SAA 45 Colt or 38 Spec?

[Gary O]

I am surprised at the cost difference of the ammo. Would a SAA clone in 38 Special make more sense to a plinker? What say you? Thanks...

[NapaCountyShooter]

If you don't plan on reloading, get the .357. If you ever do, get the .45 Colt without a doubt. I'd get the .45 Colt for me personally, but I reload and it's really hard/expensive to find .45 Colt factory loads that live up to the potential of the cartridge.

[The King]

I like what Hamilton Bowen has done with colts and rugers turning them into rhino busters. I like reading Elmer Keith stories about loading 44 special to almost 44 magnum. I like rugers in 45 colt at handloads Sam Colt never dreamed of.
But, I shoot my 44 special SAA at mild levels, light bullets.
A SAA, a clone, or Ruger in .357 / .38 would be all you need, and ruger's extra 9mm cylinder would be great as well.
The SAA design is now 138 years old. (So show some respect!)
45 Colt is the original but it can be pricey and for usual shooting, not necessary.

Two cents provided by Jeff.

[1JimMarch]

My daily carry piece in Tucson AZ is a Ruger New Vaquero in 357maggie, loaded to the gills with DoubleTap Ammo's 125gr full-house-and-then-some. I've only got six and then it's a slow reload, but those are six *monsters*.

[Mickey D]

My daily carry piece in Tucson AZ is a Ruger New Vaquero in 357maggie, loaded to the gills with DoubleTap Ammo's 125gr full-house-and-then-some. I've only got six and then it's a slow reload, but those are six *monsters*.

I'd be careful with full house and them some in a New Vaquero. They were designed for Cowboy Action shooting and aren't made for high pressures.
Please be careful.

[ojisan]

The .357 NV has plenty thick cylinder walls for hotties.
The .45LC version is the one that should be loaded mildly.

[Bukowski]

I got a 5.5 inch stainless Ruger NV in .357 to match my '92 clone lever gun. First off, the Ruger's are built like a tank in that caliber, and I've run a few thousand full house .357 rounds with no problems.

Plinking with .38 special is fun, but my '92 likes the OAL of .357 better, so I end up with that most of the time.

Plinking with a .357 revolver is not as fun...

I started reloading, so I'm going .45LC for my next pair. Of course I'll need to get a '73 to match For some reason (thinner barrels??) the .45's seem to balance in my hand/ point better than the .357/.38 with the same barrel length.

It really depends on what you plan on doing. For pure cheap plinking a Ruger Single Six is great. The .357 is more of an "all arounder", while the .45LC is a hoot if you reload/ like BP fun, or have deeper pockets.

If you might want to go nuts with heavy .45 loads down the line take a look at Freedom Arms they can take it

[1JimMarch]

I'd be careful with full house and them some in a New Vaquero. They were designed for Cowboy Action shooting and aren't made for high pressures.
Please be careful.

Horsecrap.

OK, as somebody mentioned, in 45LC the cylinder walls are a bit thin, yeah. It's still safe with any loads compatible with a post-WW2 Colt SAA or the better Italian clones - and that covers some pretty healthy ammo. Some very astute people are saying the NewVaq45 can handle 21,000psi loads, and that in turn covers 255gr up to 1,000fps or 200gr JHP at 1,100fps. Due to the 45LC's case capacity the net ballistics stomps all over the 45ACP and takes it's lunch money. Peak energy is around 500-550ft/lbs of energy, similar to a good 40S&W load.

But in 357? The action strength is as good as it's larger-frame cousins - based on mostly the same parts, which is why a SuperBlackhawk hammer dropped right into my gun with no mods. And the cylinder is beefier in every dimension than a Ruger GP100 or S&W L-frame. The NewVaq357 can shoot a massive diet of the gnarliest stuff Buffalo Bore, DoubleTap Ammo or Grizzly Cartridge can come up with, loaded to 43.5k or more (the old SAAMI spec from before they started shipping snubby five-shot "357s").

NewVaq357s have also been successfully reamed and re-barreled as 41Magnums or 10mm. No problem - plenty of cylinder beef and frame strength. A Bowen cromoly cylinder blank is preferred for edgier combos but the stock cylinder can take it too.

I have some money coming from a lawsuit soon. I'm seriously considering scoring a Bowen cylinder and having it reamed to 9x25Dillion, which is a necked-down 10mm case. Using .357 bullets through my stock barrel, 158gr @ 1,600fps or so (or 140s at 1,700) should be practical, and they'd speedload into the loading gate via a tube much better than 357Mag would .

NewVaqs are not - weak - guns. They're not as Gorilla-strong as the large-frames based on a 44Magnum-grade platform, but...they're not that far off either.