That is great! My mom gave me a single shot 20 gauge with a six inch split in the barrel, she meant well :D.

Have always had a thing with lever guns. Maybe it's all of the westerns I watched as a kid. :D

Hindsight, wish I had gotten my New Vaquero in .38/357 instead of 45LC.

Then again, it's a good reason to start reloading my own.

And no reason I can't still find another, still space in the gun safe. (The only safe space I care about)

Oh, and lesson learned, practice the quick draws and fancy tricks over a thick carpet. I've dropped mine more than once but no dings yet.

I'm a Ruger wheel gun fan and anything in .357 is great... having the .38 option for range time is nice as well. And if you are a fan of lever action there are some nice pistol caliber (.357) carbines that are quite enjoyable.

I've also eyeballed the Coonan but haven't taken the plunge.

Me too
 

So do I, most of them are in the pic. I did not discover the Rifles till I was an adult, then I could not get enough of them. 30-30, 38-55, 32-40, 25-35 and .32 , 1/2 RND 1/2 OCT. barrel all MDL 94's. All kinds of configurations.

Attachment 36096

:lifter

Okay, the Vaquero is not a modern day Colt. It is a highly improved single action. Stainless steel, coil spring, floating pin, etc. Much more robust than Col. Colt’s design. I have been shooting a pair of them in 45 Colt in Cowboy Matches for 20 years. An old Sheriff’s model and a newer model with a 4 3/4” bbl. They are tough And their companion is a Marlin CB94. No need to pair a modern design Vaquero with a 66 or 73 Winchester at all. Now if you were shooting for instance a Uberti Single Action Army clone and wanted to be historically correct that would be another matter.
I do shoot an 1860 Henry in 44-40 for fun. Very accurate but pretty heavy. Looks like I won’t get much shooting done in the future though. Our club just lost the range.

Holster for my Ruger
 

I could have easily bought a really nice custom holster, I was amazed at how reasonably priced they are. Decided to make my own. This is my second effort, my first one is practical but not very polished. My stitching needs improvement but overall I am pleased with this one. The cartridge belt is a work in progress.

Attachment 36173

You a leftie? :D Nice work.

I want a good Cowboy pistol and rig to wear when we go up to Tombstone for lunch. I like to fit in. ;)

I agree completely on the mechanics of the design. Poofy loads are one thing, but my 3-1/2" also regulary throws 275gr. hardcast 'Keith' SWC's in front of a stout load of 2400. The old SAA doesn't like a diet like that.

Sorry to hear about the range, truly. One of the 2 I'm a member at (the nearest one naturally) is temporarily closed as a battle is fought with the RR. The range has been there since before the Army Air Corps adopted a monoplane, and the railroad brought a holding spur up nearby a few years ago for the sand mine and one of their employees doesn't "feel safe" occasionally. The fight goes on; it's another way they attack.

@cbtengr That is REALLY nice work. :lifter

Thank you! I am what one might call semi ambidextrous, I shoot and bowl left handed. I learned early in my Army life that the M16 was not designed for us lefties and brass deflectors were not always an option, that brass has a tendency to get kind of hot.

And thank you Badger!

Our son is left eye dominant. He was ambidextrous until some time in elementary school where he settled on righthandedness. Not sure why. I told him it was a great skill to have along the lines of "two is one, one is none" thinking.

Still, he shoots long guns, including his M-16/M-4s, left handed and handguns right handed using his left eye. His personal AR is a Del-Ton like mine and tosses the brass forward at about 2 o'clock. I actually put a small box at that position and it easily collects the brass for me.

+1 As with many things they can still be learned later. I still throw right but the ability (with lots of work) to switch hit used to help our tavern league ball team drink the other's beer for quite awhile. ('Course I wasn't all bent & dented as I am now.) :cool:

Color me schooled - I did not realize there were notable differences with the Vaquero. I always thought it was just Ruger doing a 'repro' of the SAA.
It sounds like the Vaquero is more of a Blackhawk with a cowboy makeover than SAA built to withstand modern ammo.

I shoot an Uberti Cattleman with a brass trigger guard and back strap (two matching Ubertis actually) to match my Model-66.

I'd really like to find some period correct SAA pistols chambered in 44-40 and a Model-73 to use for "Classic Cowboy" but it seems like every time I find a pistol chambered in 44-40 is priced waaaaaaaay outside of my recreational gun budget.
...and I need TWO of them

You're assumption about the Vaquero's construction is correct; it's the reason you can run Keith-like 45 Colt loads through it.

For awhile on a whim I had an Uberti SAA rendering in 44 Winchester Central (or Center depending upon which early notes one sees) Fire and a matching Model 92 carbine. Slight PITA loading, taking care of the brass, but it was a real hoot and checked my little kid box, having a sixgun and carbine both in the same caliber. Had to tweak the extraction/ejection functions on the Model 92 so as not to beat up my brass so bad, but after I did it ran like a turpentined cat. Took a big doe with that carbine too come to think of it... Good enough for the Duke.