Somebody talk me out of a Vaquero....

[gb6491]

How does a moon clip work on a single action Vaquero? I didn't think Ruger was making birdshead anything for the last 5 years or so.

I've had a hankering for a 625 for a long time, but like you say moon clips aren't a lot of fun to deal with but I'd do it.

Downtown, with a transfer bar there's no spur hanging out on the hammer, it's in the frame. The pull of the trigger drops a little bar allowing the hammer to hit the firing pin that's mounted in the frame. Release the trigger and the bar goes back up so even if the sear breaks and the hammer falls it can't shoot.

So you can hammer wanted posters with a full cylinder and no chance the gun will fire unless of course your holding the trigger which would be hard to do while hammering wanted posters.

.45 ACP moon clips are for extraction in double action revolvers. You don't need them in a single action Ruger; the ejector rod does all the work.
Regards,
Greg

[Bawanna]

So the cylinder is cut specifically for 45ACP so it head spaces on the mouth and don't fall through. I never knew they even made one.

[Alfonse]

CJB, I'm afraid this bunch hasn't been much help to you. I would suggest you forget that Vaquero. To do that you might need a Ferrari, Corvette, a 25 year old gold digging hottie, an offshore cigarette style boat, or maybe a new business jet.

Of those, the 25 year old is probably the most expensive.

Screw it, you're probably better off with the Vaquero. Nobody has a really great mid-life crisis anymore.

[CJB]

Ferrari's and Vette's dont do it for me. The 55 year old gold digging hottie is enough for me.... but I'd rather have the 46 year old non-gold digging hotting I know... in fact she lays golden eggs - loaded!

Seriously though... maybe Bawanna's grip emporium has something nice in a very dense hardwood, yellowish color, smooth textrure.

[gb6491]

So the cylinder is cut specifically for 45ACP so it head spaces on the mouth and don't fall through. I never knew they even made one.

That's correct, .45ACP cylinders for Ruger single actions are cut to head space on the case mouth. Old S&W DA revolvers were cut that way as well, but I'm not sure if the new ones are or not. Now that I think about it more, the Governors probably use clips to head space .45ACP in them. My previous statement should probably read ".45 ACP moon clips are for extraction in some double action revolvers."
I've not seen a Ruger SA chambered solely for .45ACP myself, but have seen .45 Colt convertibles with an extra .45ACP cylinder.
Regards,
Greg

[DeaconKC]

The Judge is not cut for ACP, it also handles .45 Colt, so the cut is too deep without the moonclips. Any S&W DA that handles .45 ACP is cut to work with or without clips. Some of the early 1917 Colts were not, they were cut all the way through, but later built ones were cut to space on the cartridge.

[chrish]

I may stand corrected then on the moon clips. Just made an assumption based on the general idea. Didn't occur to me that the SA revolvers may have custom cut cylinders to handle the 45ACP (and maybe the 9mm cylinder on the Blackhawk now that we are talking about it). I've just had one of these (particularly the Blackhawk) on my radar for awhile when $ becomes available. I'd love to have a 357/38 that could also shoot 9mm 'on the cheap'.

[Bawanna]

My son's Governor does in fact use moon clips for 45ACP.

Makes sense on a Ruger since you just change out the whole cylinder.

A friends old M&P, very old also uses moon clips. I spent some time filing on some for him, the new ones have a different radius on the outside. They work perfectly lining up the chambers but stick out where the two meet. They were half moon clips.

The Governor came with doubles and halfs if I recall. Maybe only doubles. 2 rounds together in a clip.

[CJB]

Thats one endeaering property of the Governor. The Judge won't do clips, even if you get some to fit. There was a 5 round clip used with one of the Taurus guns that has been reported to fit, but you need a very thin clip to work. That is, with the 45ACP all the way to the rear against breechface, you only have a very little amount of groove exposed. Similarly, 45AR will not fit, because those rims are .090 or so, very thick! I'd personally like to see how they pulled it off in the S&W Gov. since the 45LC/410 and 45acp groove seem to suggest differing amounts of unsupported case.

But.... speaking of clips, their function is two fold. One is to aid extraction, and the other is to disallow the case from falling into the chamber. There is really little strength involved, and they don't serve to support the case in any way. It has been suggested that the Judge could be used with single moon clips, plain snap rings, which are thin enough to fit the rim and the space provided. Therein lies the other, and more real problem with the Judge, and that is pressure. The 45acp makes a bunch more pressure than the 45LC. Naturally, a Ruger loading would wreck the thin cylinder of the Judge, but a hot 45acp load might also do it in. Minimum wall thickness on the judge is about .045 or so.pretty thin at its thinnest spot.

So Bawanna..... you up to do some grips for a new Vaquero?

[Bawanna]

I could do that.

[Bawanna]

So Bawanna..... you up to do some grips for a new Vaquero?

Take a look at the last post in the emporium at the Myrtlewood I did on Medezyners 1911. That's kind of yellowish. I think I still have some of that same wood.

Still have some Osage Orange that a member here (wish I still had a memory) sent me and I made a matched pair out of. It's more ....well orange but right pretty. Not sure if there is enough of that for a revolver grip set or not.

They are thick and challenging to fit on the inside so they fit proper.

[CJB]

Vaquero inbound as we speak

[Bawanna]

Who in their right mind would order a POS Vaquero. With all the quality guns available now days why would you waste your time.





Bill, it's a joke. I still love you, your still my man. Save me a place, we'll chat again.

[CJB]

NOW you try to talk me out of it, AFTER its TOO LATE

Thats as bad as my sister informing me that I could get me cousin pregnant on the first enounter.

Oh well.

[Flieger]

I love it, but my hand is better in the old model. There is quite a difference in size

between the two. I remember early this summer finding a brand new one in .357

mag, exactly what I wanted. I hesitated and walked away for a day but felt

confident it would be waiting for me the following day. Nope, it was gone.

I will find one eventually, but it may not be pristine. How does it go? You snooze

your a idiot.