Well yeah, but it's inside the grip frame, not visible, and can be removed via a grip frame swap.
If the gun has been modded it may be hard to tell which it is at a glance. And at least in the 45LC caliber it matters, a lot: the New Vaq can take SAA-class loads, while the large-frame Ruger SAs (including the "Old Vaq") can cope with 44Mag horsepower (45LC+P).
While raw strength may not be the New Vaq's strong point, quality control on them is excellent by Ruger standards or any other. On average, a New Vaq is a better built gun with far fewer "bad Monday guns" seen (pieces that are "in spec" but the specs are off far enough it'll never be a good shooter without extensive work, like maybe a custom line-bored cylinder...).