Ruger Vaquero
Encyclopedia
The Ruger Vaquero is a six-shot single-action revolver
manufactured by Sturm, Ruger
based on the .357 Magnum New Model Ruger Blackhawk
frame that was introduced in 1973. It comes in blued steel, case colored, and a gloss stainless finish (the latter gloss stainless finish is intended to resemble closely a 19th Century nickel-plated finish), all of which are available with wood, hard rubber, simulated ivory or black micarta
grips and fixed sights. It arose with the popularity of Cowboy Action Shooting
from which came demand for a single action revolver that was more traditional in appearance.
Like the New Model Blackhawk the Vaquero does not require the hammer to be half-cocked for loading and unloading, and uses a transfer bar mechanism which prevents the cartridge under the hammer from being fired without the trigger being pulled.
The "New Model Vaquero" comes with checkered black plastic grips, which look similar to the checkered black rubber grips Colt used in the late 19th Century. Ruger placed the safety warning which used to appear on the left-side of the barrel beneath the barrel on these models to make the gun more aesthetically pleasing.
. Unlike original Single Action Army revolvers, both versions are safe to load all six cylinders, having a transfer bar design; additionally, both variants permit reloading by simply opening the loading gate, thereby freeing the cylinder to rotate freely, without pulling the hammer into the half-cock notch. These initial Vaqueros have only two hammer positions: fully down, and fully cocked.
In 2009 Ruger released a variant on the New Model Vaquero known as the Vauqueo Montado, this special run edition took the old west cowboy theme even further by adding many special changes, a few of which were a special trigger, spring pack, indexing bar, a half-cock position on the hammer, some of the edges were smoothed or rounded a bit, and the horn of the hammer (the part depressed with the thumb to cock the weapon) was widened and flattened. This edition gave the Vaquero Montado a smoother overall feel made for faster draws, a quicker trigger, easier re-cocking between rounds, allowing for more rapid-fire "from the hip" fast-draw cowboy style shooting and has became a favorite amongst old-west style trick-shooting enthusiast.
The original Vaquero was built to safely fire higher pressure 45 Colt ammunition than the Black powder chamberings, having significantly thicker cylinder walls than other revolvers. Many reloading manuals contain Ruger-only recommended handloads that are considered unsafe for use in other than Ruger Blackhawk, Redhawk, Thompson/Center and Ruger Vaquero model revolvers. Ruger New Vaquero model revolvers, having thinner cylinder walls, are not considered safe for use with the Ruger-only loads taken from the older editions of these manuals. Ruger states that the "New Model Vaquero" will handle +P and +P+ ammunition without any issues, but warn users not to shoot reloads in any of their guns as it will void the warranty.
Three grip variants exist for Vaqueros. The standard grip is very similar to the grip on the original Single Action Army revolver. The Bisley variant incorporates the target grip that was incorporated on the Bisley variant of the Single Action Army revolver that was intended for target shooting. The Bisley grip is also better suited for users with larger hands, having a longer frame that better fits larger hands. Users with smaller hands may not find the trigger to be comfortable to shoot on Bisley variants, by reason of not being able to place their trigger finger properly on the trigger, the trigger being located further from the grip. The third variant is the Birdshead grip, similar to the pattern found on the Colt Lightning and Thunderer models.
In 1999 a limited run of 500 guns in stainless steel and 500 guns in blue with color case hardened frames were offered by Davidson's with a 3+3/4 in barrel and a shortened ejector rod and housing. These were called the "Sheriff's Model". In 2005, this barrel was added as a standard option to the catalog.
.
In 2005, Ruger introduced the "New Vaquero" which incorporated a smaller frame, based on Ruger's XR-3 grip frame, making the pistol closer to the size of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver of 1873
. The New Vaquero will accept two-piece stocks made for the Colt Single Action Army.
The Firearms Distributor known as Davidson's offered 2 exclusive chamberings of the Vaquero with convertible cylinders:
An additional special Commemorative Edition chambered in .40 S&W
was ordered by the San Diego Sheriff's Association in 2000 to celebrate the agencies 150th anniversary. The association wanted the Vaquero's to use the same caliber as their normal service weapons. The original order was placed for 500 but later was increased to 800 due to overwhelming response from the association members and alumni. Sources conflict on the reasoning but either to ensure plenty were available for members, or, due to a minimum 500 production run size limitation Ruger went on to produce an over-run of about 200 for a total of 1000 models. Some of these over-run models were taken by the SDSA members. All of the models sold to the SDSA members were embossed with the SDSA logo on the right side of the barrel and came in a special display case along with an acrylic encased badge. Approximately 125 of the extras were eventually released through select Ruger distributors in standard black plastic cases and with no SDSA logo. Most had the safety warnings on the left side of the barrel like normal Vaqueros and the original SDSA guns. However, Ruger ran out of the .40 S&W
barrels before the frames and cylinders and later produced extra barrels to finish the remaining few guns, some of these were released through select distributors as late as 2009. These are referred to as "cleanup" models, something all manufacturers do as the production run of a model is winding down. On these approximately 25-30 cleanup models the warnings normally stamped into the left side of the barrel were moved to the underside of the newer barrels leaving the side clean and completely smooth. While all of these models are desirable for their unique caliber, the few that escaped without any markings on the left side of the barrel are now sought after collectables, not only for the unique caliber but for the smooth barrel that many collectors feel adds to the overall beauty of the guns.
