RugerMen
Member
I currently have a Ruger P95 Stainless, but wanting to get a revolver. I was looking at the Ruger Vaquero 5/12" stainless 45. Anyone have any experience with this gun or opinions?
Need a Revolver
- Thread starter RugerMen
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2 qustions. what do you want to do with it and do you reload? ruger single actions are my favorite gun to shoot but not as pratical for home defense or carry. also thr 45 colt factory ammo is very expensive. that said i reload and 45 is my favorite caliber. i would recommend the original vaquero over the new model since it is built on the larger frame and can handle a larger load
Lawdawg45
Member
To give you a recommendation I need to have an idea of what you'll be using it for, hunting, plinking, self defense? The Vaquero is a great gun, it's transfer bar allows you to safely carry that 6th round (something the Colt and Colt clones can't do), but the old model Vaquero will handle the hottest ammo out there. If you're thinking of hunting/plinking, then the Blackhawk with adjustable sights might be the better choice. Either gun in .45 colt is a formidable self defense weapon and can be carried concealed with ease.
LD45
LD45
Since you have a P95, have you considered a .357/9mm convertible Blackhawk?
Or the .357 stainless Vaquero which would fire .38 special?
Unless you are hand loading, .45 Colt can get expensive quick, not to mention recoil can be stiff. The new Vaquero's are pretty light in .45 Colt.
Maybe find an older Vaquero with a little more heft.
Or the .357 stainless Vaquero which would fire .38 special?
Unless you are hand loading, .45 Colt can get expensive quick, not to mention recoil can be stiff. The new Vaquero's are pretty light in .45 Colt.
Maybe find an older Vaquero with a little more heft.
RugerMen
Member
I was going to use it as my carry.
Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
Really?
Well, you don't hear that every day!
Are you used to shooting single-action revolvers in a "practical" setting? Are you fast, efficient, and confident with getting shots on target with the 19th century way of drawing and putting multiple hits on target? If not, by all means go ahead and get the gun, but I wouldn't use it for concealed carry.
With greatest respect, carrying a defensive sidearm isn't a game and being in a lethal force encounter -- generally summarized as up close, personal, bad-breath distance, in the dark, 3-shots/3-feet/3-seconds -- is not the setting to enjoy your Victorian-era replica six gun.
UNLESS that's the gun that you shoot fastest and most accurately in all the world.
If it isn't the gun you most believe you will actually carry and can make those "3-3-3" type hits with, stick to something more compact, (dare I say it?) higher capacity, easier to use, easier to reload, easier to use quickly with one hand if need be.
They sure are cool guns, but if you're carrying a defensive weapon and the choices are between these two -- I'd take the P95 every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
MachIVshooter
Member
If I were going to carry a SA revolver, it'd be this:
a 5" or 5.5" hogleg is too dang long.
BCRider
Member
If the dangers in your area are feral or pedatory four legged animals or snakes then sure, why not.
But if the dangers are more in the shape of two legged upright animals with knives or their own guns I'd suggest that Sam's reply is good food for thought.
But if the dangers are more in the shape of two legged upright animals with knives or their own guns I'd suggest that Sam's reply is good food for thought.
corpsmanup!
Member
I did for a while but decided if I ever had to use it I wasn't willing to lose my revolver to an evidence locker and/or theft. I don't think it's unwise to carry it- you just have to practice with it until it's like breathing. Would anyone here take on Clint smith with a S/A? I also think 6 rounds of .45 colt should solve any two legged predator issue- if not you should have had a long gun to begin with. Just my .02
Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
Yup. Practice with it until it's like breathing.
But if you still draw and shoot the P95 faster/more accurately when you're all practiced up, carry the P95. Defensive carry isn't about getting to spend quality time with your cool toy -- pick the tool with which you can handle the job most effectively.
Dnaltrop
Member
SA Carry is a big decision, and certainly a bit more work than any DA pistol.
