[Kaylee]

Most particularly, will a new Vaquero hammer, with some kind of half cock notch, interchange in an old Vaquero?

What about an Old Army - provided the "nose" is ground off and the hammer face rehardened if necessary, is the hole in the hammer the right size and place for the pins the New Models use?

[Jim March]

The best experts on Old Model and Old Army parts will be found here:

http://www.rugerforum.com

I track New Model parts pretty well but I'm not confident of anything I might suspect on those series Rugers.

Somebody here MAY know, but somebody there WILL. User Flatgate in particular but many others.

[Old Fuff]

Keylee:

I got your message, and you will get an answer. But I'm in the middle of a cross country trip and house renovation project.

To make a long story short, about the only internal parts that were carried over from the "original" Rugers (those that loaded from the half-cock position, made 4 clicks, and were only safe to carry with the hammer down on an empty chamber) and the "new" models (those that have a transfer bar safety, and load from an open gate position with the hammer fully down) are some screws, basepin latch assembly, and the spring & plunger that tension the hand. The rest are entirely different. Because of the trigger and hammer design, you cannot just cut notches in the face of a "new" hammer and have it work like the "original" one.

However there is good news. You can have what you want with far less trouble and expense then would be the case in trying to convert a "new" model backwards into an "original" one. But explaining all of this will take a long post, and these days I am a slow at typing.

But ya' know, the Old Fuff is as crazy as you are, and he's been there and done that. Help is on the way. ;) :)

[Jim March]

While I can't answer for Old Model (or the similar-inside Old Army) I posted some New Model info on this at:

http://www.rugerforum.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/014003.html