Ruger Vacquero's, do they shoot to point of aim?

buckyjames1 · Jul 9, 2014

Just bought a bisley in .357 SS 5.5inch,
Man she feels good in my hands, Hopefully the weather holds up this weekend so I can try out some loads with her.
Originally when I went to the local store, I was going to get the blackhawk in .357 SS but there is no 5.5 in ch barrels, when I actually held the bisley vs. the 4.6inch blackhawk, the Bisley won me over.
Angle of the grip and hammer felt more comfortable in my hands.

Visual inspection was good factory wise, I havent checked the gaps yet but there is a very minor rough side on one side of the trigger, looks like someone was eager to get off on a friday and left a very small tooling area along the edge, nothing i cant smooth and buff out cause I do plan on buffing her to a high shine

Need to find out what load she likes and get that POI/POA dead on. There is such a ballistics range with the .357mag that you can find the right rounds for just about any scenerio eh? very versatile round, My 686 is going to get jealous

Now for some "way too expensive" grips and leather!

semperfi71 · Jul 9, 2014

NiklasP said:
You can hear a lot of BS from SASS shooters about Ruger Vaqueros shooting low. Loads they use are pretty wimpy, using light bullets at low velocities. Many of those shooters file down front sight so that these wimpy loads shoot to POA. I would not buy such guns.
Niklas

True and not true.

I respectfully submit that years ago a friend bought two Ruger Old Model Vaqueros in .44 Magnum. They shot very low with 240 grain bullets at about 850 fps. My three Old Model Vaqueros in .44 Magnum also shot a bit low with my load of a 240 grain bullet at 1,000 fps. But since they were stainless it was not an issue, filed the sights down and polished them back to original.

However NiklasP is dead on about buying used fixed sight revolvers, especially those bought from a "competitive" SASS shooters who shot 100 grain .38 bullets at 650 fps.

I have the three Old Vaquero .44 Magnums, two Old Vaquero .45 Long Colts, and one New Vaquero .44 Special. All of them had to be adjusted for proper windage at 25 yards.

This was done by twisting the barrels (it did not take much). I have heard of bending the sights but I would not do that, it would be my luck to have the sight break.

Also, buying the stainless guns is a plus if you have to file down the front sight. It is easy to refinish back to the original stainless finish. I have never been able to cold blue a filed down blued sight and have the blue remain after a few holster "draws".

Rpg · Jul 9, 2014

The answer to OP's question is ' sort of'.

They will usually stay on the paper, at close range.

Not always at 25 yards or more.

Kind of luck of the draw.

PA Guns & Ammo · Jul 9, 2014

I have a New Model Vaquero 5.5" in stainless 45 Colt. Mine shoots low but that could be the ammo. Only put about 20 rounds through it so far. Bought it new and I like the craftsmanship. Also, if any of you guys have the stainless single action Ruger's, you can polish the ejector rod housing to match the stainless. Why Ruger polished everything else and not this part is beyond me. I used some Flitz and a Dremel with a buffing wheel. Before and after picture.

James

Erich · Jul 9, 2014

Hey, zombie thread! Cool!

My birdshead 3.75" New Vaquero .45 ACP does, pretty much, at 10 yards. These aren't particularly good groups from it, just ones I found quickly to demonstrate the point.

canoeguy · Jul 10, 2014

Now, three years after the original post, what .44 Magnum revolver did I wind up with?

A 4" Smith and Wesson 29-2.......

Found it at a pawn shop, it had been way over priced, sat for three years before they finally lowered the price. I've had it for a while now, very accurate and fun to shoot with mild cast lead hand loads and 240 grain jacketed hand loads at moderate velocities.

I carry it in a Bianchi #5 BHL thumb break holster, great trail companion.

Stirling · Jul 10, 2014

canoeguy said:
Now, three years after the original post, what .44 Magnum revolver did I wind up with?

A 4" Smith and Wesson 29-2.......

Found it at a pawn shop, it had been way over priced, sat for three years before they finally lowered the price. I've had it for a while now, very accurate and fun to shoot with mild cast lead hand loads and 240 grain jacketed hand loads at moderate velocities.

I carry it in a Bianchi #5 BHL thumb break holster, great trail companion.

LOL That is quite a surprising outcome. I like how the single actions recoil like the Super Blackhawk, I find it more comfortable. I also have a M29-2.

Ruger Vacquero's, do they shoot to point of aim?

buckyjames1

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Rpg

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