Interesting perspective on Single Action durability

[Doc Safari]

You always want real world experience to help you decide on a gun's durability.

Over the weekend we went to Tombstone, Arizona. One place we visited was a shooting gallery where you could fire single action Peacemaker clones. The proprietor had developed special paint-marking loads for the customers to shoot targets with.

My first question, of course, was: how is the durability of the guns given the high round counts.

He answered that since the ammunition basically amounts to a glorified "blank", the result of firing rounds with what amounts to a primer but little or no powder contributes to the "shatter" effect. I'm not sure what that means, and there were other people there so I didn't get a chance to ask him to clarify.

He added that they had tried just about every brand of modern single action army clone available, and of all the brands they tried whether it be a genuine Colt or an Italian knockoff, the clone with the most durability seemed to be: The Ruger Vaquero.

He explained that basically after thousands upon thousands of rounds through the Ruger Vaquero, only one part tends to fail, and that happens to be an inexpensive, drop-in part. Again, I did not get a chance to have him clarify due to the crush of waiting customers. I really wanted to know what part it is that fails, but I was unable to continue the conversation due to the people waiting their turn and the proprietor wanting to not make them wait.

He did manage to comment in parting that the Vaquero's of several years ago were better, and that recent ones did not have the durability of the older ones. Guess they're learning from Glock.

The point is that the Ruger Vaquero seems to be what you'd want if you plan to shoot a lot of rounds, at least if you can locate an older one. I still say the Ruger Service Six and Security Six were among the greatest revolvers ever made (although they are not Peacemaker clones).

I'm hoping someone with experience can "fill in the blanks" of what I was not able to get from the owner of the shooting gallery.

[cbmj]

Don't know about the blanks. The part that breaks is the transfer bar.

[HeavyDuty]

I'm guessing the transfer bar. I do know I'm hugely impressed with my 3.75" .45ACP New Vaquero.

[MistWolf]

Ruger greatly increased the durability of the single action by replacing the leaf springs with coil springs. The only part I've had problems with in a Ruger Single Action is the small spring that keeps the transfer bar in place when cocking the hammer. Without that spring, the shooter has to hold the muzzle of the pistol up so the weight of the transfer bar holds it in the correct position so it doesn't lock up the action

[Wildcat]

Ruger greatly increased the durability of the single action by replacing the leaf springs with coil springs. The only part I've had problems with in a Ruger Single Action is the small spring that keeps the transfer bar in place when cocking the hammer. Without that spring, the shooter has to hold the muzzle of the pistol up so the weight of the transfer bar holds it in the correct position so it doesn't lock up the action

Could be an indication your base-pin wasn't seated 100%.

Sometimes it doesn't get pushed home all the way following cleaning and sometimes they walk forward from recoil; particularly if the base-pin-latch was bumped from handling or by a tight holster.

[williejc]

Isn't the newer Vaquero on a slightly smaller frame than the original one? Maybe his comment pertained to these. I fail to see why squib loads would affect either size.

[Wildcat]

The newest version of the Vaquero uses a lighter frame that is slightly smaller (closer to the Colt size). It is not a bold difference since the new one its still sized to handle the 45 Colt cartridge. This means the diameter of the cylinder is still bigger than an "L" frame Smith.

That in and of itself is probably not influencing the longevity of the gun. It probably has to do with the refinement of the process used to build the guns.

Wonder what the round count was on the guns used in the gallery.