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
manufactured by Sturm, Ruger
Sturm, Ruger
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated is a Southport, Connecticut-based firearm manufacturing company, better known by the shortened name Ruger. Sturm, Ruger produces bolt-action, semi-automatic, full-automatic, and single-shot rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, and single- and double-action...
based on the .357 Magnum New Model Ruger Blackhawk
Ruger Blackhawk
The Ruger Blackhawk is a 6-shot or 8-shot, single-action revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger. It is produced in a variety of finishes, calibers, and barrel lengths.-History:In the early 1950s, Westerns were popular in movies and television...
frame that was introduced in 1973. It comes in blued steel, case colored, and a gloss stainless finish (the latter gloss stainless finish is intended to resemble closely a 19th Century nickel-plated finish), all of which are available with wood, hard rubber, simulated ivory or black micarta
Micarta
Micarta is a trademark of Norplex-Micarta industrial high pressure laminates and refers to a composite of linen, canvas, paper, fiberglass, carbon fiber or other fabric in a thermosetting plastic, originally used in electrical and decorative Koekjes applications. Micarta was developed by George...
grips and fixed sights. It arose with the popularity of Cowboy Action Shooting
Cowboy action shooting
Cowboy Action Shooting , also known as Western Action Shooting or Single Action Shooting, is a competitive shooting sport that originated in California, USA, in the early 1980s...
from which came demand for a single action revolver that was more traditional in appearance.
Design details
The Ruger Vaquero is a New Model Blackhawk with fixed sights consisting of a front blade and a notch milled into the frame at the rear. The first version was a 7+1/2 in barrelled revolver chambered in .45 Colt with a simulated color case-hardened frame and a blue barrel, grip frame, and cylinder. This was followed by models with a 5+1/2 in barrel and a 4+5/8 in barrel based on the other common barrel lengths of the Colt SAA. The three versions were offered in stainless steel and other calibers including .44 magnum, .357 magnum, and .44-40 Winchester. Originally all Ruger Vaqueros were shipped with walnut grips incorporating a Ruger logo in a medallion. In 1998 some models began shipping with a faux-ivory grip and limited runs with gold inlay and engraving were offered.Like the New Model Blackhawk the Vaquero does not require the hammer to be half-cocked for loading and unloading, and uses a transfer bar mechanism which prevents the cartridge under the hammer from being fired without the trigger being pulled.
The "New Model Vaquero" comes with checkered black plastic grips, which look similar to the checkered black rubber grips Colt used in the late 19th Century. Ruger placed the safety warning which used to appear on the left-side of the barrel beneath the barrel on these models to make the gun more aesthetically pleasing.
Variants
Two major variants of Vaqueros exist. The original Vaquero was marketed from 1993 until 2005, and was slightly larger than the Colt Single Action Army. The New Vaquero, produced from 2005 to the present is closer to the dimensions of the Colt Single Action ArmyColt Single Action Army
The Colt Single Action Army is a single action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six metallic cartridges. It was designed for the U.S...
. Unlike original Single Action Army revolvers, both versions are safe to load all six cylinders, having a transfer bar design; additionally, both variants permit reloading by simply opening the loading gate, thereby freeing the cylinder to rotate freely, without pulling the hammer into the half-cock notch. These initial Vaqueros have only two hammer positions: fully down, and fully cocked.
In 2009 Ruger released a variant on the New Model Vaquero known as the Vauqueo Montado, this special run edition took the old west cowboy theme even further by adding many special changes, a few of which were a special trigger, spring pack, indexing bar, a half-cock position on the hammer, some of the edges were smoothed or rounded a bit, and the horn of the hammer (the part depressed with the thumb to cock the weapon) was widened and flattened. This edition gave the Vaquero Montado a smoother overall feel made for faster draws, a quicker trigger, easier re-cocking between rounds, allowing for more rapid-fire "from the hip" fast-draw cowboy style shooting and has became a favorite amongst old-west style trick-shooting enthusiast.
The original Vaquero was built to safely fire higher pressure 45 Colt ammunition than the Black powder chamberings, having significantly thicker cylinder walls than other revolvers. Many reloading manuals contain Ruger-only recommended handloads that are considered unsafe for use in other than Ruger Blackhawk, Redhawk, Thompson/Center and Ruger Vaquero model revolvers. Ruger New Vaquero model revolvers, having thinner cylinder walls, are not considered safe for use with the Ruger-only loads taken from the older editions of these manuals. Ruger states that the "New Model Vaquero" will handle +P and +P+ ammunition without any issues, but warn users not to shoot reloads in any of their guns as it will void the warranty.
