Ruger .45 Colt Vaquero - old model

62fuelie

I have a Ruger that I picked up in a deal. It has the 5.5" barrel and a 55 serial number prefix. It won't group so I thought back to an old urban legend about Vaqueros having cylinders with the forward end smaller than the standard .452 Colt bullet. Mine measure .4450 to .4452. I called Ruger and the woman I talked to said that was required for the bullet to be accurate. Itried to explain to her that a bullet squeezed (didn't think she would understand "swaged")down below the diameter of the barrel was not likely to be very accurate. I checked with both Sierra and Hornady and they agree with my theory. Has anyone encountered this? If so, what is the cure, if any?
TIA

Got in touch with someone in Newport who knew exactly what I was talking about. Gave me an RMA number and instructions on sending it in for repair/correction. Also found that Brownell's has a tool specifically for reaming these chambers. It is a Clymer tool set up for a 3/8" square drive and is a finish grade reamer, for those who would rather do it themselves - $85.00.

I sent it back last week, on my dime (actually, $85.70) and hope to hear this week what they find. Thanks to all for the support.
B

charliemeyer007

Interesting. What does the barrel slug out to? What does the forging cone look like? You can get decimal drill in any size by 0.001.

I would make guides out of indexed fired cases. De-prime and drill them with your chosen drill. Put them back in your cylinder exactly where they were and clean up the issue.

added Yes they are correctly called decimal reamers. Amazon has a 0.452 for about $40.

Lots of fire here, not sleeping good due to smoke. Had to load up today as a fire started about 10 am about half mile up the hill.. Air assets on it from about 11 to 3:30. 4 helo's and one C130 retardant drop. Mop up will continue threw the night. 40 acres burnt. 2 weeks ago 1000+ acres several miles away. Maybe 50 miles to the largest fire in America. At times the smoke is so thick it's hard to see 2 city blocks.

mmppres

yes have one with 3 of the cylinders that are smaller was told to mail back so they could re drill them have not do so yet.

Riomouse911

Brian,
It sounds like you got the lady in charge of shipping rather that engineering!

Good luck with your quest to get a fix, let us know what you had to do.

CS: I, too have experienced great service from Ruger. I bought a "new to me" MkII bull barrel several months ago, and after the first range trip the grip frame was noticeably loose from the receiver. (I think the seller shimmed it to sell it, it wasn't rattly like this when I examined it in the shop)

I called Ruger, printed the label they e-mailed me and in 8 total days had the gun back. They didn't charge me a cent. It was good as new AND was returned with a new hammer spring to boot.

Brian, maybe you can send the Vaquero in for an exam and a fix.?.?.

CS8161

Ruger has excellent customer service. I bought a Bisley Vaquero in 44 Mag and took it to the range. It was shooting about 14" low and 6" to the right at 20 yards using 240 grain factory ammo. I called Ruger, they sent me a shipping label, they had the revolver for about 5 days, then sent me an e-mail saying it was on the way back no charge. Took it back to the range and they had that thing dialed in perfectly! If I held on the bull at 20 yards, that's where the bullet went! They did a beautiful job on the front sight, took it down and then rounded it out again so it looks like new! I guess they had to twist the barrel to correct the windage but they did a great job and I am happy!