I own 4 Vaquero 45 Colts, but shoot on the other end of the power scale. I've put thousands of rounds through each of them shooting Cowboy Action. The revolvers require the basic maintenance of cleaning and proper lubrication. Shooting safe high energy loads will wear you out before the Ruger wears out. Older model Blackhawks are heavier and the weight helps with felt recoil, another inch or two of barrel length will go a long way in recoil management. There is a huge difference in the felt recoil of the 150 to 180 grain 357 bullets and the 250 to 325 grain 45 bullets. I know of a shooter out west engaging man sized targets a 1000 yards, but special attention must be paid to diameter of the chamber throats and seldom are the factory dimensions what is necessary for that accuracy but reems are readily available from Brownells and others. The consistency of bullet weight, hardness and diameter are also important and if using cast bullets you will probably need to cast your own in the old method of a dipper and a single cavity mould. "Rifle" and "Reloader" magazines have a large number of articles on all these subjects. Half the fun of getting those great loads is overcoming the obstacles in the way. Ivan