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Vaquero High-Gloss Stainless Opinion


Eric R

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Howdy,

 

Cutting to the chase, I'd love to hear opinions on the high-gloss ss option for the Vaquero.  Or in other words, this finish compared to standard blued.  Reason is that I'm 95% sure my next purchase will be a 4.62" 357 Vaquero.  My Taylor's, Taylor tuned, 4.75" Cattleman in 45 Colt has won me over big time, especially for the price.  I've shot one box of 255 gr and half a 200 gr box and have a slightly hotter box of 255 gr on order.  I only do occasional slow fire shooting..at least so far.  Another Taylor tuned model was on my short list (357 or six shot 22lr) but back order status and some of what I've read has me going for the Vaquero.  Which ever finish I choose will not get frequent use and will seldom, if ever, be in a holster.  My indoor range is about a five mile drive.

 

The only knock, besides three clicks, on the Cattleman would be that it doesn't perfectly index for ejection.  Other than that it shoots straight, dead on hold for 255 gr bullets, and it has a phenomenal light trigger.  As for the finish, well...for that price I'm more than pleased.  But I've owned a Super Blackhawk decades ago and am aware of Ruger durability, thus me opting for the new Vaquero.  I'm pretty sold on blue but would like to hear from folks who shoot'm a lot.  I've a lifetime collection of pre-80 S&W double actions.  And I am on the verge of basically stopping future firearms purchases, in favor of FINALLY getting set up to re-load.  I haven't told my wife that yet.  Gonna use that to my advantage some how.  Will keep it in my back pocket for now.

 

Thanks,

Eric

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Finish looks similar to nickel-plate, but no concerns regarding flaking or holster wear.
I shot a pair of 5.5" .357 Vaqueros for the first time a week or so ago.
Picked them up from another CAShooter who had them since 1997 and they still look brand new.
Since you'll be shooting indoors, glare from sunlight shouldn't be a problem.

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Thanks PaleWolf!  That certainly says a lot that those you shot look that good after all those years.  I think I'll go online and try to pull up some pictures.  I see that the two finishes are at the same price.

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3 minutes ago, Eric R said:

Well, they look great.  I'm officially back on the fence.  Damn

 

Notice the bevel on the front of the cylinders.

 

Helps keep from gouging chunks of leather out of your holsters.

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Yes, that bevel on the cylinder face is nice.  I'm assuming a custom job.  I guess as for finish, a little Flitz now and then can keep it shiny smooth.  And unlike nickel, don't have to worry about wearing off the finish.

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Sir 

 

 I HAD a brace of high gloss pistols , I could NOT shoot them due to the glare 

 

 good thing one of the girls liked em , other wise I would have lost a bunch of $$$ on em 

 

 try a set , in the sun , before ya buy em , I will admit , I did NOT do that before I laid down the cash 

 

 Chickasaw 

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19 minutes ago, Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 said:

Sir 

 

 I HAD a brace of high gloss pistols , I could NOT shoot them due to the glare 

 

 good thing one of the girls liked em , other wise I would have lost a bunch of $$$ on em 

 

 try a set , in the sun , before ya buy em , I will admit , I did NOT do that before I laid down the cash 

 

 Chickasaw 

Thanks for the insight Bill.  I'm only 59 but I wear trifocals.  When I shoot, I remove my prescriptions and opt for clear safety glasses.  That is the best I can do to keep a clear focus on my front sight.  Any glare would not be good.

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1 minute ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

The biggest down side, is finding the sights when shooting outdoors.

May need some black paint to help that.

OLG

 

Most of the targets around here are painted black. 

 

Get some sure hit sights or gold paint.

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I have a pair that I bought used. The original owner got them bright and shiny and attempted to shoot them for the first time at a 2 day outdoor match with plenty of sunshine. That night after the match he removed the high gloss shine with scotch brite. Seems the glare off the barrels was blinding and he couldn't see the front sight.

 

I think they look great and with the dull finish shooting in the direct sun is no longer a problem.

 

Some shooters have the tops of the barrels bead blasted to reduce the glare.

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Since most cowboy shooters point shoot glare isn’t a problem for most. But if you are doing slow fire for accuracy it could be problematic. My pair of old model 45 Colts with 7.5” barrels have never hindered my point shooting gunfighter style.

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You can have them bead blasted and if later you don’t care for that you can polish them back to bright stainless.

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I have several pair, all gloss.  The sun has never been a problem and I occasionally look for the front sight, but most times do not.

