Ruger Single Actions Part 2

In the early 1990s, I visited Bill Ruger and he showed me what was to be the next .45 Colt Ruger. To take advantage of the popularity of Cowboy Action Shooting at the time, Ruger decided to offer a traditionally styled New Model .45 Colt. Starting with the basic New Model Blackhawk, Ruger removed the adjustable sights, reshaped the top strap to the traditional-style with the hog wallow rear sight, replaced the ramp front sight with the traditional blade, and the result was the Ruger Vaquero. Offered in both blue and stainless steel versions as well as barrel lengths of 4 ⅝”, 5 ½”, and 7 ½”, the Vaquero became extremely popular with Cowboy Action Shooters as well as outdoorsmen who wanted a virtually indestructible .45 sixgun for heavy-duty use. The next step was simply to add the Bisley grip frame to the Vaquero, making it more comfortable with heavy loads.

More than 750,000 Vaqueros were produced before production was stopped in favor of the New Vaquero. Unfortunately, the choice of “New Vaquero” has caused all kinds of confusion, with some now dubbing the Vaquero as the “Old Model Vaquero” — there is no such thing! There is the large-framed Vaquero and the standard-framed New Vaquero. Ruger never did build a .45 Colt on their original Colt-sized Blackhawk but they have now taken a giant forward step backwards to give us a Colt-sized .45 Colt as the New Vaquero. Offered in the same finishes and barrel lengths as the original Vaquero, this one will fit holsters made for the Colt Single Action Army.

One caution: Many reloading manuals have separate .45 Colt sections with heavy loads for the .45 Ruger; these are NOT TO BE USED with the New Vaquero. The latter is for those same loads normally used in a Colt Single Action .45.