After looking a three Ruger Vaquero Stainless 44/40s at Gander Mountain for two weeks, I finally purchased one of them.
The Vaqueros come from a collection and are unfired and in Mint condition.
One has a 4 1/2" barrel and two have 5 1/2" barrels.
I took the 5 1/2" barrel, with wood hand rubbed grips.

The price was $419.00.

Next week, I'll get the dies, brass, and bullets, and work up a good load for it.

If you guys have any information on this pistol, and any reloading formulas for this gun I really would appreciate it.

The 44/40 is one of the few calibers that I have no knowledge on, so I will be starting from scratch.

This should be a real fun gun to shoot.
It sure is pretty.:)

Eric

Handloader and Rifle magazine have had several .44-40 articles over the years. Most of the comments are directed at handling the brass and keeping it trimmed. Much of it is also quite thin according to the articles.

I'd stock up on brass for it though, ya don't see a lot of it on the shelf.

. . . If you guys have any information on this pistol, and any reloading formulas for this gun I really would appreciate it.

The 44/40 is one of the few calibers that I have no knowledge on, so I will be starting from scratch.

This should be a real fun gun to shoot.
It sure is pretty.:)

Eric
I love the .44 WCF, it's very accurate and a true western cartridge. Having said that, it's also a work intensive cartridge to reload. Already mentioned is the thin casemouth so don't expect it to help guide the bullet while seating. Any misalignment here will result in a case with a bulge on one side or worse, a crumpled case. Just be sure the bullet sits true before running it up into the seating die. I have tight chambers in my .44 WCF so it is very sensitive to misaligned bullets. Would suggest the Hornady New Dimension die set for your cartridge. The Hornady seater die has an alignment sleeve that helps guide the bullet into the casemouth. An 8.5 gr. load of Unique with a 200 gr. LRNFP bullet makes a nice mid-range load starting point. Best wishes.