Help me fill in the pieces

[gearguy10]

Ok. This has been bothering me for some time so I'm going to throw it to the experts.

If you are familiar with this recent news story:
http://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_2464 ... cities.com
The suspect supposedly shot the victim with what was described in another report (that I can't find at the moment) with a Ruger New Vaquero in .357 magnum. This report (and the others I've read) indicate that the extractor rod was found on the victim's chest. The stories seem to indicate that the suspect was caught taking some ammunition he found at the house he was visiting and that may have led to the altercation that ended in the shooting.

I actually know the suspect (not going to say how) and I know he has an IQ in the single digits. I'm really wondering if he got the gun somewhere but didn't have any ammo for it and when he found the box of ammo in the basement he shoved a few rounds in to see if it would work. When he was confronted, he ended up pulling the trigger on a bullet that fit in the gun, but was perhaps not the right caliber and ended up killing the victim and blowing the gun apart at the same time (thus the extractor left at the scene).

So, my question is...What other caliber(s) would fit in a .357 revolver, fire, kill someone at close range and schmuck up the gun? And I can't imagine if he found the box of ammo at a fellow homie's house it would be a very rare ammo. I haven't tried it, but would a 9 mm (rimless) actually fire from a .357 (rimmed) under the right circumstances?

[LumberZach]

http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Re ... del_47.htm

I don't know all of what would fit in a ruger. But these Medusa revolvers used to be made with a special extractor that could fire essentially any round roughly .36 caliber. (mm to .357. As far as I understand, they used to outfit .357 ruger cylinders to do the same thing. Stories I heard at least. Your theory does not sound all that far off to me.

[gearguy10]

I finally made it down to the basement the other day and pulled my New Vaquero .357 out. I tried a 9 mm round and it fit about 1/3 of the way into the cylinder. I wasn't about to cram it in there with my thumb but it kind of felt like it might go in with some good force.

Then again, in inspection of my pistola I realized the single screw that basically holds the extractor rod in place was really loose. I suppose it is possible he had the right ammo and the rod just happened to come loose at that moment. Although I still think he had no idea what ammo went with the gun.

Anyway, sleep easy knowing your tax dollars will be feeding, clothing, and housing this criminal for the rest of his life...and his baby and baby momma.

[smurfman]

The article linked to only stated that the suspect took a box of ammo, no mention what it was. For all anyone knows it was a box of 12 ga target loads and not even for a handgun.

I'd also be willing to bet the part which ended up at the scene of the homicide was the base pin rather than the ejector rod. Cops aren't usually gun people and they frequently get firearm terminology incorrect. The base pin is in the same area as the ejector rod on a double action revolver, a design which the typical cop would be more familiar with than a single action.

I have seen this part not be fitted into the frame properly and it fell out upon handling let alone firing. This is probably what happened in this case.

[gearguy10]

You could be right about the ammo. Who knows? That's why I hate media reports concerning guns. No one ever takes the extra steps necessary to get the details right. That's why I was really surprised when one report said the gun involved was a silver 6" Ruger New Vaquero in .357. My jaw dropped and I actually showed it to a co-worker. No one ever reports guns with that much detail (I will let the fact that that gun doesn't come in a 6" model slide - they came within a half inch of getting it right).