[BigBob3006]

Redneckfur,

How about I just throw some information out here and you take what you want.

The .45 Colt, or Long colt as it is sometimes known as first came on the scene in 1873, and was loaded with forty grains of black powder and a 255gr lead bullet. About the turn of 1900 smokeless powder replaced black powder as the propellant in this old work horse. I've been told that the term Long Colt originated in the U.S. Army. The officers at that time were using the Scofield break action, single action pistol that was also a .45 round. The Army adopted the term long colt when ordering ammo for the troops using the Colt pistol and .45 for the short round used in the Schofield. Now I can't swear to this, but the man who told it to me seem to know what he was talking about.

To add to the confusion, Colt pistols made before the start of WW II had a bore diameter of .454" Once the war was over and Colt started producing The Single Action Army in an attempt to standardize .45 calibers at .451". As a rule, firing jacketed bullets the bullets have a diameter .451". Lead bullets fired in the same pistol are normally sized .452" This bullet will conform to a bore and give better performance than a .451 diameter lead bullet. This holds true for all pistols and rifles.

The Original Ruger Vaquero was made on the Blackhawk frame. This frame was intended to handle magnum type loads. The purist of the Cowboy Action Shooting groups thought the Blackhawk was not a true representation of the early frontier days and wanted something a little closer to the old Colts.
Hence the New Vaquero. The old Vaquero can indeed be loaded to screaming
loads. If that's what you want, you have the pistol to do it with. The same bullets you load for a .45 ACP can be loaded in your Vaquero.

Well I hope that this is of some help and things are much clearer now.