a zillion rounds. The SA is a niche any more, and is slowly going the way of the DO DO(IMHO). It would appear that few younger people are buying this type of firearm.
 

eveled

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Even if they did buy a single action, they wouldn't buy more than one. It would just be a novelty not a lifestyle.

Double action revolvers are probably right behind them.
 

contender

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For the OP; Your question on adding a spare cylinder in .45 Colt.

IN GENERAL,, yes,, it's actually easy. You measure the existing cylinder from your gun, for the overall length. (OAL) then, you look for a Ruger built, .45 Colt cylinder, with the same OAL, or even a few thousands longer. If it's a little longer,, you can gently hone the cylinder boss to fit it to your gun.
As for timing,, it's not very often that a Ruger built cylinder won't time properly. HOWEVER,,, you should ALWAYS properly check the bore to barrel alignment PRIOR to shooting.

Many feel the SA market is declining,, and in some aspects,, it is.
But there's still a very viable market in general. Otherwise,, the prices would be lower. High prices point to a strong demand.
 

weaselmeatgravy

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For SA revolvers, Ruger only seems to be cranking out Wranglers now and have been for a few years. Maybe once that market is saturated, they will start making steel revolvers again.

Back to the OP's question on the .44 Special, all the flattop Blackhawks were Lipsey's or TALO specials. Searching Lipsey's for Ruger .44 Special only returns 5 models, 4 Bisley flattops and one GP100. All show "out of stock" except one stainless Bisley is "Allocated". There are no .44 Special Rugers in the 2022 TALO catalog. I suspect the "out of stock" models are gone forever, and the "allocated" ones are generally only made available to high volume dealers, and may also be "out of stock" but not yet considered out of production. It usually takes a few months for discontinued models to completely disappear from the website. For the Vaquero, I'm not sure if the .44 Special was a distributor exclusive, but I think Ruger stopped making them several years ago. I've noticed GunBroker prices on .44 Special Vaqueros slowly increasing over the past few years. Curious thing about the .44 Special Vaquero is that Ruger rollmarked those guns simply as Vaquero even though they are on the smaller New Vaquero frame.
 

Snake Pleskin

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For SA revolvers, Ruger only seems to be cranking out Wranglers now and have been for a few years. Maybe once that market is saturated, they will start making steel revolvers again.

Back to the OP's question on the .44 Special, all the flattop Blackhawks were Lipsey's or TALO specials. Searching Lipsey's for Ruger .44 Special only returns 5 models, 4 Bisley flattops and one GP100. All show "out of stock" except one stainless Bisley is "Allocated". There are no .44 Special Rugers in the 2022 TALO catalog. I suspect the "out of stock" models are gone forever, and the "allocated" ones are generally only made available to high volume dealers, and may also be "out of stock" but not yet considered out of production. It usually takes a few months for discontinued models to completely disappear from the website. For the Vaquero, I'm not sure if the .44 Special was a distributor exclusive, but I think Ruger stopped making them several years ago. I've noticed GunBroker prices on .44 Special Vaqueros slowly increasing over the past few years. Curious thing about the .44 Special Vaquero is that Ruger rollmarked those guns simply as Vaquero even though they are on the smaller New Vaquero frame.
I believe Ruger filled a niche with the Wrangler, because they wee losing sales. I own one and it shoots as well as my Single Six & Super Single six at 1/3 the cost! People are starting to not want to pay $500-600 dollars for a .22lr pistol.
 

NightSailor

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I agree. The shooter of today is obsessed with "personal" protection and the Plastic Fantastic that holds a zillion rounds. The SA is a niche any more, and is slowly going the way of the DO DO(IMHO). It would appear that few younger people are buying this type of firearm.
That might be true for people just entering the market. I have a few pocket pistols, and while I'm thinking about a 9mm carry piece, and have many 1911's, I am blown away by the quality of the Vaquero's and New Vaquero's.

These little cheap semi-auto's--do they hold up?

I have no doubts about my 1911's, and the SS Vaquero's are freaking inspiring!

I bought two 5.5" and then one more 7.5", and am considering a 3.5" birdshead 45 ACP and would like a 4.6" for spinning.

I am a huge Colt fan, growing up here in Connecticut, where I was taking apart my dad's pistols at the age of 7 or 8. I would love a SAA Colt, but it would be a closet queen. These SS Vaquero's can take a beating, SS won't rust, they can be polished up to look like new, and are freaking inspiring. What cheap semi auto can do that? Which gun will still be around 50 years from now? 500 years from now?

These Vaquero's make me want to carry one like Doc Holiday, or maybe two. Handle one and you fall in love with them.

Perhaps CAS is dying, but the love of SAA type guns is not going away. They are hard to find and sell very fast. I expect that shooters, as they learn more, will migrate to single actions as time goes on.
 

Snake Pleskin

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That might be true for people just entering the market. I have a few pocket pistols, and while I'm thinking about a 9mm carry piece, and have many 1911's, I am blown away by the quality of the Vaquero's and New Vaquero's.

These little cheap semi-auto's--do they hold up?

I have no doubts about my 1911's, and the SS Vaquero's are freaking inspiring!

I bought two 5.5" and then one more 7.5", and am considering a 3.5" birdshead 45 ACP and would like a 4.6" for spinning.

I am a huge Colt fan, growing up here in Connecticut, where I was taking apart my dad's pistols at the age of 7 or 8. I would love a SAA Colt, but it would be a closet queen. These SS Vaquero's can take a beating, SS won't rust, they can be polished up to look like new, and are freaking inspiring. What cheap semi auto can do that? Which gun will still be around 50 years from now? 500 years from now?

These Vaquero's make me want to carry one like Doc Holiday, or maybe two. Handle one and you fall in love with them.

Perhaps CAS is dying, but the love of SAA type guns is not going away. They are hard to find and sell very fast. I expect that shooters, as they learn more, will migrate to single actions as time goes on.
The so called "cheap" plastic 9mm's aren't! Glocks used by many nations around the world, and more Agency's and Police here in the USA will be shooting long after your 1911 has died. Glocks have been put through extreme testing that no one would dare try on a 1911!
 

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