New style Ruger Vaquero

[Char-Gar]

I picked up a new style Ruger Vaquero this weekend. It is a 5.5 incher in 45 Colt. I put a 100 rounds through it yesterday and it is one fine shooting and running handgun. Ruger did extensive research with the cowboy action shooting crowd and it paid off. All of the problems with the old Rugers have been solved (size, cylinder throats, rear sight, etc). Ruger has a hit on it's hand.

I am not involved in CAS nor do I want to be, but this is one fine everyday packing pistol for the brush poper or woods loafer. Best buy for the dollar in a sixgun since the Model 28 Smith went by-by.

Don't take this lightly as I am not often a Ruger fan. This is like me braging on a Lee press or powder measure.

[Blackwater]

Chargar, if that's the Ruger mid-frame New Vaquero I think it's called (?), a buddy has a 4 5/8 incher that was one of the first ones out, and his is a real shooter too. He put a Lyman Shorty ramp with 1/32" white bead on it, and he's shot some near 1" groups, and a few honest 1" groups with it at 25 yds. 50 yds. it often does under 2". He's taken a couple of deer with it already, and he's got me with the fever for one BAD! It's lighter and IMO, at least, better balanced than the 50th Anniv. .357, but the .357 has the adj. sights, and I keep vascillating which to get .... first. VERY nice handguns, and superbly packable as you note. I sure hope those dimensional comments hold up as production goes on.

[Char-Gar]

I worked a trade for mine at a local Gun Show. I could have had a 50th. Annv. model (.357) or this Vaquero in 45 Colt. I took the 45 as I already had a bunch of .357's including an old model Blackhawk with a steel frame and ejector rod housing, which is about the same as the new 50th annv. model.

The cylinder throats in my new pistol run .4525-.4530 and the sights were well regulated. I could drive 12 gage hulls into the berm at 25 yards by putting them on top of the front sight blade. That is about as good as I can do with any pistol. I doubt if I will ever put it on paper. My load was a 255 grain Keith SWC cast from WW over 8.5/Unique. I size these bullets .454.

I removed the grips and fliped on leg of the trigger spring off the stud in the frame and replaced the grips. I then did the ol "door jam" trigger job and now I have a crisp creep free 2.5lb trigger pull. I could not ask any better from a custom smith.

I put 100 rounds through the pistol and the empties ejected with no effort and the pistol was running smooth as glass even after 100 rounds. I pulled the cylinder at the range and looked down the barrel. There was the usual powder fouling, but no lead. A cleaning at home produced a bright shinny bore with no trouble. This tells me the barrel is free of burrs and other machine hickies.

The fired case with my pistol showed it was fired on August 16th of this year, so my gun is well into the production phase.

The hammer spur is a little funky and takes a little more reach to cock it with the strong hand thumb. However it was designed with the CAS shooter in mind who likes to cock the hammer with weak hand thumb.

I did some slip shooting with this pistol, holding the trigger back while horsing the hammer back with the weak hand thumb and letting it slip from under the thumb. Done slow, very accurate work can be had. Done fast and you can rattle six rounds out as fast as you could from an autopistol. Accuracy is nothing to write home about, but at 5 to 10 feet the effect would be awsome for the fellow on the receiving end.

This is not a fancy pistol and does not have the panache and show and tell factor of a high dollar custom job from Bowen, Linebaugh, Jim Strohl or the rest. However it will do the job every bit as well for about $400.00.

It will also take a lickin and keep on tickin ,long after the Colts and clones are hors de combat with broken springs and out of time. They are built for heavy use.

It is good to see a company listen to the consumers and get something right. Ruger deserves a giant attaboy for this pistol.