Ruger Single Actions Part 2
Evertyhing Old is New Again
A Bisley Vaquero tuned and embellished by Bill Oglesby.
The New Model Blackhawk now had three-screws in the side of the frame with two pins and a transfer bar safety was added. Now, to charge the Ruger, the loading gate was opened while the hammer was left in its forward position. The cylinder could be rotated and safely loaded with six rounds and then the loading gate closed. There was now a piece of steel between the hammer and the firing pin preventing any negligent discharge. When the hammer on a New Model is cocked, the bar slides down out of the way and, when the hammer drops by pulling the trigger, the cartridge fires. I was not enamored with the New Model at its advent and I still prefer the Three-Screw Rugers. However, in retrospect I realize this was a needed improvement, especially for the newer generation of shooters who were not familiar with how a traditional single-action should be safely carried.
The New Model .45 Colt was offered in the same barrel lengths as the original and was soon joined by the excellent Bisley Model Blackhawk. The Bisley Ruger grip frame is patterned after the old Colt Bisley somewhat but is actually more like an enlarged version of Elmer Keith’s Number Five. For most shooters, the Bisley grip frame, which comes up higher along the backstrap, does a much better job of handling heavy recoil than any other grip frame. Ruger has only offered the .45 Bisley, except for special distributor orders, in a blued 7 ½ version. Normally I prefer the 7 ½” barrel on most single actions, but on the Bisley I prefer the balance of a 5 ½” barrel so mine has been trimmed back by sixgunsmith Ben Forkin and also fancied up a bit with a case hardened frame. It is an absolutely beautiful and great shooting Perfect Packin’ Pistol.
Targets shot with Ruger’s 7 ½" Old Model .45 Colt.
Perfect Packin’ Pistols — Ruger .45 Colt Bisley-style.
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.
The .45 New Vaquero is available in three barrel lengths.
The Ruger Vaquero has been a favorite of mine, especially in a 7 ½” stainless steel version, since it first arrived over 30 years ago. It will handle any loads I normally put in a Ruger .45 Colt Blackhawk. I don’t use these heavy loads as much anymore so my original Vaqueros have been pretty much supplanted by the New Vaquero. Whether with a 4 ⅝”, 5 ½”, or 7 ½” barrel, my stainless steel New Vaqueros are regularly fed 260-grain hard cast Keith bullets over 8.0–8.5 grains of Unique or Universal for right around 850–950 fps depending upon barrel length. The New Vaquero is just about as perfect a fixed-sighted single action for outdoor use as can be found. It is safely loaded with six rounds, shoots easily and accurately — and just to prove once again gun designers like to go to the edge of perfection and then step back, we have that weird funky New Vaquero hammer. Surely someone was on something when they designed this thing! Apparently it was thought by lengthening the hammer spur it would be easier to cock; actually just the opposite is true and it is flat out ugly. My New Vaquero hammers have either been shortened or replaced with standard hammers. They look better and are much easier to operate.
The original .357 Magnum Blackhawk was to have been produced in .44 Special; that never happened. However, the New Vaquero in addition to being offered in .45 Colt is also now offered in a special edition chambered in .44 Special. How cool is that?
