I have always wanted one of John Gallagher's custom revolvers. I will soon be the proud owner of a lightweight Vaquero in 458-400. The problem is that I have no ammo for this bad boy. Unfortunately, I do not reload, though I may have to start now. In the meantime, does anyone know where I might procure a few boxes, or get some made? I have never owned anything that was a specialty round.

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Matthew Conrad

You had better plan on loading in the future. Unless I am mistaken this is a "Wildcat" cartridge that is not available commercially.

This was developed as a revolver cartridge by John Gallagher for use in a recylindered Ruger Blackhawk. The goal was a 400-grain cast or jacketed bullet at 1300 fps. The .45-70 case is shortened to 1.4" and used without neck-reaming. Hodgdon H110 was the only powder that gave the performance desired, but no load data was included in the article. Ballistics were about 10% better than the .475 Linebaugh.

In a "Lightweight" Vaquero? Not for me, thanks!!!

Surely you would try once?

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Matthew Conrad

That cartridge in a lightweight vaquero? Nope! Even my wimpy .454 Casull with 300 grain bullets seems a bit much. Developing a load that shoots to your preferred POI with fixed sights should be .....invigorating

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NRA Life, COTEP 640

You are dreaming. None has ever been for sale anywhere. You will have to get 45-70 brass and cut it down, then start reloading for it. Sounds a bit obnoxious.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

we have a reloading section.
You're going to need it, especially since this will have you diving in on the deep end of the pool.

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it just needs more voltage

The little pistola has done been bought. I suspect that I will soon be reloading. Which part sounds obnoxious, having to work or the round itself?

I am excited about invigorating! As it turns out, this happened to be John Gallagher's personal pistol for protection while hunting in Alaska. John passed the little Ruger to Glenn Swaggart (who once held the world record for the mile and a half shot). Glenn then passed it along to Michael Hutyra. I was fortunate to purchase it from Huyrta's estate.

Glenn was kind enough to reach out and give me the history of this beauty. Glenn has also been kind enough to help me with obtaining rounds and reloading dies.

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Matthew Conrad

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Fixed it. All passed from front sight insertion....Next...Actually about a month ago I saw about 30 boxes of 400 gr Jacketed 458 Bullets in a local Pawn shop. Invigorating with my 12 inch 45-70 Contender only lasted a short time. 454 Casull or John Linebaugh's 475 were more than enough ny M-57 4 inch 41 mag is enough The 4 inch 29 is funner 'nuff

It's going to kick like a mule. I have shot 500 S&W and 454 Casull rounds. Yours is going to top those by quite a bit. I do not consider such rounds as being pleasant to shoot. They are excellent bear repellent though.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

I had a S&W 500 4 inch gun. It was LOUD...I didn't consider it as bad as my 45-70 Contender...but it had a bit of torque twisting pretty bad. But it was more than I needed

I went into the Porn...er...Pawn Shop that had the 45-70 400 gr bullets(Remington BTW) The ones on the shelf were gone. But he said he thinks he has another 4 or 5 boxes and will call if he does...but I did alright on other stuff in reloading items. In fact I did grrrrreat!! Sorry OP

Owning a firearm in an obscure, obsolete, hard to find caliber can be a bit frustrating and basically requires you to reload for it. Sometimes even finding brass or bullets for it can be all but impossible too. As long as you are willing to do the reloading and can pony up for a lifetime supply of components, it is doable - just go into it with the knowledge up front you WILL BE hand loading for it and scrounging for components.