As someone who occasionally carries a 5" barrel Schofield replica, it's not the easiest to conceal, even at 6'5"
If you're serious about having a SAA clone as your EDC, go with a shorter barrel, a high quality holster, and spend a few weeks in your living room drawing and cocking the hammer in a single fluid movement, then practice both single hand, and 2 hand hammer work.
I'll be trying to finangle a cavalry style holster out of an old boot, i'll try to get the angle right and see if i can manage an IWB with a flap. out of the other boot.
The one MachIV posted the pic of would be in the right vein of an ideal CCW SA. I'm just ornery and don't mind my huge gun.
As someone who occasionally carries a 5" barrel Schofield replica, it's not the easiest to conceal, even at 6'5"
If you're serious about having a SAA clone as your EDC, go with a shorter barrel, a high quality holster, and spend a few weeks in your living room drawing and cocking the hammer in a single fluid movement, then practice both single hand, and 2 hand hammer work.
I'll be trying to finangle a cavalry style holster out of an old boot, i'll try to get the angle right and see if i can manage an IWB with a flap. out of the other boot.
The one MachIV posted the pic of would be in the right vein of an ideal CCW SA. I'm just ornery and don't mind my huge gun.
corpsmanup!
Member
I'd also like to add- Mr.Keith could have carried a 1911 with faster follow up shots and larger magazine capacity, and his ability with a six gun was superb; but his choice of daily carry was a D/A S&W, for faster follow up shots.
If one does not yet own own an SA sixgun, it is far too early to think about such a weapon as a carry gun. The limitation of an SA sixgun is that it requires more manipulation than a DA sixgun; more manipulation per shot to shoot it, and far more manipulation at reload time. I give full credit to Clint Smith for the "more manipulation" phrase; I consider "more manipulation" and "less manipulation" to be Clint-isms.
To borrow a term from another well-known instructor, Travis Haley, in reference to fighting with weapons, "Time is life." While he has never, to my knowledge, addressed SA sixguns, he has applied "time is life" to many aspects of the defensive use of other handguns and rifles.
Manipulation. Time.
That first shot is so very important. A highly experienced SA sixgunner can
draw and fire the first accurate shot as fast as anyone can draw and fire an accurate shot with any handgun. After at first shot, however, various sciences are against the SA sixgunner firing follow-up shots as fast as his counterparts
can fire other weapons, because more manipulation is required per shot. In a
real fight, there may be time for those manipulations, or there may not. The
SA sixgunner may be cool enough to perform those manipulations smoothly, or
he may fumble.
Then, of course, there is reload time. I am a believer in carrying multiple handguns, for several reasons, but assuming one is going to carry just one firearm, at reload time, there is no getting around the fact that the SA sixgun requires far more manipulation, during the fight, per cartridge, at reload time. Most fights will be over before a reload is becomes necessary, but as the auto-loading weapon becomes the norm among more of the populace, and the population demographics change, that equation is changing. The fight will be what reality dictates it to be, not what one fantasizes ahead of time that it will be.
To borrow a term from another well-known instructor, Travis Haley, in reference to fighting with weapons, "Time is life." While he has never, to my knowledge, addressed SA sixguns, he has applied "time is life" to many aspects of the defensive use of other handguns and rifles.
Manipulation. Time.
That first shot is so very important. A highly experienced SA sixgunner can
draw and fire the first accurate shot as fast as anyone can draw and fire an accurate shot with any handgun. After at first shot, however, various sciences are against the SA sixgunner firing follow-up shots as fast as his counterparts
can fire other weapons, because more manipulation is required per shot. In a
real fight, there may be time for those manipulations, or there may not. The
SA sixgunner may be cool enough to perform those manipulations smoothly, or
he may fumble.
Then, of course, there is reload time. I am a believer in carrying multiple handguns, for several reasons, but assuming one is going to carry just one firearm, at reload time, there is no getting around the fact that the SA sixgun requires far more manipulation, during the fight, per cartridge, at reload time. Most fights will be over before a reload is becomes necessary, but as the auto-loading weapon becomes the norm among more of the populace, and the population demographics change, that equation is changing. The fight will be what reality dictates it to be, not what one fantasizes ahead of time that it will be.
