Another Light Weight Vaquero

[Alaskan454]

I just like how it looks without the ERH, which only weighs 1.48 oz. Most loads fall right out of the cylinder and for the stubborn ones I pull the cylinder and give it a tap into the spent brass bucket. SerialSolver's gun was one of them that got me thinking about a light Sheriff's Vaquero. The finger nail relief idea seems pretty nifty, I might try something similar if honing the chambers doesn't cure the stubborn ones.

[serialsolver]

The only time I had a problem with removing fired cases was when I shot some black powder for fun. I had to find an ejection stick. I took this picture after the 50 rounds were fired.

[bulasteve]

With one of the 44spec polished Sheriffs here, you guys are giving me all kinds of great ideas !

[Alaskan454]

Got a bit side tracked with other projects but I snagged 4# of 296 powder and some 300/350 gr bullets to try. This should be fun!

[DiamondD]

That looks very nice. Really like what you've done with it.

Dean

[rWt]

Nice!

[Alaskan454]

Round one is going to be test loads from 19.5 to 21.8 gr with 300gr pills. I've also never chronoed my old pet load of 300gr TCBB over 12 gr of Longshot, so it will be nice to get the velocity comparison with those.

[Alaskan454]

I did some recoil comparison testing today with a 4 5/8" 44 Bisquero, the alloy framed 3 3/4" 45 Vaquero, and a 6 1/2" 480 Bisley. Velocities were as follows:

4 5/8" 44 Magnum Bisquero (44 oz)
4.2 gr Trail Boss - 240 gr LSWC - 634 fps
22.0 gr 4227 - 240 gr HDY XTP - 1,135 fps
18.5 gr 4227 - 355 gr Beartooth - 1,000 fps
320 gr DoubeTap Factory Load - 1,207 fps
340 gr Buffalo Bore +P+ Load - 1,264 fps

3 3/4" 45 Colt Vaquero (34 oz)
19.5 gr 296 - 300 gr HDY XTP - 1,006 fps
20.0 gr 296 - 300 gr HDY XTP - 1,030 fps
20.5 gr 296 - 300 gr HDY XTP - 1,085 fps
21.0 gr 296 - 300 gr HDY XTP - 1,093 fps
21.2 gr 296 - 300 gr HDY XTP - 1,138 fps
21.4 gr 296 - 300 gr HDY XTP - 1,131 fps
21.6 gr 296 - 300 gr HDY XTP - 1,118 fps
21.8 gr 296 - 300 gr HDY XTP - 1,130 fps

I think my crimp was a bit light given the stagnation in velocity above 21 grains, I will recrimp the remaining test loads and try this again with the 22.6 and 22.8 gr charges.  These were all weighed, so I know that is not the issue.

12.0 gr Longshot - 300 gr TCBB - 1,116 fps

I was surprised by the velocity, but it's a much faster powder than 296 and should get a complete burn in the shorter barrel, and it was a cast bullet which also nets higher velocity.  I've shot my best 100 yard groups with this load, so I think it's a keeper.  Longshot has been my favorite powder in 44 Magnum and 45 Colt since I started loading and it keeps performing every time I try something new.

6 1/2" 480 Ruger Bisley (50 oz)
27.5 gr 4227 - 340 gr RNFP - 1,261 fps

Observations:
Interestingly the Buffalo Bore load cruising at 1,200 ft-lbs wasn't too bad to shoot in my Bisquero.  It rang steal with authority but was still manageable, I could easily shoot 50 of those with a shooting glove and not complain.  I think I shot 18 of those particular loads today and that was 500+ rounds into my range session.  

What really surprised me was the 480 Ruger.  I need a proper set of grips fit to that gun because it's downright painful if you don't get a correct hold on it.  I like the gun and it has shot the smallest 50 yard groups of any revolver I ever owned with the same load, so I just need to fork over the cash and have it done.  It's wearing a set of slimmed down laminates right now because the factory grips were complete garbage, not the best combo for a big bore even at modest velocities.  

Compared to my 480 the alloy framed gun was entirely pleasant to shoot.  The recoil impulse is much faster and you definitely feel it without the shooting glove.  Every time I lit off the full power 300 gr loads I felt the trigger guard make contact with my trigger finger.  I have some 350 gr Matt's Bullets coming tomorrow or the next day so I plan to load those to max with 296 and see how that goes.  The gun today weighed 34 oz so I think an alloy frame is definitely out of the question for a medium framed 480 build.  Anyway, I had a lot of fun at the range today and it was nice to test each of the different guns side by side for a true comparison.  I still maintain that overall weight of the firearm has much less to do with perceived recoil than how well the grips fit your hand.  Also,  296 has an interesting recoil impulse and sound at the speeds I shot today.  It's got a nice big BOOM when you keep it subsonic. 

[Alaskan454]

Also, I forgot to mention the base pin jumped clean out of the cylinder in the alloy framed gun, even with an overpowered latch spring. I'm glad I brought the Bisquero since I could steal the Belt Mountain pin from that one to finish my testing.

[Alaskan454]

Shot another 50 rounds of the 300 gr load today, it's pretty snappy in 35 degree weather.

[alukban]

May 22, 2016 7:47:00 GMT -5 serialsolver said:

Finger nail notches for extraction.

How did you go about doing this work with the cylinder?

I would love to go down the same road that you took for my birdshead

[Frank V]

Alaskan454, that's a pretty packing six-gun.
Thanks for sharing. Not sure I'd like the heavy loads you are shooting in it, but the older I get the closer I stay to factory loadings.

[Alaskan454]

Thanks, I'm having fun with this gun and working up loads for it. The BH grip frame went back on today and I'll shoot it with the same loads to see which one I like best.

I'm also curious how those notches were cut, something similar might be my next step.

[Frank V]

Yes those notches would really make unloading a Sheriff/storekeeper model much easier & are not unsightly.

[Alaskan454]

The 350 gr slugs found their way into some test cases today. Hope to get chrono data using up to 21 gr of 296 this week.