hey guys i have some questions about my ruger new vaquero and the preformance of 45 long colt for hunting. ok so my first question, how hot of loads can the new vaqueros handle ? I have read alot of articles about loading up hot 45 long colts and using them in ruger revolvers. but most say only bisley or blackhawks are to be used and that the new vaqueros can not handle the heavy loads but the original vaqueros will. well in my owners manual it says that it is safe to use +p ammo in the new vaquero. so is it safe or not ??
ok next question, I have been looking at different hunting bullets to use in the vaquero. i have tried some 250 grain cast round nose and some speer 250 grain "deep curl" hollow points with 8 grians of unique powder. the cast bullets showed quite a bit better accuracy. anyway I would like to know what you guys suggest for hunting bullets ? a cast bullet in the semi wadcutter or flat nose design or a jacketed bullet like the hornady xtp and ftx bullets ? could I acheive enough power in the 45 to properly expand the jacked bullets ?
last question, would the new hornady 45 long colt critical defense make a good hunting bullet ? they used a slightly differnt design ftx bullet from the "leverevolution" bullets and the new critical defense rounds seem to have wonderful expansion. would these work for light skinned game like deer ? would the other jacketed bullets like the xtp expand the same as the critical defense bullets ? im sorry for so many questions, I have alot on my mind about using my 45 for hunting. Thanks abunch,SS

+P is a far shot from the MAGNUM loads that many of us hunt with, but you should be able to safely get into the 1,000-1,100fps range with an XTP250 which will kill deer. In the full size gun you can push that bullet to 1,400+.



Who cares, if it doesn't expand it will act like a cast. But the 250XTP has a "working" range from 800 to 1600 fps so you should be GTG.



Not IMO, defense bullets are usually made to frag or expand quickly so you don't get over-penetration, not a good thing for critters.

what he said, but in theory the critical defense would probably be pretty lethal on deer. The polymer insert is there to improve penetration especially on people wearing leather or heavy denim, it keeps the hollow point from plugging and prematurely opening. I've gone to them in my 380 and 38spcl derringers just for that reason and I'm going to switch to it my 1911 because the bullet profile is such that it will feed in guns which dont normally like HP's. I wouldn't necessarily expect a pass through but if you hit in the vitals you'll most likely have jello left over.

According to Brian Pearce, writing in HANDLOADER, that frame size should be good and safe for pressures of 23,000 psi (or about 20,000 cup). He drew that conclusion after talking with Ruger.
In my experience, a 250 cast or swaged SWC or XTP / JHP @ 950-1000 fps will be adequate for deer, and that velocity is obtainable with several powders at that pressure level. I have no experience hunting with the FTX or Critical Defense bullets. At this point I see no need for them in my useage.

I guess my first question to you is what are you planning on hunting? This will determine how you should load your revolver. From what I understand, the new Vaquero is still a strong piece, able to handle fairly high pressures. I would simply find the most accurate load and go from there.

On a side note, a hollow-point that doesn't expand does a poor impersonation of a flat-nosed hardcast -- they won't do nearly the damage or penetrate nearly as well. I don't like it when a hollow-point doesn't expand.

I agree. I would prefer to shoot something like a WFN profile cast bullet than a hollowpoint if I could not be 100% confident that the HP would mushroom properly.

In my experience the WFN profile puts animals down every bit as quickly as a properly mushroomed hollowpoint and provides truck loads of deep penetration. I can't say I have ever recovered a WFN bullet from an animal, I always end up with a complete pass through.

The new Vaqueros were made for the Cowboy Action shooting crowd. Lighter weight and not as strong as the old Vaqueros. Good thing about a 45 LC. A 255 gr Keith style SWC running around 900 fps will do a world of damage before it comes to a stop and the pressures will still be safe in your gun. The 250 gr RNFP over 9.0 of Unique for around 875 fps is a factory duplication load anyway according to one of my reloading manuals.