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              Quick question...            

                                                  Were the OM Vaquero 44 mag barrell [ .429-.430 ] used in OMV 44-40 ?..thanks

          

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Just now, Painted Mohawk SASS 77785 said:

Howdy

              Quick question...            

                                                  Were the OM Vaquero 44 mag barrell [ .429-.430 ] used in OMV 44-40 ?..thanks

          

YES

 

I had a pair, that I sold. Couldn't hit the barn with them 

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17 minutes ago, Painted Mohawk SASS 77785 said:

Howdy

              Quick question...            

                                                  Were the OM Vaquero 44 mag barrell [ .429-.430 ] used in OMV 44-40 ?..thanks

          

 

  I had a 5 1/2 inch and a 7 1/2 inch OMV's. I bought those in the late 90's and early 2000's. When I got them they shot about 8-9 inches low at 10 yards. That I could modify with a file. What I couldn't fix was the 5-7 inches left of center at 10 yards. I sent them both into Ruger along with a paper target to show what was going on. (BTW I did have others shoot them with the same result.) Ruger turned or bent the barrels or whatever they did to fix it and when I got them back they were about an inch to the left. That I could live with.

  I was shooting  either Ultra Max or Winchester Factory Cowboy ammo at that time. Whichever one was cheaper by the case at dealer cost...before I started reloading. I think both were .428 bullets, the Winchester was  (I still have some) and it was also a 225 grain bullet. My 66 and 73 shot where they were aimed with either ammo maker. Ask J Bar Binks , he's on the wire. He has both of them and my 66 now. I switched to 38 spl. because factory reloads were a LOT cheaper to buy.

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22 hours ago, Charlie Whiskers said:

 

  I had a 5 1/2 inch and a 7 1/2 inch OMV's. I bought those in the late 90's and early 2000's. When I got them they shot about 8-9 inches low at 10 yards. That I could modify with a file. What I couldn't fix was the 5-7 inches left of center at 10 yards. I sent them both into Ruger along with a paper target to show what was going on. (BTW I did have others shoot them with the same result.) Ruger turned or bent the barrels or whatever they did to fix it and when I got them back they were about an inch to the left. That I could live with.

  I was shooting  either Ultra Max or Winchester Factory Cowboy ammo at that time. Whichever one was cheaper by the case at dealer cost...before I started reloading. I think both were .428 bullets, the Winchester was  (I still have some) and it was also a 225 grain bullet. My 66 and 73 shot where they were aimed with either ammo maker. Ask J Bar Binks , he's on the wire. He has both of them and my 66 now. I switched to 38 spl. because factory reloads were a LOT cheaper to buy.

The 7 1/2"er was one of the most accurate single actions I've ever owned - I sold it to a pard in Ash Flat, Arkansas and later tried buying it back, but he was having no part of it. The '66 eventually went to another pard in Hutchinson, Kansas. I still have the 5 1/2"er, along with two others, and rented a reamer some time back to ream the chamber mouths, as described by Lumpy. The .38-40's were just as undersized, if not worse, and I rented a reamer for those three also, which turned them into some very nice shooters.

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A 44 mag OMV just needs a new cylinder to shoot 44-40, right?  You guys are saying the 44-40 is inaccurate, or both rounds are inaccurate? 

 

Need to know because I'm currently on the hunt for an OMV in 44 mag (or 2).  I'd like to get the 44-40 cylinders in case I ever follow through on my notion to switch from 45 colt to 44-40 as my main match guns. 

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On ‎10‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 10:47 PM, Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 said:

YES

 

I had a pair, that I sold. Couldn't hit the barn with them 

BMC,

 

 That's good, right? Because the barn had to be over the berm........;)

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Awright! Here's my dos centavos...  I have two pair of OM Vaqueros, two are my primary SASS guns and two are .44-40 backups.  Here is how it went:  When Ruger first came out with the OMV in .44-40 I had real problems. I bought one with a 7-1/2" barrel, and couldn't even chamber factory loads in all the chambers in the cylinder!  Not only that, but the throats were .425" with a .429" grooved barrel! :o  It took about a year of complaining to their customer service, along with Duke Venturino getting on them in print, but they finally had me ship the gun back.  Meantime, I found a spare Super Blackhawk cylinder in .44 Mangle-em which I had fitted to the gun by Milt Morrison (great pistolsmith, but has dropped from sight over the years).  Sent the gun to Ruger without the .44 Mag cylinder.  They sent the gun back with a brand new .44-40 cylinder...but the danged throats were still .425"!  Instead of reaming the throats, I tried using hardcast 213 gr. bullets sized .430".  Before you say that's nuts, I tried using them with Winchester brass.  Surprise, surprise, surprise!  On the bench, using a one-hand hold, the gun will group 1-5/8" for a five-shot group!  Seems the hard (BHN 17-22) bullets squeeze down in the throats, but they go through too fast for the internal stresses in the slug to dissipate in the form of heat, so they expand back out!  I use the same bullets in .44 Magnum loaded to the same muzzle velocity as the .44-40, only with a slightly reduced load.  Point of impact and point of aim are identical with either cylinder.  Just depends on what ammo I happen to have loaded. Then grab the matching-chambered Rossi '92 and head for the range,

 

The other "usin'" gun is a 5-1/2" OMV that was originally a .44 Magnum.  I lucked out and found a cylinder in .44-40 that also had the tight throats, and had Milt fit it to the shorter gun.  I was lucky to find two other .44-40 OMV's, also with the loose chambers and tight throats.  They are just for backup, however.

 

Ruger continued with the tight .425" throats from the 55-XXXXX guns through about midway through the 56-XXXXX series.  By the time they got to the latter 56-series and into the 57-XXXXX guns, just before they discontinued the .44-40's they had opened the throats to around .430", though I never encountered or measured them.

 

Opening the throat is fine, if you find you need to.  No, I don't shoot reduced loads...mine run about 950 ft/sec from the 7-1/2" barrel, and the recoil allows the guns to roll up in my hand, positioning the hammer spur back under my thumb. I shoot Duelist.

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3 hours ago, Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme said:

BMC,

 

 That's good, right? Because the barn had to be over the berm........;)

Well, I guess it was good for the barn and all the creatures in it, 

But the RO always took a dim view of me putting one or three OVER THE BERM.  :o

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