help choosing a cowboy revolver

[grizz]

Decided I need a cowboy style revolver. I live in the west, I'm a redneck, I have a lever gun, but I don't have a single action only revolver. I want a model that is streamline and not bulky. I'll be using it for plinking, and SELDOMLY for SD while hiking.

What do you guys recommend for $400 or under. I'm considering Ruger, Beretta, or Colt, but that's just because those are the brands I know.

How do Beretta SA "cowboy style" revolvers compare to Rugers? My local shop had a really pretty Beretta for $400 w/ a color case blued cylinder. Is that a good price?

Oh, and I'm thinking .357 mag, just cause I like the idea of being able to shoot cheap .38 special ammo and use some warm .357 HPs for SD.

Anyway, let me know what you think. What do most of the competitive cowboy action shooters use?

 

[SASS#23149]

Ruger is american made and

very very durable.most Colt 'clones',at least the affordable ones,are Italian made.ok,but not great re: the steel used in them.Of course us cowboy shooters use/abuse 'em a bit more than the casual shooter might.
The Vaquero is used by many many cas shooters,and now there is a 'Vaquero light',aka New Vaquero that is slimmer and trimmer and about 425.00 retail.It won't take the hammerhead loads of the old Vaquero but feels much more like a Colt.
btw,Colts are a bit more than 400.00...
way,way more.

 

[Grayrock]

Look at a Taurus Gaucho. I've heard good things about them. In your budget, as well. Colt- ? Well, multiply your budget by at least 2 & ½ times- but you gotta pay if you want to play with the dancing pony.

 

[Dravur]

Cowboy guns

Well, I am a Cowboy Action shooter and here's my 2 cents. If you want a true Colt sized and weight gun, then either an AWA Longhorn or used Peacekeeper. They should set you back about 4 bills. The AWA, or American Western Arms are, IMHO, some of the nicest firing guns right out of the box. Now, these guns are NOT designed to fire full pressure handloads and should never be used that way.

If you want something that has the look and feel of the six-gun, but can handle hunting loads and can also be use to pound in tent stakes, I would suggest the Ruger Vaquero. Ruger makes these critters larger than a standard Colt. They make them out of old Mack Trucks or something as they are heavy, durable and come with a V-8 engine and an Allison transmission... They also come in different calibers.

If you want a true Colt, save your shekels. I just saw a "Used" unfired Colt for sale for only $1300.

Personally, I am happy as a clam with my AWA guns and I buy em up anywhere i see em. The Peacekeeper line has some of the nicest case hardening on the frames as I have ever seen and I own an original 1901 Gen 1 Colt.

 

[dtalley]

I am another one for the Ruger Vaquero.. I have the older Vaquero and love it. I handled the New Vaquero the other day and it is slimmer and lighter, Closer to the Colt clones, IMO. But still American Quality.

 

[cookekdjr]

Ruger Vaquero, either the old or the new style. Much higher quality than the others. I'd also consider a Blackhawk.
The best Colt "clones" are made by USFA. They have an entry-level gun that's about $500.
Really, Ruger is the way to go, though. I talked extensively with a well-respected CAS gunsmith, and he recommended the Rugers far above anything else. Every other competition gun was prone to wear out. But not the Ruger.
Just my two cents.
-David

 

[Thefabulousfink]

Not to completely thread-jack, but this goes along with the orginal poster's question. What do you think of the Uberti or Cimarron (I think they are the same) compared to the Baretta or Taurus? Ruger makes a fine gun, but I was looking for a little more traditional design.

I think this question is still along the lines of what the original poster was looking for, if not please disregard and delete.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Having fired a few different Ruger revolvers and a 3rd Generation Colt SAA, if you want something you can use a lot and not worry about which is still light and handy, find a used Ruger Old Model Blackhawk (Flattop?) with the XR-3 frame or get the New Vaquero.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the "old" Vaquero or Blackhawk line. They are solid, reliable, dependable revolvers that can take some abuse. But they are all built on the .44 Magnum frame, as far as I can tell. Great for a .44 or if you want to hotrod a .45 Colt. Bad if you like slim lines and graceful handling. Over-done for a .357. (I believe Colt has chambered the SAA in .357 without having to increase the frame size.)

The new Taurus Gaucho looks promising as well. My local supplier has one in stainless in .45 Colt with the 4 3/4" barrel for $499. I'm tempted to save my clams for one. It doesn't look any different in frame size compared to the new 3rd gen SAA on the rack. (Same barrel length and caliber, but blued and case hardened. Yours for only $1280! )

Also had a 5 1/2" New Vaquero in .357, blued and case-colored, $489.

Edited: My dream gun is a genuine Colt SAA, nickeled, with 5 1/2" barrel, in .44 Special. Ahhh... Someday...

 

[Jim March]

The FIRST question to ask is, do you want a transfer-bar-safety gun or not?

Ones without may have a slightly nicer trigger and will be more historically close to the Colt SAA of 1873. But you'd better learn how to load it "five up" and lower the hammer on the sixth (empty) cylinder bore, because otherwise it's not "drop safe".

There are now several "near clones" of the Colt SAA, similar in size, perhaps a wee bit stronger as most run slightly oversize cylinders for safety with 45LCs and possessing modern transfer bar safety systems every bit as good as any modern gun and safe for "six up" carry.

The top three are the Ruger New Vaquero, Taurus Gaucho and Beretta Stampede. The Colt "Cowboy" is to be avoided at all cost; Heritage is now importing an additional Italian gun beyond the Beretta Stampede but...unless you're on a REAL tight budget I wouldn't advise it.

Of these "transfer bar SAAs", the Ruger New Vaquero is the least functionally "Colt like" in that you do all the loading with the hammer fully down. The others need to go to half-cock like an original Colt. The Ruger system is a bit faster and safer by a miniscule fraction. The New Vaq at least lines up the loading gate on each click, which the prior 44Mag-frame Vaqs (and Blackhawks/SuperBlackhawks) didn't do.

I own a Ruger New Vaq in 357Mag and love this gun. I've even begun customizing it:

With the improved sights this gun is capable of 2" groups at 25 yards. Build quality is very, very good both cosmetically and functionally. She's tight and straight. Ruger has gone to a new "one at a time boring method" on the cylinders versus the "six at once" on previous larger-frame Vaqueros. With each cylinder bore done in sequence with the same drill bits the days of finding throat sizes varying on each bore are gone and it has improved the average accuracy...with prior Rugers you ran the risk of specimens that varied in throat size and threw flyers. (At least two one-man shops are taking people's Blackhawk/Vaq cylinders and hand-improving them.)

The sales figures for the Ruger New Vaq appear to dwarf the others and should continue to do so. The aftermarket is already bigger for the New Vaq than the others and the Ruger New Vaq shares a lot of parts with it's bigger-framed cousins as you can see from the pics of my gun (SuperBlackhawk lower-swept hammer dropped right in).

 

[grizz]

new Vaquero it is...

Well, I've decided on a New Vaquero. They seem to be well built and I don't care about historical accuracy. Good safety features outweigh authenticity for me. I want a slimmer framed revolver for plinking and carrying around my land. I already have a RSH .44 mag for hunting and bear SD in Alaska.

Anyone know of a good price for these online? I can't find a new model Vaquero at any of my gun shops here in Salt Lake.

Thanks,
Chris