Three grip variants exist for Vaqueros. The standard grip is very similar to the grip on the original Single Action Army revolver. The Bisley variant incorporates the target grip that was incorporated on the Bisley variant of the Single Action Army revolver that was intended for target shooting. The Bisley grip is also better suited for users with larger hands, having a longer frame that better fits larger hands. Users with smaller hands may not find the trigger to be comfortable to shoot on Bisley variants, by reason of not being able to place their trigger finger properly on the trigger, the trigger being located further from the grip. The third variant is the Birdshead grip, similar to the pattern found on the Colt Lightning and Thunderer models.
In 1999 a limited run of 500 guns in stainless steel and 500 guns in blue with color case hardened frames were offered by Davidson's with a 3+3/4 in barrel and a shortened ejector rod and housing. These were called the "Sheriff's Model". In 2005, this barrel was added as a standard option to the catalog.
History
The Vaquero was introduced in 1993 to meet the growing demand for quality modern firearms used in the growing sport of cowboy action shootingCowboy action shooting
Cowboy Action Shooting , also known as Western Action Shooting or Single Action Shooting, is a competitive shooting sport that originated in California, USA, in the early 1980s...
.
In 2005, Ruger introduced the "New Vaquero" which incorporated a smaller frame, based on Ruger's XR-3 grip frame, making the pistol closer to the size of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver of 1873
Colt Single Action Army
The Colt Single Action Army is a single action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six metallic cartridges. It was designed for the U.S...
. The New Vaquero will accept two-piece stocks made for the Colt Single Action Army.
Calibers
- .357 Magnum.357 MagnumThe .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...
/.38 Special.38 SpecialThe .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round... - .44WCF.44-40 WinchesterThe .44-40 Winchester, also known as the .44 Winchester, the .44 WCF , and the .44 Largo was introduced in 1873 by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. It was the first centerfire metallic cartridge offered by Winchester,and was brought out as the standard chambering for the new Winchester Model...
- .44 Magnum.44 MagnumThe .44 Remington Magnum, or simply .44 Magnum, is a large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers. After introduction, it was quickly adopted for carbines and rifles...
- .45 Colt.45 ColtThe .45 Colt cartridge is a handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It began as a black powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver, but is offered as a magnum level handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as the...
The Firearms Distributor known as Davidson's offered 2 exclusive chamberings of the Vaquero with convertible cylinders:
- .357 Magnum.357 MagnumThe .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...
/9 mm Convertible - .45 Colt.45 ColtThe .45 Colt cartridge is a handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It began as a black powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver, but is offered as a magnum level handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as the...
/.45 ACP.45 ACPThe .45 ACP , also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P., is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol and eventually the M1911 pistol adopted by the United States Army in 1911.-Design and history:The U.S...
Convertible
An additional special Commemorative Edition chambered in .40 S&W
.40 S&W
The .40 S&W is a rimless pistol cartridge developed jointly by major American firearms manufacturers Winchester and Smith & Wesson. The .40 S&W was developed from the ground up as a law enforcement cartridge designed to duplicate performance of the FBI's reduced velocity 10mm cartridge which could...
was ordered by the San Diego Sheriff's Association in 2000 to celebrate the agencies 150th anniversary. The association wanted the Vaquero's to use the same caliber as their normal service weapons. The original order was placed for 500 but later was increased to 800 due to overwhelming response from the association members and alumni. Sources conflict on the reasoning but either to ensure plenty were available for members, or, due to a minimum 500 production run size limitation Ruger went on to produce an over-run of about 200 for a total of 1000 models. Some of these over-run models were taken by the SDSA members. All of the models sold to the SDSA members were embossed with the SDSA logo on the right side of the barrel and came in a special display case along with an acrylic encased badge. Approximately 125 of the extras were eventually released through select Ruger distributors in standard black plastic cases and with no SDSA logo. Most had the safety warnings on the left side of the barrel like normal Vaqueros and the original SDSA guns. However, Ruger ran out of the .40 S&W
.40 S&W
The .40 S&W is a rimless pistol cartridge developed jointly by major American firearms manufacturers Winchester and Smith & Wesson. The .40 S&W was developed from the ground up as a law enforcement cartridge designed to duplicate performance of the FBI's reduced velocity 10mm cartridge which could...
barrels before the frames and cylinders and later produced extra barrels to finish the remaining few guns, some of these were released through select distributors as late as 2009. These are referred to as "cleanup" models, something all manufacturers do as the production run of a model is winding down. On these approximately 25-30 cleanup models the warnings normally stamped into the left side of the barrel were moved to the underside of the newer barrels leaving the side clean and completely smooth. While all of these models are desirable for their unique caliber, the few that escaped without any markings on the left side of the barrel are now sought after collectables, not only for the unique caliber but for the smooth barrel that many collectors feel adds to the overall beauty of the guns.