The Ruger 44-40 is notorious for needing additional gunsmithing to make it accurate. The chamber mouths are usually undersized comoared to the barrel diameter. To get good accuracy, you need to have the chambers on the cylinder drilled out to match the diameter of the barrel.
I hear ya.. it is not uncommon for Rugers and guns like Uberti etc to have undersize chambers. I now have about 6 reamers in different sizes. If you shoot lead... and who doesn't? It is a huge deal. the chambers need to be a thou or two bigger than the bore. you need to slug the bore. In those 44-40 Rugers they use 44 mag barrels at .430 instead of the .427 the round took/takes Making the situation even worse. You can easily hand ream chambers (go slow) Gains in accuracy are fantastic, often cutting groups in half. One of my more accurate guns is an Uberti SAA clone in 44 spl with 4 3/4" barrel it has a bore that is smooth and slugged out at just barely .430 and every chamber is .431 I use machinist plug gauges and it is easy to see even a thou A full set from .250 to .50 is only about $50.. I have used mine too many times to count. You can of course use various bullets if you mike em.. that is how I used to do it. Slug mikes .431 and it won't go into the chamber? the chamber is less than .431 Slugging the bore is easy and fire lapping the bore will smooth up any rough or SLIGHTLY undersized sections. no amount of money spent on sights and actions etc is gonna help a bit if the chambers and bore are not right. I decent hand reamer may cost $20 and you can fire lap by rolling lead slugs in valve grinding compound and then loading light loads. takes about a dozen shot of these to smooth up a slightly rough bore. You can also buy the slugs pre imbedded with some kind of compound.. they work well.
@kylewood, you really should get a 44/40. Don’t let this video discourage you, or cause you to think a 44/40 is less of a round compared to a .44 magnum. It’s not, as you are not less dead if shot by a 44/40 then you are from a .44 magnum. Dead is dead. And a lot of these old caliber gun’s have already had the work put into them, compared to a newer gun. As 44/40 was and is still a pretty common round, and it’s good to have a revolver that you can use the same ammo that you shoot in a rifle. As it is very economical that way, as you are not buying .44 magnum for a revolver and 5.56 for a rifle of whatever caliber your rifle is.
Thought those were old Encyclopedia Jrs you were shooting up there. You probably aren't old enough to remember them, but that's prolly all they're good for in this day and age! 😂
Thanks for pointing out that the New Vaquero is not safe with full loads. I have watched dozens of these reviews, and only a few guys have mentioned that fact. I personally think Ruger made a mistake in naming their second variant the "New Vaquero," as I fear someone who doesn't do their research could suffer damage by loading full load rounds in what is arguably a lightweight cowboy target pistol. A different name could have been a safer decision, If I am at a cowboy action match in the future I plan to lurk at the loading table any time someone loads a "New" Vaquero, so I'll know when to go wait in the truck until they finish shooting. The only thing missing from your video was that 44-40 was the original Colt Model 73 round when transforming from cap and ball to metal cartridge. It is, therefore, the most historically accurate round of the period. My original model Vaqueros and my lever gun are all 44-40s. I hope everyone who bought New Vaqueros learn of their limitations and shoot safely, buy I'm with you in that the first model's load versatility more than makes up for it not being the same size as the Colt replica.
Yep... the reason Ruger got a rep for being 'strong as a tank' is cause there is almost as much metal as a tank in em. Nothing special about the steel... in fact they are mostly cast. My Uberti SAA's are in .44 spl and .357 Both have more meat than if they were in say 45 Colt. Still... I load the 44 spl to around 800 fps with 250 cast slug and the .357 to around 1150 with cast slugs (both are HT coated bullets) I only own two Rugers these days... an old mini 14 and my gramps Mk 1 22 pistol. I just would rather have something else and Ruger is never 'quite' what I want.... having said that I would love to have an old fixed sight Police positive or whatever they were called in 4" barrel and in 38 spl Course... they quit making that one.
Great information on the 44-40. I recently bought one and I'm having trouble finding ammo for it. Can you suggest a place I can order it? Thanks again for the information and great video.
I'm not sure. The only stuff I've purchased online is from Buffalo Bore - but I wouldn't recommend using that in anything other than the (Old) Vaqueros. I'd just google cowboy action loads and see what you can find.
@@patrickbaca6719 Buffalo Bore 44-40 ammo is perfectly fine for all new arms. Go read Buffalo Bores information again. The issue with the ammo is the .429" hard lead bullet being shot in small diameter 44-40 arms. Many original 44-40 arms used bores as small as .422". Buffalo Bore advertise the 44-40 to be at SAAMI max pressures of 13,000cup/11,000psi...thus shooting the .429" bullet in a .422" bore would increase the pressures...however, at 13,000cup...there is nothing "HEAVY" about it.
