New Gun Day, 357/38/9mm

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Perhaps not on topic but seeing the multi-caliber
revolver reminds of the various survivalist movements
in the last six or seven decades.

In particular I recall Mel Tappan who wrote extensively
as did Jeff Cooper about survival when society goes
awry because of the economy or whatnot.

Among the favored sidearms was the Ruger Blackhawk
which could be had in .36/.357/9mm or .45ACP/.45 Colt.

The Blackhawk was seen as ultra reliable, capable of
powerful cartridges and the ability to use the then
easily found handgun calibers. And the parts were
generally available for the gun.

Although a lot has changed since then, but a gun like
the Blackhawk or Vaquero certainly provides someone
with very adequate defensive capabilities with a
versatility in the taking of small and even large
game.
 
One of these may very well be next on the list stainless Bisley. Beautiful. I’m leaning to the Blackhawk for the adjustable sights but I wouldn’t kick a vaquero outta bed for eating crackers. The loop off the grip is a nice touch.
Edit: Who made your grips?
 
Meeks36 here is my first range report.
I went to the range and I am happy. I first shot some control groups with 158g LSWCs in the 357/38 cylinder and in my SW66. The control groups were about the same size and also about 2 inches low. The black centers of the targets are 6 inches in diameter. The next chance I get I will see where it shoots with 357 and will decide how to correct the elevation of the groups. Any suggestions?
Uncle Ed, I agree this is a very versatile gun. With the right ammo and bullet choice it will handle just about anything. It is definitely fun to shoot. I did shoot a cylinder full of Winchester 127g JHP +P+. They also grouped well and recoil was negligible.
PS, there was a lesson going on in the range lane next to me. Most of the flyers are from them.
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Barbarous, thank you for the compliment. There are no identifiable marks on the grips. The previous owner put them on. He gets the credit for putting this package together. The Classic clean lines, the contrasts, old/new, shiny/dull, metal/wood/leather made me buy it. It’s great functionality makes me glad I did.
 
I have an anvil that won’t hold up to wear as well as that Ruger will. Nice acquisition all around. Congrats!
 
I love the conversion revolvers, I have the .45 version.

I will say though, as a "scrounge for ammo gun", they are heavy. A lightweight 357 and a plastic 9 might actually be lighter and cheaper combined than a big iron convertible.

Doesn't mean they aren't fun though
 
wgf

Very handsome looking Vaquero you've got there! Like everything about it, especially the polished stainless, the grips, and the lanyard set-up. The 9mm. cylinder is icing on the cake!
 
Barbarous, thank you for the compliment. There are no identifiable marks on the grips. The previous owner put them on. He gets the credit for putting this package together. The Classic clean lines, the contrasts, old/new, shiny/dull, metal/wood/leather made me buy it. It’s great functionality makes me glad I did.
Nothing sets off a revolver like a nice set of grips and some good leather.
 
I love the conversion revolvers, I have the .45 version.

I will say though, as a "scrounge for ammo gun", they are heavy. A lightweight 357 and a plastic 9 might actually be lighter and cheaper combined than a big iron convertible. h

The virtue of the convertible Blackhawks in blue is their
aluminum grip frames which help lessen the weight and
yet are extremely durable. In the hand they balance
extremely well. I think it was Mel Tappen who also
liked the Packmayrs that covered the backstrap and
filled the trigger guard well.
 
I purchased a .357/9mm Ruger Blackhawk convertible on my 21st birthday, way back in 1977. I think that I only fired a box of 9mm from it, and wasn't happy with the accuracy. As a result, except for a Single-Six, I have steered away from the convertible guns ever since. Just my experience, and in these days of ammo shortages a convertible might be the way to go.
 
Sistema, there is no reason that would make a convertible inherently inaccurate. If the bullet size, cylinder throats are right the gun will be accurate. Check out Fortunecookie 45 LC on Utube. He does a lot of reloading and is very good a explaining the chamber/throat/bore factors. He actually has done a couple of videos using 357/9mm and 45LC/45ACP convertibles as examples. You just got unlucky on your choice of bullets.
 
I really like that Bisley Vaquero, and the .357/9 combo! For the cost of the extra Cyl, I might have to go buy a .357 Blackhawk and have a spare 9mm cyl made.

Right now I've got a Taurus 692 2.5" and it's pretty decent with 9mm ammo, but id like a single with a longer tube.
 
I recently had a SS NM Blackhawk in 357/9mm. It drove me nuts with the way the cylinder works. They need to do away with the way it locks up and wont let you go back. Does yours do that?

With mine, the 357's wouldnt drop free when ejected, even with the muzzle up. The rod wasnt long enough to get them clear either.

If the cases were partially out of the chamber, and you went past the lock, you had to disassemble the gun to clear it. PITA.
 
If the cases were partially out of the chamber, and you went past the lock, you had to disassemble the gun to clear it. PITA.

Never experienced this nor ever heard of it. Actually I
don't understand. If the case is partially out of the
chamber then it's into the loading gate area. And a shooter
should be able to pull out a sticky case or push it back in.
 
If the cylinder rolls past that lock point, you cant bring it back, and either have to go all the way around again, or in the case of some rounds, the case was enough out of the cylinder that it wouldn't rotate past the frame, and it wouldn't go back, and you couldn't push it in.

It happened more with the 9mm rounds in my gun and I actually had to pop the pin and cylinder out of the gun to clear it.
 
I was miss remembering a bit here. Heres a better explanation I posted on another site when I was having the issues.

The other problem with this is, with the 9mm cylinder in the gun, I had a couple of cases that wouldnt seat fully, yet just enough to pass that anti back up lock, and now you have to take the cylinder out of the gun to get the round out. You cant go back, and you cant go ahead.

The biggest problem was with "loaded" 9mm cases not seating properly (both cylinders seemed to be a tad undersized) and once the round went past that lock point, there was no way to get it out, but disassemle the gun.

The 357 thing was just annoying, as, no matter how you tried to eject them, the cases had to be pulled out with your fingers about 90% of the time.
 
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AK103K,
I believe I understand your problem better
now, especially with the 9 mms. The 9 like
the .45ACP headspaces on the mouth of the
casing and if the chambers or the casings are
just a bit off, you can have troubles.

As to the inability to not be able to roll back, a
kit exists that allows you to do so; cowboy action
shooters really took to this improvement and I
think some New Vaqueros came right from the
factory with the ability to roll back.
 
My gun is from 2014. The cylinder locks under the ejector and will not back up after it has rotated about 1/2 a chamber. In this gun using 357s, in my previous Ruger 44Mag and in my Uberti 45LC the ejector rod is not long enough to push the fired case completely clear of the cylinder. The 38 Spl, 9mm and 45acp cases clear with room to spare. If an empty case gets into the “nook” for the loading gate arm I just push it all the way back in and rotate. I can see how that could be a problem if an oversize bullet jammed at point that it rotated into the nook and it could not be pulled out or pushed fully into the cylinder. That has not happened to me but I will make a point of being careful about rotating prematurely.
 
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