Brand new guy-Vaquero-?'s

[harpman]

Well, someone went and gave me a sweeet ! "old" vaquero, 44mag. like new actually, WHAT A PAL !WHAT A GAL !.... old stlye one  and a nice holster...I been shooting alot of black powder in my sharps and muzzle loader...I'm wondering what your opinions are on shooting black in the Vaquero...I also have a 1858 remington, and it seems to get really slow shooting after a cylinder of black...do the cartridge guns do the same thing as the ball and cap when it comes to that ?...also, if I load up some black, how much FFG for a good mild load ?......I have some 214grain wheel weight, semi wadcutter (Lee) bullets already, and does Lee alox work in this setup ? with black..someone did a trigger job on it too,,,if you look at this trigger its going off, the whole action is really slick and easy, checked ruger website, looks like it was made in 1998..5 1/2 inch barrel.
Thanks for any and all help.
Ron

[Silver Creek Slim]

I have a pair of Bisley Vaqueros in .45 Colt that work just fine with BP. I shot a 10 stage match (100 rounds) this weekend without any cylinder binding. In my experience, the "old" Vaqueros function alot longer with BP than my 1858 Remingtons. The key to keeping the pistol functioning is the amount of lube, grease, etc. you use to keep the fouling soft on the basepin and cylinder gap.

You need enough FFg to fill the case to the bottom of the bullet with at least 1/16" compression. For instance, if yer bullet seats 3/8" into the case, you need to fill the case to 5/16" from the top. Yer 214gr Lee bullet with Lee Alox probably will not work very well, because the Lee Alox will do nothing to soften the BP fouling. You can try them the way they are to see what happens. Even if the cylinder keeps rotating, you will probably have a problem with yer accuracy degrading because of the hard BP fouling in the barrel. If I had those bullets only, I would lube them with a BP lube and try them. If they are not up to standards, then you may want to try a grease cookie between the powder and bullet. Another option, if you cast bullets, is to buy a MAV .44 bullet mold from Dick Dastardly. It casts a 200gr bullet with a BIG lube groove that keeps the fouling soft. I cast .44 and .45 bullets of this design that keeps my pistols and rifles functioning during a match.

The following link is to Dick Dastardly's website. http://www.biglube.com/

The following link is to The Darksider's Den where a bunch of knowledgable BP shooters hangout.
http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/board,19.0.html

I hope I answered yer questions. If you need more help please ask.

Slim

[harpman]

yea, that answered it, Thanks, I can do the dip lube first, I have all that setup for sharps already.

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[Sacramento Johnson]

Howdy!
Old style Ruger Vaqueros can be wonderful with BP!  Clean it well initially to remove old fouling and lead.  Then condition it with straight Ballistol.  (Use a little Bore Butter on the cylinder pin and fore and aft on the cylinder).  (Prepping the gun is part of the key to making it run smoothly and clean up easily!) I'd also go with soft cast bullets and either one very wide lube groove or two smaller lube grooves; either way filled with a BP compatible lube (like SPG).  (You can also gets bullets from Goex). As for your light trigger, careful; too light can work against you and lead to accidental discharges when the adrenaline is flowing. (I prefer 3lbs or more on mine.)

[fourfingersofdeath]

I'm about to try BP in my 44s, we have a couple guys who shoot BP in my club (well, they's city slickers up from Sydney, but we let em shoot anyways! The two Barrys we call them. Barrie and Barry. They both shoot BP in their rifles, Barrie has a92 Rossi and barry has a Marlin, lotsa smoke, lotsa noise no problems! MIck.