HSM makes .44-40 ammo 200gn ball and something like 856fps which I'm sure is hand gun which would likely get you atleast 1200-1250fps depending on long gun you are loading.
Pieces of the cartridge in the book? I don't think so. A cartridge has 4 components, case lead powder and primer. Now i do believe you found pieces of the bullet in that book.
The typical 44-40 has a bullet diameter of .427 or smaller. The cylinder chambers on original colts can be as small as .425. The .44 magnum bullet diameter is typically .429 and larger. What ruger did when they made the 44-40 vaquero is they put .44 mag barrels with a cylinder thats undersized. Great accuracy can be had with the ruger 44-40 if you take the cylinder and have it reamed out to match the diameter of the barrel. When making hand loads for the 44-40, size the bullet to .428 or .429 that will give very good accuracy.
Sorry for the late reply. Blue Duck is right on the money. What Ruger did was (probably) a cost-cutting measure to avoid having to make two types of barrels with different .44 bores.
You can also fit a Super Blackhawk cylinder to an original Vaquero and shoot .44 Mag with it. Only required a little fitting with a Bowen barrel bushing to make a convertible. I found the cylinder on GB and the whole job cost me about $200.
@@blueduck9409 Don't know so much about revolvers but this same situation(bore size vs bullets) appearing in rifles/carbines is often solved by using lead bullets in typically in the .44 mag/44Spl dia. range generally between .430-.432 inches. That's said to slug up in the bore for better seal and eliminate any wobble or canting generated on exit.
Is 200 grain @ 1050 fps considered really hot? I am asking because I was wanting to try an equivalent load in my .45 Colt Uberti. It comes to 490 ft-lbs. I thought anything under 500 ft-lbs was ok in a clone.
I've shot over a thousand rounds through uberti clones with no problems 😊 original black powder version is not to shoot in. They tell you on their website it's OK 👍 in all modern steel.
Thanks for commenting on that. I picked up a Stoeger-Uberti 1873 .44-40 artillery style a couple years back. It looks like a fairly newer model probably of the same caliber quality as the Cattlemans.
The Ruger 44-40 is notorious for needing additional gunsmithing to make it accurate. The chamber mouths are usually undersized comoared to the barrel diameter. To get good accuracy, you need to have the chambers on the cylinder drilled out to match the diameter of the barrel.
I hear ya.. it is not uncommon for Rugers and guns like Uberti etc to have undersize chambers. I now have about 6 reamers in different sizes. If you shoot lead... and who doesn't? It is a huge deal. the chambers need to be a thou or two bigger than the bore. you need to slug the bore. In those 44-40 Rugers they use 44 mag barrels at .430 instead of the .427 the round took/takes Making the situation even worse. You can easily hand ream chambers (go slow) Gains in accuracy are fantastic, often cutting groups in half. One of my more accurate guns is an Uberti SAA clone in 44 spl with 4 3/4" barrel it has a bore that is smooth and slugged out at just barely .430 and every chamber is .431 I use machinist plug gauges and it is easy to see even a thou A full set from .250 to .50 is only about $50.. I have used mine too many times to count. You can of course use various bullets if you mike em.. that is how I used to do it. Slug mikes .431 and it won't go into the chamber? the chamber is less than .431 Slugging the bore is easy and fire lapping the bore will smooth up any rough or SLIGHTLY undersized sections. no amount of money spent on sights and actions etc is gonna help a bit if the chambers and bore are not right. I decent hand reamer may cost $20 and you can fire lap by rolling lead slugs in valve grinding compound and then loading light loads. takes about a dozen shot of these to smooth up a slightly rough bore. You can also buy the slugs pre imbedded with some kind of compound.. they work well.
Thanks for the info, was thinking of getting a 44/40. Think I’ll pass now.
@kylewood, you really should get a 44/40. Don’t let this video discourage you, or cause you to think a 44/40 is less of a round compared to a .44 magnum. It’s not, as you are not less dead if shot by a 44/40 then you are from a .44 magnum. Dead is dead. And a lot of these old caliber gun’s have already had the work put into them, compared to a newer gun. As 44/40 was and is still a pretty common round, and it’s good to have a revolver that you can use the same ammo that you shoot in a rifle. As it is very economical that way, as you are not buying .44 magnum for a revolver and 5.56 for a rifle of whatever caliber your rifle is.
@@GenderSkinsare they comparable out of henry rifle and uberti 44 vs 44-40?
Oddly Ruger also had a lot of trouble with 45 Colt.
Thought those were old Encyclopedia Jrs you were shooting up there. You probably aren't old enough to remember them, but that's prolly all they're good for in this day and age! 😂
Thanks for pointing out that the New Vaquero is not safe with full loads. I have watched dozens of these reviews, and only a few guys have mentioned that fact. I personally think Ruger made a mistake in naming their second variant the "New Vaquero," as I fear someone who doesn't do their research could suffer damage by loading full load rounds in what is arguably a lightweight cowboy target pistol. A different name could have been a safer decision, If I am at a cowboy action match in the future I plan to lurk at the loading table any time someone loads a "New" Vaquero, so I'll know when to go wait in the truck until they finish shooting. The only thing missing from your video was that 44-40 was the original Colt Model 73 round when transforming from cap and ball to metal cartridge. It is, therefore, the most historically accurate round of the period.
