Dustinthewind
Member
I recently purchased a Ruger Vaquero with a 3 3/4 barell and Birdshead grips. My question is how do you tell a Vaquero from the New Vaquero?
Ruger Vaquero
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Gator
Member
The New Vaqueros are a lot smaller than the Vaqueros and the model names are stamped on the frame.
Dustinthewind
Member
Gator,
Thanks for the info. I guess mine is a plain Vaquero. I didn't know about the New Vaquero until I had already purchased this gun and after reading about them I was concearned about having to seperate out all the .45 Blackhawk loads as the New Vaquero is said to be weaker.
Thanks for the info. I guess mine is a plain Vaquero. I didn't know about the New Vaquero until I had already purchased this gun and after reading about them I was concearned about having to seperate out all the .45 Blackhawk loads as the New Vaquero is said to be weaker.
Gator
Member
The Vaqueros (original models) are just as strong as the Blackhawks 
Jim March
Member
If the Bird's Head grips are factory, it's a large-frame.
A small special run of short-barrel New Vaqs have shipped, but none with BH grips. They could be retro-fitted to a New Vaq.
The good news is, your gun is stronger than a New Vaq. You may want to slug the bores though - in some cases they came out uneven. There's a number of gunsmiths doing cheap re-finishing of them, and because you only send in the cylinder shipping isn't bad.
A small special run of short-barrel New Vaqs have shipped, but none with BH grips. They could be retro-fitted to a New Vaq.
The good news is, your gun is stronger than a New Vaq. You may want to slug the bores though - in some cases they came out uneven. There's a number of gunsmiths doing cheap re-finishing of them, and because you only send in the cylinder shipping isn't bad.
Lone_Gunman
Member
The New Vaqueros also have an internal lock.
Jim March
Member
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...).
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...).
SwampWolf
Member
While the "new" Vaqueros are indeed smaller than the originals, I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're a "lot" smaller.Dimensionally, the latest Vaquero variant is very close to the original Colts.
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