Finish and barrel length for new Vaquero?

S

sundance43.5

New member
I'm considering buying a .45lc vaquero for fun and light/short distance hunting, i.e. raccoon, coyote, etc. I am unsure of the barrel length, but I was leaning towards 4 5/8 in. or 5.5. I'm more for the 4 5/8, as that was the preferred length of shootists. Also, I don't know whether I want case hardened or stainless finish.

This raises another question, was there a bright stainless type of finish back in the Old West? I know stainless is not a finish, so don't jump on that please.:)

Thanks in advance!
 
IMHO the "case colors" look fakey.

The stainless is real bright, and almost resembles a nickeled gun.

The 4 5/8 inch SS Vaqueros are beautiful guns that handle nicely.

If you scratch it up, you can use Flitz on it, and it's just like new.
 
The balance on the .44/.45 bore Vaqueros with 4.6" barrels is just lovely.

I found it very interesting to compare "heft issues" with such a piece versus one of the rare 3.5" barrel "Sheriff's model" .357s. The guns were identical other than caliber and tube length - "heft in the hand" was 100% *identical*.

.357 Ruger SAs are heavier because of thicker barrel and cylinder walls.
 
I chose the 5/5" Bisley Vaquero 45 Colt. I'm amazed at the accuracy with that blade sight! At 50 feet, it shoots into one hole. The Bisley grip fits my hand perfectly. I considered the stainless model, but I didn't like the shine. It looks like those toy sixguns they used to sell at K Mart. Who cares if the case hardening isn't real??
 
Hmmmm

If you are going to do the "full dress cowboy shootin'", then I would suggest the 'color case-hardended' finish. Since I am not a cowboy action shooter, I really like the glossy stainless on my Vaquero. (Short-barrel "Sheriff's Model" 357)
 
I managed to procure a matched pair of case-colored .357 Vaqueros with 5.5 inch barrels with consecutive serial numbers. These are the guns I plan to use in CAS. Personally, I seem to across the board shoot the 5.5 inch guns a shade better than the 4.6 inch guns (eyes, I guess). My thoughts were on character for CAS. Figuring on being the 19th century equivalent of Joe SixPack instead of being Clint Eastwood, I figured my character would not likely have nickeled guns, and would not likely have the "Shootist's" barrel length. As a working cowboy, I figured I'd more likely have a 5.5 or 7.5 inch blued gun. I picked .357 because I like the caliber, shoot it better, it's cheaper, and Wild Bill Hickok was satisfied with .36 caliber so I can be too. <g> I really do like the 4.6 and Sheriff's models though. I'm waiting for Ruger to offer a .357 Bird's Head Sheriff's Model. That one I'll get in stainless.
 
There was a special run of .357 Sheriff's model Vaqueros with the regular grip. They turn up on auctionarms, gunbroker, gunsamerica and the like pretty often.

You could swap grips to the Qualitas bird's-head.
 
Thanks, Jim. That's a good idea. I know a dealer not too far away who has (or had) a regular plow-handled .357 Sheriff's Model. The last few months I've been kinda pre-occupied with older SW Model 10s and 15s. Maybe if he still has the Sheriff's I'll try to work something out and swap the grips. I'm pretty sure that Ruger will offer a run of them at some point. But, Ruger is a bit hard to predict sometimes :D .
 
It's now pretty much confirmed that Ruger bought their grip *frames* from Qualitas. The panels are micarta, but a slightly different grind than the Qualitas panels done by Hogue. But you can put Ruger factory panels on a Qualitas frame...it would be possible to whip up an interesting "fake" this way :), a gun that looks factory but ain't.
 
i find the ruger colours "fakey" too when compared to the colts or even the italians. i prefer the stainless, as the bright polish looks very much like nickel.

i personal favorite barrel lenght is the 5.5" for visual balance. i seem to remember, possibly even from old hollywood westerns, that the "pistolero" lenght was 7.5"...they were so fast that they could pull that hawgleg as fast as you could pull your 4.75" :rolleyes:
 
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