Vaquero Problem

[Oddman]

I just purchased my first Ruger vaquero, a 71/2" s.s. in 44-40 cal. (wanted it for shooting BP) loaded up a few hundred rds. 32 grains of 3f under a 200 grain spg lubed lead bullet.  Went off to the range, shot 25 rounds and the cylinder locked up tight, it took a little work to get the cylinder out of the frame.  I checked the cylinder gap,  for each hole (6) they measured .004--.007. It appears that when Ruger machined the cylinder, it was cut un-even. or not flat. There is very little if any end play in the cylinder.  Is this a comon problem with Rugers ?, Should I contact the factory or have it corrected by a local Smith ? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.  (I have been told that the cylinder gap for BP shooters should be between .005 & .010, does this sound correct ? )

Oddman

[Ornery Orr]

They do have some tight tolerances.  Mine have a tendency to want to stiffen up a bit before I finish a match.  I use a rag with a little Ballistol and wipe the cylinder faces every second or third stage just to keep them working smooth.  My brother doesn't have this problem with his.  His may have a little bigger gap.  I don't know about the gap size so I'll shut up now.

[Cyrille]

What I do with my old model Vaqueros is Lube the bullets before sizing, after sizing and seating the bullet into the cartridge case. Then I lube the front of the cylinder every time or three when entertaining others at a match I go through at least 100-150 revolver rounds on the day of a match what with side shoots and all never had a binding problem yet!

[Sacramento Johnson]

Howdy Pard!
I, too, shoot Ruger vaqueros in 44-40 with 7 1/2 barrels, and I use Goex cowboy BP (28-32 grains or so) with a 205 grain spg 2 lube grove bullet in Winchester brass.  I've run them up to 7 stages in a row without doing ANYTHING to them, other than loading and unloading them.  I can go  WELL over 50 rounds in each pistol when out practicing, again without any intervention.  Did they always work this well, you may ask!  One did from the get go; I did nothing to it.  The other had the same problem you describe.  2 or three cylinders full and it would get sticky and hard to cock and rotate the cylinder.  One could easily see that when the hand came out and engaged the cylinder ratchet, it also shoved the cylinder slightly up against the barrel as it was rotating into place, and this was leading to the problem.  (Let me interject, these pistols were prepped with straight ballistol everywhere, and the cylinder pin and cylinder hole were copiously covered/filled with bore butter; this is how they always start a match.)  I gave the one hanging up to a good smith I knew and told him the gun was hanging up; he fixed it.  (I believe he fixed it by increasing the cylinder gap by using a tool  that brownells used to sell, that squeezes the cylinder bushing/collar and makes it a tad longer.  I think I may have had more cylinder end shake than you describe.)  I doubt Ruger would 'level' out your cylinder as the cylinder gap numbers you quote seem to be within their acceptable range; afterall, they did not design the gun specifically for BP use. I would suggest taking it to a good smith that you trust.  Don't get frustrated!  These Ruger vaqueros can be made to run supremely well with BP, and that is surely one of the best calibers on the planet for such!