It has been almost ten months since I first
reviewed the Ruger New Vaquero.
Mine was a very early gun, and it had to go back to Ruger right
after the article was published for a change that Ruger deemed
necessary. I had no problem at all with the sixgun, but Ruger
wanted to update the weapon, so I sent it back. I had noted in
the article that the gun had a light spot in the finish, but
that it did not bother me at all. While it was back at the
factory, they refinished the frame anyway, and it does look
better now.
Since the article was published on Gunblast back
on December 4, 2004, I have received many emails from shooters
who have purchased the New vaquero, and almost all of them have
been very satisfied with the weapons. In fact, none had a
legitimate gripe, but instead were worried after hearing gun shop
experts claiming that the guns were defective, and that they all
had to be returned to the factory. If your gun needs to go
back for any reason, Ruger will let you know. Keep shooting it
and don’t worry about it. I know several people
personally who have the New Vaquero, and all love the weapon,
myself included.
I have been trying to get a New Vaquero .45 Colt
with a seven and one-half inch barrel for a few months now, and
it finally came in about two weeks ago. Many, perhaps most,
shooters prefer the shorter barrels on a single action revolver,
and I like them too. However, for shooting, I greatly prefer the
balance, feel, and shooting qualities of the longer tube.
I love the way it seems to just hang there, right on target. I
love the way the seven and one-half inch gun looks. It just
looks right to me, like old Cavalry troopers’ sidearms. Like
the sixgun that Matt Dillon carried for two decades on
our old black-and-white television. Perhaps those were my
formative years, but for whatever reason, I prefer the longer
tube, and this newest New Vaquero just looks and feels right to
me.
Just like the earlier gun, the new grip frame
feels so much better to me than the XR3-RED design. The return
to the old original XR3 shape and size was a wonderful change
from the original Vaquero. The new grip feels like the old Colt
Single Action Army and 1851 Colt Navy grip. While the new XR3
grip is sized like the Old
Flattop Ruger XR3 grip, the new grip frame is all steel,
adding a couple of ounces, but giving the sixgun a much better
balance. This is probably the best grip frame yet from Ruger for
light to moderate .45 Colt loads. For the hard-kicking stuff,
their Bisley grip is a bit more comfortable to shoot. However,
nothing from Ruger points as naturally for me as the XR3, and
the New Vaquero has the perfect grip frame, at least for my
hand.
Since I went into great detail regarding the
changes to the New Vaquero compared to the original Vaquero, I
won’t plow the same ground here again, but refer you to the original
article of last December. I will, however, reproduce the
chart here comparing the size of the New Vaquero to its
competition:
| |
Colt SAA |
U.S. Firearms SAA |
Old Vaquero |
New Vaquero |
Old Model .357 Blackhawk |
| Cylinder Diameter |
1.652 |
1.674 |
1.732 |
1.675 |
1.672 |
| Cylinder Length |
1.607 |
1.625 |
1.703 |
1.610 |
1.602 |
| Frame Window Height |
1.672 |
1.690 |
1.763 |
1.700 |
1.700 |
The New Vaquero seems to be a big hit with
shooters. The first New Vaquero that I received was serial
number 312, excluding the prefix, and this newest one is serial
number 4386. While I was very pleased with the first gun, this
latest one is even better. The finish is very good on this new
gun, and the grip panels fit perfectly. The timing is spot-on.
The barrel/cylinder gap measures only .002 of an inch, which is
also tighter than on the earlier sixgun. The bluing is better
than on any revolver that I have seen from Ruger in many years;
almost as good as on the early
Super Blackhawks. Almost.
Shooting this latest New Vaquero proved it to be
plenty accurate, grouping five shots into one and three-quarters
inches at twenty-five yards with some handloads that I had on
the shelf. Later, I loaded up some of Mt.
Baldy’s 270 SAA bullets (which weigh 285 grains, lubed
and ready to load) over nine grains of Hodgdon Universal
powder, and they grouped even better than that. The 270
SAA is a very good design, and Mt. Baldy produces them to
perfection. The front sight is plenty tall for any load that I
tried, and I will most likely file the sight down a bit to
perfectly sight in this Mt. Baldy/Universal load. It hits just
about one and one-half inches low for me. I am glad to see Ruger
putting a nice tall sight on these guns. It sure does make it
much easier to get the weapon on target than with a front sight
that is too short. The trigger feel was also very good on this
sixgun, measuring a crisp three and one-half pounds right out of
the box. A quick Poor Boy’s Trigger
Job had the pull down to an even two pounds, right where
I like it to be.
There is little else to be stated here that was
not included in the first New Vaquero article, except to say
that the guns are in full production. However, demand is still
exceeding supply, but search and they can be found. Just
about everyday, I get email about the New Vaquero, and each time
I recommend the gun without reservation. This is my
second, but most likely not my last.
Check out the full line of Ruger products
here.
To locate a dealer near you, go to: www.lipseys.com
and click on the Dealer Locator icon.
For some of the finest leather you can buy, go
to: www.epsaddlery.com.
To order the Mt. Baldy bullets, go to: www.mtbaldybullets.com.
Jeff Quinn
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