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after seeing palewolfs brace of revolvers i changed my general comments - i like them and appreciate that they would be easy clean with black , i always have seen high polish and those look a bit less shiny to me - my stainless is satin finish , 

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I have three pair of polished stainless New Vaquero Bisleys. Never a problem seeing the sights (mine are painted gold). Never noticed any glare to be honest. 

 

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Howdy

 

When the stainless Vaqueros first came out they had a matte finish. But Ruger soon realized that a high polish finish resembled the nickel plating that was common on revolvers in the 19th Century. So they went with the high gloss finish ever since. I suspect that a high gloss finish may be a bit less labor intensive than putting a matte finish on them.

 

I shot this pair of Stainless 'original model' Vaqueros for the first few years in CAS. Yes, the glare was sometimes a bit bright, but I kept a black Sharpie in my ammo box to apply to the rear surface of the front sight for sunny days. Don't remember being bothered too much by the glare.

 

By the way, this pair still comes to every match as backups to my Colts. Never know when a flat spring is going to let go. So far I have needed the backups twice, knock on wood.

 

stainlessvaqueros.jpg

 

 

 

 

Interestingly enough, Smith and Wesson finished more of their revolvers with nickel plating than blue during the 19th Century. The blues in use at the time were not as robust as modern blues and would wear off fairly quickly.

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31 minutes ago, Church Key, SASS # 33713 said:

I've shot stainless Ruger Vaquero's for 20+ years and have never noticed a glare problem. I use the front sight looking through the rear notch and the barrel is not visible for me at all.  

 

^ What he said.  (Not quite 20 years though.)  The only modification I've made with regard to appearance is to add Sure Hit Sights.  They make the front sights jump out at you even in low light conditions.

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16 hours ago, The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 said:

I like em because they can get some wear and I can just polish em right back up again, shiny and new.

I like shiny

The other advantage is to be able to simply flush them with spray carburetor cleaner to clear out crud that accumulates down in the hammer plunger area.  But always remove the grips first.  

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It all depends on your 'druthers. I'd 'druther have blue steel and brown wood. I've got a pair of OMV 38-40/40SW in SS because that's all Ruger had in 38-40 at the time. I'd gone to the Dark Side. Didn't want Blackhawks. I had contacted a couple of companies to have then coated like blue. Then "bingo" ,,,,,,, get a pair of OMV .357's and have them bored out to 38-40. Did that ,,,, semi-retired the SS ones, then went to Colts. Out of all my guns ,,,, cowboy, military ,,, and others ,,, those are the only two "shiny" guns in my safe. Just don't care for "shiny" guns. " 'druthers"

Just sayin,

Isom

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I don't want the rust potential of blued, so I opted for stainless a very long time ago.
We have 3 pair of stainless single-action, and three stainless double action.

Our solitary blued revolver is a 1992 single-six Bisley.
The Stoeger Coach I bought expressly in blue, because I didn't want the potential problems of plated nickel or plated stainless finishes.
My 870 Wingmaster is blue, cuz that is the only way they were sold in 1982.

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Keep in mind also that "blued" can mean a number of different things.  Look carefully.  My wife's factory Single Sixes have blued barrels, upper frames and cylinders, but the lower frame is painted.  There are now a lot of painted bluing jobs out there.  With SS, you at least know what you are buying.  

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I appreciate all of the comments.  In all my years of online forums I can count the number of gun related sites w/ good folks on one hand, and this is surely one of them.  Even though I'm not yet into cowboy action shooting I'm grateful that I could be a guest here.  As for the Vaquero, I pulled the trigger yesterday on the 357 with 4.62" barrel, blued with rosewood grips.  That's just my preference I guess.  I can't wait to shoot it.

 

I am still thrilled with my Taylor tuned Uberti 45 but have high expectations for my Ruger.

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I love my stainless Rugers so much I bought another pair in 45 Colt.

 

Many folks use Slick Magic wrap around brass sights to give contrast.

 

Lastly, might I suggest getting a prescription for 'computer glasses' which are focused at just the right distance for your sights.  That's what I use shooting, and they're good for working on the computer too.

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11 minutes ago, Grizzly Dave said:

Lastly, might I suggest getting a prescription for 'computer glasses' which are focused at just the right distance for your sights.  That's what I use shooting, and they're good for working on the computer too.


I'm in the computer business, and have a set of bifocals as described above.
The close D-spot is keyboard distance, the far (main) is at screen distance.
These work PERFECT for shooting revolvers and rifles.

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