The Rugers are generally functional straight out of the box. The old, bigger frame Vaquero was kind of clunky, but strong as an ox. The New Vaquero is svelter, and not quite so overbuilt.
As for the Italian guns, there are lots of importers, like Cimmaron, Taylor's, Navy, etc. There are only two actual manufacturers, though, Uberti and Pietta. Each of the importers sometimes specs different finishes, or setup options, but they all come from the same two factories. They are much closer replicas of the original guns than are Rugers, but sometimes this means "Flaws and all." They've got all flat springs, which can be prone to breakage if the gun isn't tuned right. Speaking of tuning, if you're going to shoot it much at all, you'd be well advised to have a good cowboy smith go over it, as the Italian guns usually aren't very well fitted or finished internally. To overcome the roughness, they generally run springs that are far too heavy. The combination of ill fitting and finished parts with excess spring weight makes for a gun that'll wear itself out in short order, if not corrected.
Once the finishing that used to get done at the factory, (back when labor was cheap and machining was expensive, and these guns were designed) is done, the Italian guns make dandy shooters. Keep the pressures to what you'd use in an original, and they'll give good service.
