Inspecting a vaquero?

[Black Majik]

Hi everyone,

There's a Ruger .44 Bisley Vaquero that has caught my attention. I understand these guns are pretty desireable since they were discontinued.

However, I'm single action dumb, and well... admittedly revolver dumb as well. How do I inspect it? Any particular things to look for in a vaquero, such as weak points to pay specific attention to?

As always, any help would be greatly appreciated.



P.S. I did read Jim's excellent sticky on the top, but that pertains to DA revolvers.

Thank you.

 

[gb6491]

Richard,
Jim's sticky pretty much applies to single actions as well as double actions.
In addition to what he writes, I would check that the ejector housing is tight and that the ejector rod works smoothly. Also, check that the base pin does not bind and locks firmly into place.

Some nice things about the Rugers are their inherent strength and availability of parts/accessories. Speaking of parts, get one of the several spring kits available to improve the trigger or do the "Poor Boy's trigger Job"

Here are a few links you might find good reading:
http://www.curtrich.com/ruger.html
http://www.hobbygunsmith.com/Feature.htm

I am very fond of my .44 Bisley Vaquero;

Regards,
Greg

 

[ArmedBear]

It's an aesthetically smoothed-out Super Blackhawk.

Weak points?

 

[ArmedBear]

"His name is not Wild Dog any more, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."

I have a Vizsla.

In my world, Wild Dog and First Friend are not mutually exclusive. Not by a long shot.

 

[salvo]

I have noticed on magnums, if you inspect the face of the forcing cone, leading to the forcing cone, if a lot of heavy high intensity loads have been shot that area will start to erode slightly. You will need to pull the cylinder to inspect the forcing cone area on the gun, it is a lot easier to inspect on a double action.
That is the only way I know how to actually judge how much a revolver has been shot.

Here is a forcing cone that has been shot, but not much, see how sharp the edge is from the face to the forcing cone.

I wish I had a picture of a well used forcing cone, the best way to explain it is it looks eroded. a sure sign of a lot of full power loads.

Here is my 4 5/8" .44 Bisley Vaquero

 

[raveneap]

I have an original Vaquero in 44-40 that I picked up several months ago in great condition. On one of the forums someone told me that some of the early Vaquero 44-40s had a problem with throat size. Called Ruger and they said they couldn't tell from the serial number; to send it in and if any problems they'd fix. Did so and got it back looking and feeling like a new gun with a long list of stuff they'd done. No cost. Can't beat that.

 

[Black Majik]

Thanks everyone. I ended up buying it. My preliminary check seemed ok, there wasn't too much wear on it, though it didn't seem to be cleaned much at all. No dents, dings, front sight was straight, ejector worked smoothly, and the screws didn't look to be turned.

The cylinder rotated smoothly, each chamber seemed to lock up nicely. There was quite a bit of carbon build up on the forcing cone, but I'll inspect it further when I get home. I suspect it's just due to lack of cleaning.

Box, papers, and shell casings note this gun was made in 2002. Dealer wasn't willing to deal on this gun, so I picked it up "higher than normal," but that's how it goes in CA.

Fearing I won't see one like this, especially a Bisley version and in 4 5/8", I was willing to go for the asking price. Ouch

gb6491,
I was hoping you'd post, I've seen some of your posts in my short research on ruger forums. You're partly to blame from your photos.

 

[gb6491]

gb6491,
I was hoping you'd post, I've seen some of your posts in my short research on ruger forums. You're partly to blame from your photos.

Yikes, now I'm surely hoping your new BV works out for you!
There was (still ?) a guy in Orange that did real nice custom leather for single actions. The name was Creger and his shop was/is near Fowler's Gun Room, in one of the little strip malls on the west side of Tustin St. (south of Chapman Ave.).

salvo,
That's a good photo of the forcing cone . What are those lumps near the base pin hole?

Regards,
Greg

 

[Black Majik]

Interesting, I've never heard of Mr. Creger. I'll have to search up on him.

Sounds like you know your way around Socal, it was Fowlers Gunroom which I found the vaquero in. Notorious for high prices, firm too, but they do get in a lot of cool stuff which are difficult to find. Especially in California.

I'll post up a picture when I pick it up.