To continue a bit, I may indeed, eventually use an SA sixgun for SOME carry. My formerly stronger right hand is afflicted with chronic conditions, though thankfully, my more dextrous and skillful left hand is still OK. I have long been a lefty with skilled tasks, and a "righty" with large, gross movements. As a result, I have long tended to shoot different firearms with different results with the different hands. With DA revolvers and autos, I have tended to perform better with the right hand. With some autos, and SA sixguns, I have tended to perform better lefty, with SAA-sized SA sixguns being a very good fit for my left hand, resulting in superb pointability.
I can envision myself, after retirement, carrying an SA sixgun holstered for left-hand access, and one of my 24/7/365.25 SP101 revolvers in my usual 0300 carry location. I do usually carry two handguns now, with bilateral access in mind, but because I work for a PD that expects me, at all times, to only engage bad guys with authorized weapons, my carry guns are DA revolvers, and autoloaders, per policy.
I can envision myself, after retirement, carrying an SA sixgun holstered for left-hand access, and one of my 24/7/365.25 SP101 revolvers in my usual 0300 carry location. I do usually carry two handguns now, with bilateral access in mind, but because I work for a PD that expects me, at all times, to only engage bad guys with authorized weapons, my carry guns are DA revolvers, and autoloaders, per policy.
Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
Somehow, I don't think you've grasped the point. Even if it WAS the best gun ever made, it may not be very suitable for THIS task.
Again, IF it is the gun with which you are fastest out of the holster, fastest to the first shot, fastest on follow-up shots, and most accurate with VERY quickly paced shots -- THEN maybe it's the right gun to carry for defensive purposes.
If you draw your gun against another human being, you are in a fight for your life. And that fight will be intense, brutal, and over in scant seconds. It is not a game or a whim. It is not a place for specialty guns you happen to think are "cool" or interesting. There is no such thing as "good enough." The best you can possibly do is all that is acceptable, and may not be enough with the most facile and effective of weapons.
You may have "no problem" with carrying one. And that's just fine, so far. Hopefully, you'll never have need to reach for it. If that's the case, then it IS just fine.
But it might not be just fine for someone else, someone who might actually need that gun someday, especially someone who is new to both revolvers and (especially) the antiquated style ones.
We have lots (and LOTS) of gun owners and gun carriers who live by the assumption that the first rule of a gunfight (have A gun) is really the whole enchilada. We don't want to encourage any more folks to strap on guns that they don't have the skill-set to use effectively.
bigggbbruce
Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2011
- Messages
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The 3/3/3 rule is what most will encounter... Someone that is going to do you harm will usually do so by surprise.. SA revolver would be my last choice for SD...
SA 1911 in Condition 1.. better choice...
357 snubby SA/DA back up for 1911... get 'er done...
SA 1911 in Condition 1.. better choice...
357 snubby SA/DA back up for 1911... get 'er done...
The thing to remember with SA revolvers is that instead of trigger management being the primary skill, as with most firearms, the paramount concern with the SA sixgun is hammer management. The SAA and its replicas, in fact, do NOT even need a trigger in order to function! One who is experienced with other firearms will have to learn to think differently when using an SA sixgun.
I do not have time to elaborate right now, as it is time to clean-up and dress for work. Pull out your copies of _Sixguns by Keith_, and read the section on slip guns. SA six gunning is all about hammer management.
I do not have time to elaborate right now, as it is time to clean-up and dress for work. Pull out your copies of _Sixguns by Keith_, and read the section on slip guns. SA six gunning is all about hammer management.
Scipio Africanus
Member
Carry what you are best with. If you wanna carry something else, get so good with it, that you would bet your life on, not only the tool, but your skill with it.
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Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
Oh, it certainly is!
So is an arquebus. All still lethal in trained hands. Neither probably the best choice for most shooters today.
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