Is this adequate for woods carry? Bear?

Bear? I wouldn’t shoot a bear with 45 colt. Woods carry? Yea, unless you really need it for a bear. I wouldn’t consider anything less than 44 mag for bear.

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No gold. Only lead. Bobby

Sure it is.

I have both sizes of Vaquero - the old big frame and the newer smaller frame. Both are great guns.

Even the old factory 255 grain bullet will shoot through the head of any bear currently walking the Earth, if you can put it there. If you can’t it doesn’t matter what you’re carrying.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Elmer Keith cited a case where a .45 Colt killed a big grizzly in, "Sixguns." The gun was a Colt SAA, and your Ruger will take heavier charges, so, YES, it can kill a bear.

But go to a zoo and study how bears move and visualize holding your sights on them in various stances. Learn the vital zones in bear anatomy.

I know of a recent case where a compact S&W 9mm killed a charging Alaskan brown bear. And in the 1930's, a British lady in India killed an angry sloth bear with a Colt New Service in .45 Colt. (Not a .455.) Her rifle was barely out of reach when the bear attacked.

I wouldn't HUNT a bear with a .45 Colt or a .44 Magnum, although several men deliberately stalked and killed polar and Alaskan brown bears with .44 Mags. But in a dire emergency, IF you know where to shoot a violent bear, the gun has shown that it can suffice.

BTW, author John Taylor said that he killed an African lion with .455 MK VI service loads from a Webley.
MK VI ammo is FMJ. Taylor felt that the jacketed bullets penetrated better than lead .455 loads.

The Original Vaquero will shoot stout .45 loadings if that makes a difference...With the right load I wouldn't feel undergunned but if I was in bear country I'd probably feel better with a different choice in sidearm.

I have a box of Grizzly .45 Colt +P 335 grain bullets advertised at 1175 fps velocity. I can tell you recoil is pretty stout in my Vaquero. Grizzly advises not to shoot them if your Vaquero is the new model.

We don't have bears here. I just bought them for the heck of it.

My Ruger just says Vaquero with 7.5" barrel. Not looking for bears.... I have a 44 magnum 629-1 with 6" barrel.... I'm assuming its more powerful? I have a box of 300 grain JHP Underwood ammo Muzzle Velocity: 1300 fps Muzzle Energy: 1126 ft lbs for my 44 maybe that's a better choice for woods carry?

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In a Ruger you can really hand load the 45 Colt up hot enough for small Black Bear (equal to 44 Mag.). With a 240 grain lead bullet and 28 grains of H110 you will get about 1,532 fps according to Hodgdon's reloading data. This load is listed under Ruger's NOT Colt SAA's which you will blow up with that load! They also list many other loads that exceed 1,400+ fps but I'd suggest looking on their free Reloading Data page before making any.

Yay!! A Bear Thread!!
Needed on a Winter's day.

Stay away from HP bullet designs. You're not desiring expansion. You're looking for penetration to wreck the CNS and bring about stoppage of said bruin.

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SWCA #2275

Yes, it is.

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Everybody could shoot

I'm a big fan of the .45 Colt cartridge and have packed a variety of handguns chambered in that caliber for over 40 years.

I started out with a Interarms Virginian Dragoon in .45 Colt with a 7½-inch barrel. Then I went to a Smith and Wesson Model 25-5.

For the last 30 years, though, my main packin' gun in the hills has been a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt, but I do have a couple of old model Vaqueros in that caliber. They're essentially the same as the Blackhawk without the adjustable sights.

My Vaqueros:


As many of the folks here in the Forum know, I volunteered with the USFS for many years, packing equipment and supplies with my pack string into the wilderness areas for their trail crews. A .45 Colt was always on my hip and we were in heavily populated black bear country, too. I never felt under gunned.

However, let me emphasize that I always had it loaded with some pretty stout loads. More often than not, I'd have it loaded with either 300-grain jacketed flat nose traveling around 1325 f.p.s. or 260-grain jacketed hollow points coming out at around 1450 f.p.s.

Lately, when I go up into the mountains around here, I've been loading it with some 360-grain wide flat-nosed gas checked hardcast +P's traveling around 1175 fps.

The .45 Colt is a formidable cartridge when loaded with some stout loads. As others have said, the old model Vaqueros will handle those loads easily.

My Blackhawk:

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Pack light and cinch tight.

My other choice for the woods.... 44 Mag 629-1.

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The 45 Colt can easily be loaded to meet or exceed 44 Magnum velocities and power. My OM Blackhawk is my favorite for here in grizzly country and I would have no problems facing down a moose! I choose it over my custom Super Blackhawk in 454 or my Glock 20 (used by the Danish Dogsled Patrol for polar bears). My load is a 300 or 350 gr wide meplat hard cast loaded over 1000/1100 fps. By the way, look at Mule Packer's rig. Mine's matched up with a Randall Yukon Skinner! BTW: Seen over 2 dozen griz in the wild and over 200 black bears!

