My new to me Ruger Vaquero

[smee78]

Well, it happened again, I have been good and stayed out of gun and pawnshops for a while now, but I had a moment of weakness. I went to the bank and when I was done I noticed I was right by one of the pawnshops that I use to be a regular at and decided to stop in just for a look...... Well, there it was, a really clean Ruger Vaquero, 5 1/2 barrel with Faux case coloring in my preferred caliber 45C. I of course asked to see it and even gave it back and made it out of there and was sitting in the truck thinking about when was the last time I had seen a good clean example in the wild. Well, I went back in and we were able to strike a deal and I put it on lay-a-way. It is really clean and for a 1993 year model, I was amazed at how clean it was, didn't even have a turn ring on the cylinder, just a few small nicks on the ejector rod area under the bottom of the barrel near the spring ejector area. It had its original wood grips on it but no box or anything else. I was able to get out of there for a total of $635 after uncle got his cut, while it's not a steal of a deal, I am happy because I prefer the older large-frame guns and have always wanted a 5 1/2 blued Vaquero in 45C.

No picks until I get it out of lay-a-way jail.

I haven't been watching the prices of what they have been selling for but I'm sure like everything else the prices have gone up. What does the forum think about my newest addition? The price? Any input would be great.

Thanks,

 

[44 AMP]

If you want a Colt looking, Colt size .45 ColtSA, there is none better for the money.

I had one a few years back, LNIB when I got it, and still LNIB when I traded it off. I liked the gun well enough, but didn't love it, I think mostly due to 40 years experience with Ruger New Model Blackhawks and the original Vaquers made it seem "small" to me.

A personal preference, nothing more.

The gun will take any load safe in a Colt SAA and possibly a bit more, but not the heaviest "Ruger Only" loads. When those loads were created, there was only one Ruger .45 Colt, and it was the large frame Blackhawk. The New Vaquero is not suited for those heavy loads. If you want to shoot them, get the big (44mag size frame) Ruger (New Model) Blackhawk.

Good gun, good price. If it is to be a shooter, not a safe queen, I recommend not doing any action work or putting in any aftermarket parts until the gun is well and thoroughly broken in. You might just find those to be a waste of time or money...

 

[hammie]

If I'm interpreting Smee's post literally, I think he is saying that the revolver is a large frame (simply) "Vaquero", and not the medium frame, "New Vaquero". At least that's what the last sentence of his first paragraph indicates.

As for the price, I think he got a great deal. The prices of new ruger single action revolvers are shocking. I've been kind of wanting a shorter barreled, New Vaquero birds head, chambered for .357 magnum. The MSRP is over 1000 dollars.

 

[ballardw]

Make sure to clean and oil that fake case-hardening carefully every time it is handled. I missed a spot on mine when I went back to the safe for it a few months later the coloring rusted something terrible.

 

[44 AMP]

To clarify the "vaquero" issue, simply look on the frame (left side) below the cylinder window. IF it is an original Vaquero, the frame will say "Vaquero" if it is the smaller one that replaced the Vaquero, the frame will say "New Vaquero"

As far as I know, the original Vaqueros were case colored or stainless. The early New Vaqueros had case colored frames.

To be precise, this is not "faux case coloring" it is "faux case hardening" from one point of view, but Ruger never claimed they case hardened the frames, the "case colors" are a finish mimicking the colors produced by case hardening.

If I'm interpreting Smee's post literally, I think he is saying that the revolver is a large frame (simply) "Vaquero", and not the medium frame, "New Vaquero". At least that's what the last sentence of his first paragraph indicates.

I took it somewhat differently, only that he likes "large frame" and "older guns" and I know some people who think of the Colt SAA frame size as "large frame" though there are many larger framed guns out there nowadays.

 

[smee78]

To clear the air, the revolver I am getting is the larger-frame older model Vaquero, not the New Vaquero (more like the Colts). The older guns with the faux case hardening said Ruger Vaquero on them, not New Vaquero.

I would love to own a Colt and this would be the setup I would get if I was willing to spend that much money. The only Colt revolver I own is a Frontier Scout.

Hammie, I'm with ya on a nice small 357 birds head. I do have a Vaquero birds head in 45Colt with the 3 3/4? barrel.

Ballardw, I know all to well about them rusting my little 32H&R got a small spot on it from the same thing.

 

[ballardw]

Mine does not say "New Vaquero", just "Ruger Vaquero" and has the fake case hardening coloration.

But Ruger does tend to have many variations between theirs and the distributor exclusives...

