Ruger Vaquero vs Blackhawk frame strength

[buckelliott]

Yes, you read that right, which will give some idea of what it takes to blow one..

[mike454]

I've have a friend who, in controlled tests, was not able to get a stock ruger bisley cylinder to move using 325 grain bullets over all the h110 he could get into the case and still seat a bullet. when subjected to 360s he got just a touch of bulge under the bolt notch. interestingly enough, when he loaded rounds with a faster powder (blue dot i believe) to the same pressure level the cylinder burst. I believe Reeder won't chamber 454 casull in a five shot full size vaquero due to one example suffering some frame cracking. It was the first time I've heard of that type of frame damage without a blown cylinder.

[buckelliott]

Linebaugh was curious about possible bolt notch bulges, but there were none, and no frame stretching.
The gun is still in service, nearly 30 years later, albeit with somewhat milder loads, in the 45,000 pai range..we managed to "break" a .454 at Freedom Arms, back in 85 or 86, nit it took 120,000 + psi to do it.
The chamber bulged up against the top strap, with a small spot in the cylinder. The frame cracked through the screw holes for the bolt and trigger, all the way through. Every screw in the gun was loose.

My observation over these many years is that pressure alone is not the only culprit, but that the speed of the pressure rise is mostly to blame..

[singleaction]

Go to John Linebaugh’s website and read his article on the 45 Colt in large frame Ruger blackhawks. He refers to tests conducted by H.P. White labs, and his own tests that mirror the H.P. White Lab’s results. Forty-four magnum cylinders failed at 80,000 CUP. The logic put forth states that absolute safety in these cylinders exists at a maximum of 1/2 the pressure it takes to cause failure. Forty-five colt cylinders are 80% as strong as 44 mag cylinders. Again, it would seems that these numbers are not just theoretical, as John states that he intentionally pushed guns to failure in order to find their limits. I’ve read stories of folks running their guns near the red line. I, for one, will not risk damaging my gun, myself, or other folks with such loads.