:D When Ruger first came out with the Vaquero 44-40, the cylinders were .427 dia and bore dia was .429. In talking with Ruger I undertand that now both the cylinder/bore are .429 dia. I ran across some Lazer cast, 200 grain bullets and they were sized at .427 dia. Am wondering at a moderate load if that would cause leading? I also believe I read somewhere that the S&W, 544, Tx Wagon Train Comm, dia were .426/.427 dia. Can anyone expound on these questions or offer any guidance? Many thanks to all and have a great week ahead.
Actually, my son and I bought two of the earliest Ruger 44-40 Vaqueros. Both had tight chambers, cylinder throats of 0.425", and barrels of 0.430". I sent them back to Ruger twice. The first time they just swapped out the cylinders with others that measured the same (ie: they did not ream the throats out). The second time they sent them back with a snotty letter that said they met Rugers tolerances. Accuracy was TERRIBLE.
I then sent them to a gunsmith that opened up the throats to match the barrel and ran a standard reamer through the chambers. I did not have the barrel replaced because of the cost, but even so, the rework cut the groups from 6" to 9" from a rest at 50 feet down to 2" to 3". No target gun, but much better.
To answer your questions, the undersized bullets are probably NOT dead soft. If they are moderately hard or hard (and the Lazercast I am familiar with are hard), you will have bad leading. I did. The hot gases escaping through the gap between the bullet and the barrel will melt the rear edges of the bullet and solder the melted particles into the grooves. Bad leading and bad accuracy.
The undersized jacketed bullets work much better. Actually, the ones I have measure 0.426". The gap is still there, but the jacketing doesn't melt off. Accuracy is acceptable, not great.
I use dead soft 0.427" lead bullets I cast myself. The chambers are standard size since the gunsmith only had a standard sized reamer so I cannot fit any bullet in it that is the least bit larger than 0.428". Rather than fight it, I just use 0.427". Being dead soft, it bumps up to barrel size. Little or no leading and again, accuracy is acceptable, but not great.
The problem with the Ruger 44-40 is that Ruger tried to cut costs by mixing .44 Magnum and 44-40 parts. And some dimensions (like the throat size), they just blew it. I have several 38-40 Uberti's and much prefer them to the Rugers. All were more accurate out-of-the-box than the reworked Ruger.