 

[jmr40]

If I were buying one I'd want the smaller frame of the New Vaquero. But that is based entirely on how the buyer planned to use it. The one you have on lay-away will handle much more powerful loads than the newer version. Both versions have their place.

 

[smee78]

Thanks everyone for their input, I look forward to getting my new addition and getting some range time to see where POI is for this revolver.

 

[cpt-t]

smee78: IMHO You did good on Your Gun Deal and I am very happy for You. I have several Ruger Vaquero`s & Ruger Blackhawks in 45LC. They are some of my all time favorites. And I have never had any problems with any of them. Ruger Firearms are Top Shelf IMHO.
TAKE CARE MY FRIEND:
ken

 

[105kw]

While I truly love my Colts, the Ruger, in either version is a better gun if you want to shoot it a lot.
As a friend of mine says " Ruger is what Colt would have built, if they could.
Enjoy your shooting.
The price is fair, in my opinion.

 

[44caliberkid]

I have an original Ruger Vaquero in 44 Mag. It is blued with the case colored frame. All of the blued Original Vaqueros I’ve seen had case color frames. Ruger made those with a tall front sight, so out of the box the POI is slightly low. This is so you can file the front sight to match whatever load you use most often ( like a cowboy load) to adjust elevation. This was in my owners manual, so it is intentional by Ruger. It only took a couple file strokes to get my black powder 44 mag loads dead on, for CAS use.

 

[Laz]

I believe the original Vaquero has a serial number with a two digit prefix, while the New (and slightly smaller) Vaquero has a serial number with a three digit prefix.

 

[smee78]

Great info yall. Thanks for sharing, I am really looking forward to adding this one to the collection. I have a good number of Blackhawks but only a few Vaqueros.

 

[jackmoser65]

If it dates 1993 it's a large frame Vaquero. The suggestion to keep the color case frame oiled is a good one. Ruger went to all blue because they were bad about rusting. Though if it hasn't rusted yet, it shouldn't give any trouble.

As far as I know, none of the original Vaqueros were case colored. Blued or stainless only. The early New Vaqueros had case colored frames.

To be precise, this is not "faux case coloring" it is "faux case hardening" from one point of view, but Ruger never claimed they case hardened the frames, the "case colors" are a finish mimicking the colors produced by case hardening.

All of the original Vaqueros that were not stainless steel were color cased. The early New Vaqueros were also color cased. Then Ruger had had enough of refinishing the rusted ones and went to all blue.

They are faux case colors. It is a chemically applied finish. What Turnbull does on Rugers could be considered "faux case hardening" because the process and the colors are real but there is no hardening.

 

[44 AMP]

All of the original Vaqueros that were not stainless steel were color cased.

You are correct. I owned several for years, sold them last year, so now I don't have any to remind me. I apologize for the error, I was writing about Vaqueros, but my mind was thinking Blackhawk. My bad. Blackhawks were either blued or stainless. It was what my daughter calls a "senior moment."

Vaqueros were case colored, if not stainless.

 

[Jim Watson]

What Turnbull does on Rugers could be considered "faux case hardening" because the process and the colors are real but there is no hardening.

So he stuffs them in a charcoal pack and heats it up, then quenches the parts. Which colors them but does not surface harden the materials Ruger uses. Right?

 

[Mal H]

Vaqueros were case colored, if not stainless.

I'm glad I read this entire thread before replying to your post #5.

I have an original Vaquero in .45C and it is definitely case colored. It's one of my favorites to shoot.

smee78 - I agree with the others, you got a pretty good deal. I won't tell you what I paid for mine, but then again it was about a quarter century ago.

Good advice on keeping the case coloring oiled. It doesn't take long for it to rust if you don't. I had left mine in the safe for about 6 months one time and found a little rust when I took it out, but it came off easily. I now use Renaissance wax on it and that seems to last longer.

 

[Bob Wright]

Well, since nobody has posted a picture, I'll jump in and do it. My original Vaquero, bought in 1996, it came with those awfulfake ivory grips:



And this is New Vaquero, early 7 1/2" with color case hardened finish:



Both are .45 Colt. I only bought the New Vaquero to ge the grips. I had to buy a .44 Special New Model Flat Top to fit those grips.



Bob Wright

 

[jackmoser65]

It was what my daughter calls a "senior moment."

I have those every day, with seemingly increasing frequency. A teeny bopper called me a boomer, must be getting old.

So he stuffs them in a charcoal pack and heats it up, then quenches the parts. Which colors them but does not surface harden the materials Ruger uses. Right?

Pretty much. Ruger frames are through hardened. If they actually case hardened them it would make the parts brittle.