My original model Vaqueros and my lever gun are all 44-40s. I hope everyone who bought New Vaqueros learn of their limitations and shoot safely, buy I'm with you in that the first model's load versatility more than makes up for it not being the same size as the Colt replica.
Hide behind a brick wall while they're shooting while in the fetal position
Yep... the reason Ruger got a rep for being 'strong as a tank' is cause there is almost as much metal as a tank in em. Nothing special about the steel... in fact they are mostly cast. My Uberti SAA's are in .44 spl and .357 Both have more meat than if they were in say 45 Colt. Still... I load the 44 spl to around 800 fps with 250 cast slug and the .357 to around 1150 with cast slugs (both are HT coated bullets) I only own two Rugers these days... an old mini 14 and my gramps Mk 1 22 pistol. I just would rather have something else and Ruger is never 'quite' what I want.... having said that I would love to have an old fixed sight Police positive or whatever they were called in 4" barrel and in 38 spl Course... they quit making that one.
Great information on the 44-40. I recently bought one and I'm having trouble finding ammo for it. Can you suggest a place I can order it? Thanks again for the information and great video.
I'm not sure. The only stuff I've purchased online is from Buffalo Bore - but I wouldn't recommend using that in anything other than the (Old) Vaqueros. I'd just google cowboy action loads and see what you can find.
Awesome ❗ thank you.
@@patrickbaca6719 Buffalo Bore 44-40 ammo is perfectly fine for all new arms. Go read Buffalo Bores information again. The issue with the ammo is the .429" hard lead bullet being shot in small diameter 44-40 arms. Many original 44-40 arms used bores as small as .422". Buffalo Bore advertise the 44-40 to be at SAAMI max pressures of 13,000cup/11,000psi...thus shooting the .429" bullet in a .422" bore would increase the pressures...however, at 13,000cup...there is nothing "HEAVY" about it.
HSM makes .44-40 ammo 200gn ball and something like 856fps which I'm sure is hand gun which would likely get you atleast 1200-1250fps depending on long gun you are loading.
Depends on who shoots first
Pieces of the cartridge in the book? I don't think so. A cartridge has 4 components, case lead powder and primer. Now i do believe you found pieces of the bullet in that book.
What’s the difference in the chamber size of a 44 magnum versus the 4440 with a 44 magnum physically fit?
I hate UA-camrs who make videos then ignore all comments 🙄
The typical 44-40 has a bullet diameter of .427 or smaller. The cylinder chambers on original colts can be as small as .425. The .44 magnum bullet diameter is typically .429 and larger. What ruger did when they made the 44-40 vaquero is they put .44 mag barrels with a cylinder thats undersized. Great accuracy can be had with the ruger 44-40 if you take the cylinder and have it reamed out to match the diameter of the barrel. When making hand loads for the 44-40, size the bullet to .428 or .429 that will give very good accuracy.
Sorry for the late reply. Blue Duck is right on the money. What Ruger did was (probably) a cost-cutting measure to avoid having to make two types of barrels with different .44 bores.
You can also fit a Super Blackhawk cylinder to an original Vaquero and shoot .44 Mag with it. Only required a little fitting with a Bowen barrel bushing to make a convertible. I found the cylinder on GB and the whole job cost me about $200.
@@blueduck9409
Don't know so much about revolvers but this same situation(bore size vs bullets) appearing in rifles/carbines is often solved by using lead bullets in typically in the .44 mag/44Spl dia. range generally between .430-.432 inches. That's said to slug up in the bore for better seal and eliminate any wobble or canting generated on exit.
Great video, thank you.
Kevin Costner took buffalo with 1860 rifle in 44-40 lol
No, that was 44henry. It's rimfire and even less powerful than 4440
@@jimbob465 yes I know
@@jimbob465
Imagine what he could 've accomplished with that 4th run of .44-40 yaller boys!
Is 200 grain @ 1050 fps considered really hot? I am asking because I was wanting to try an equivalent load in my .45 Colt Uberti. It comes to 490 ft-lbs. I thought anything under 500 ft-lbs was ok in a clone.
I've shot over a thousand rounds through uberti clones with no problems 😊 original black powder version is not to shoot in. They tell you on their website it's OK 👍 in all modern steel.
Thanks for commenting on that. I picked up a Stoeger-Uberti 1873 .44-40 artillery style a couple years back. It looks like a fairly newer model probably of the same caliber quality as the Cattlemans.
You bout lost some finger tips