I picked up a nearly new 44/40 Vaquero Ruger w/ 7 1/2" barrel in the polished stainless finish this week. I also bought dies to reload for this gun. I'm not looking to compete in cowboy shooting at this time, just a fun target load. I measured the back of each cylinder, along with the barrel at the muzzle and came up with .424. I am learning that there are many different sizes of bullets to choose from. How do I determine what to order and load? I found some Magnus RNFP 200 grain lead bullets at .426 that seemed to be what I'm looking for, but not sure. Idea's on powder and primer brands to try? I do have reloading books, just asking where to start. Any trouble shooting lead bullets through a stainless barrel?
Thanks for the information.

Shane.....my recommendation is to have the throats opened to 0.4295"-0.4300" and use .429" bullets. The .44-40 Vaqueros shoot much better when you're not rattling a 0.427" slug down a 0.430" tube. Also, lead bullets are fine on stainless.



Lee Martin

www.singleactions.com

I understand that Ruger is properly throating these revolvers now. Contact the factory and ship it back for rethroating at THEIR expense. Then you should be able to find, easily, a bullet that you'll enjoy and will perform for you in your application.

I have two of the carbon steel Ruger 44-40 Vaqueros. Unfortunately. Check the barrel again. I sincerely doubt that it is 0.424". Mine are 0.430". The cylinder throats were between 0.424" and 0.425", like yours. Accuracy was terrible. If that is what you have, you will have to have the throats opened up to match the barrel or it won't shoot.

The suggestion to use .44 Magnum (.430") bullets may or may not work. It did not work with mine. The necks in the chambers were such that I could not use any bullet larger than 0.427" reliably. There is a special 44-40 reamer out there somewhere that will rechamber the cylinder to allow larger bullets. If you want accuracy, you will need to do that before you waste a lot of time trying to get it to shoot straight.

After you get the gun sorted out, we can talk reloads.

I second that idea about sending the gun back to Ruger for them to fix the problem.

When you get it back, I recommend that you buy a mould to cast the proper sized bullets for your weapon. Use a blackpowder lube on the bullets (SPG is great) and fill the case with Goex fffg powder to where it compresses 1/4 inch when you seat a bullet.

By all means, see if Ruger will fix it. But don't expect much. I sent mine back twice with detailed explanations on what was wrong. The first time, they just changed cylinders from one that was manufacturered wrong to another one that was manufacturered identically wrong. The second time I sent them back, they did nothing and sent me back a snotty letter that said it met their tolerances and if I did not like it, I should see a "custom gunsmith". You can learn more here:

http://www.sixshootercommunity.com/articles/44-40vs38-40.html

I used to shoot alot of .44-40 in CAS. A .427 bullet dia. is the correct size if you have a .44-40. You could try slugging the barrel by driveing a lubricated .44cal round ball thru the barrel & measuring that.
I found that having a expander of .424-.426 worked best. The case walls are very thin so smaller is better for a friction fit. A slight roll or taper crimp will finish it. Unique is a bit dirty, but hard to beat for midrange loads. I gave up on the good old .44-40 & went to .45colt when the wife started shooting CAS w/ me. It just made loading easier to do one cartridge.

Thanks for the info everyone. I am less sure of the barrel measurement than the cylinders being .424. I didn't know if I was to measure inside or outside of the rifleing. I have shot it only twice so far, no time, so I'm not going to send it away just yet if there is no problem. Do I understand that I should order .427 lead bullets and try loading them for my Ruger?

Shane, the proper bullet dia. .s .427 not .430 as for the .44mag. I'm not sure what Ruger is doing w/ their .44/40s. My shooters were ArmySanMArcos & Uberti. I would try the .427 bullets 1st, if accuracy suffers try some .430. Again, slugging the bore will tell you whqat you need to know. If your cyl. is .424, then I would want my bullets closer to that dim. than the bore dim. (inside the rifling).