Just look at his rig and tell me it's not used and used hard! Hardly a "Cheechako!

Jim: Taylor also said the 1911 was a good gun for defense against lions. You feed them one arm, flip off the safety and shoot them with a FMJ.

Your Vaquero is the older big gun. The new smaller guns say New Vaquero. Between it and your 629 you have 2 fine choices.

Don't shoot the M-629-1 too frequently with really heavy loads or it'll loosen up too soon.

In fact, I'm not sure that those heavy bullets at very high velocity are needed, and they may be beyond your recoil tolerance.

Remember, the bullet must be placed well, and if you flinch from recoil, that's a risk.

In, Sporting Classics a few years ago, two doctors were dressing a kill, I think a caribou. May have been a moose.

A big grizzly stalked them and charged. May have wanted the kill, but was willing to kill the men, too.

One man used a stainless Ruger Super Blackhawk with probably normal softpoint .44 Magnum ammo to kill the bear.

Even Elmer Keith was content with 250 grain bullets at 1400 FPS. Actually, he had been asking factories for a heavy .44 Special at 1200 FPS, which he deemed adequate. He complained that some lots of factory .44 Mag. ammo were loaded too hot and gave difficult case extraction. His handload never gave problems. I am reluctant to cite his load here for liability reasons, because burning rates of some powders have changed and I have no control over how safely any person may reload.

I URGE you to read his book, "Sixguns". Get the revised 1961 edition, which includes the .44 Magnum and other guns introduced since the 1955 edition was printed.

Your M-629 would be my first choice, but I'd run it mainly with medium .44 Special loads at about 850-900 FPS. Magnums for occasional practice and for such hunting as a handgun is suitable for.

You really should have bought a M-629-3 which has some internal mods to make it last longer with hot loads. But if you don't shoot a lot of .44 Mag. ammo, let alone the really hot stuff with heavy bullets, I don't think you'll see much difference. Your gun looks like a nice one, and I favor the six - inch barrel for best balance and accuracy. You don't get much more velocity from longer barrels, and they're awkward to carry. It takes some fortitude to fire a .44 Magnum with a four-inch or shorter barrel.

Remember, .44 Magnum ammo is not "range ammo." It's for KILLING and needn't be be shot routinely.
I'd use a Ruger Super Blackhawk for most full Magnum shooting. It's simply a stronger gun.

My ammo....

GA Arms Total Metal Jacket 240gr 44 magnum 1000 fps
Underwood 44 Magnum Lead Long Nose 1325 fps
Underwood 45 Colt 250 gr FMJ 960 fps

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I think any of those would kill a bear. Just place the bullets well.

From what I understand the original Vaqueros were simply Blackhawks they 'dehorned' to smooth the lines...in terms of the size. New Model Vaqueros are designed to mimick the traditional SAA Colt size.

The older 45 colt vaqueros are built on a larger frame . It’s the 44 magnum frame . I have one . It’s increditably accurate and a pleasure to shoot . I don’t find it too heavy to pack . Regards Paul

For walkin' in the Woods I carry my 3" M65 RB loaded with Buffalo Bore 180 grain Hard Cast SWC. Out of the 3" barrel, I've chronographed an average of 1330 fps and that will give you about 775 foot lbs. energy. Certainly a stiff load to shoot, but in an emergency during a Bear attack it should do the trick. I have shot a few dozen of these over the years but keep them to a minimum as I'm sure they are rough on the K Frame. I normally shoot .38 Spl. or mild 158 grain Mag's from this gun.

The reason I use the 3" M65 is because I can easily carry it all day long! I'd rather have that with me all day than to have a M29 44 Mag. at home sitting in the safe. While not the perfect Bear gun, I do feel that where I hike and encounter Black Bears, it would be adequate if shot placement is descent. I have never owned a M29 (don't hunt big game so I never had the need for one) and so the M65 & Buffalo Bore .357 180 grain combo is what I use.

I have the older vaquero polished with the 7.5” barrel in 45 lc. I purchased some cor bon 300grs for it,

In the Speer reloading manual number 10 there’s a section for ruger Super Blackhawk reloading that surpasses the 44 mag. I wonder if the vaquero can handle the hotter load.

The ruger blackhawks are on my wish list in 38/357: in 41 mg, in 44 mag 7.5”, 45 lc. 7.5”

There trying to pass a Blackbear season here. Probably a 12 ga slug only.

Here's a pic of my two Ruger Vaqueros in .45 Colt. Both have been modified with a kit so that they will load from half cock and index properly, exactly like the old model Blackhawks and the Colt SAA.

I have loaded up some really heavy .45 Colt rounds that exceed .44 magnum power, and both these guns digest them easily. I should point out that these are the ORIGINAL Vaqueros, not the newer ones, which should not be fed magnum handloads. I prefer not to give the load data for fear that it might be used improperly for guns not able to handle the power level.

I also have an old model .45 Colt Blackhawk, and it will similarly take magnum loads. These guns were built like tanks.

John

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