Just picked up a used Ruger Vaquero .44 mag for a song.
Every now and then, I get a reward for living right.
This baby is sweet. Absolutely mint condition. I haven’t taken it to the range yet, but the action is glass-smooth, and there’s not a hint of wear, nick, or rust on this thing.
If the snow isn’t terrible this weekend, I’m going to put about four boxes of .44 through it, if my hand can stand it… I shoot .357 regularly, so this shouldn’t be too bad.
Woo hoo!
It’s nice having a new toy, isn’t it?
I’m still getting to the range as often as I can justify to continue breaking in my 1911.
Ooooooooooo. The Vaquero is such a nice design.
It is a nice looking piece, very “old westish.”
Ruger is simply an outstanding manufacturer overall. I’ve got their M77 in a 22-250 and the Ruger #1 in a 7 mag. I’m so sold on each that I seriously doubt I’ll ever purchase a rifle of any other make.
I’m a big Ruger fan as well. They are simply solid, well-built pieces of machinery.
I’ve got a Ruger #1 also, in 7mm… I was invited to go moose-hunting and all I had was my .223 – fine for deer, but I think it would just irritate a moose, so I bought the #1, and then the trip fell through.
On the handgun side, I have their P89DC - 9mm; the P90DC – same frame as the 9mm but in .45 ACP; and the GP100, the .357 I mentioned above.
Could not be happier with them.
In fact, the only non-Ruger handguns I own are a little Makarov .380 carry piece (in case I get into a shootout inside a small elevator) and the S&W .500, in case I’m mugged by a finback whale.
Really? Wow, that’s a pretty strong endorsement. Because there are some other manufacturers of really good rifles out there. The Browning A-bolt Medallions are quite nice. And the Sako 75’s (which are imported and distributed to the U.S. by Beretta now, I believe) are really nice, too - if a bit pricey compared to the Brownings and some of the Rugers. The Sako 75 Grey Wolf is an absolutely, spectacularly beautiful firearm - not that I have one of those bad boys, but I’ve shot one owned by a guy at my club.
http://www.berettausa.com/product/rifles/series_page.cfm?currentseries=36
And although my heart belongs to Ruger, there ARE some other strong manufacturers out there. I had at one time a Weatherby Mark V Ultramark in 300 WbyMag. This was a work of art.
Although I think it was made in Japan, which always struck me as kind of funny since I have never associated Japan with firearms engineering… rather blind of me, considering the history of the middle part of last century, but there you have it.
I still have a Savage Model 110. This is not a work of art; it is, quite frankly, ugly. But if utility is to be considered, this thing is Botticelli’s Venus – it is strong, reliable, and accurate.
That’s strictly my own take on how well they’ve served me and no condemnation of other makes, of which I’m not spectacularly well versed. I’ve had some experience with Remmingtons and Winchesters and have never shot a Weatherby. It’s just that my Rugers are easy to maintain, comfortable to operate and, most importantly, deadly accurate. I’m 7 for 7 shots with big game, all dropping within a few feet of where they were hit, and a line that delivers that kind of performance is one I’ll continue to be a patron of.
You guys that have more widespread, firsthand knowledge of other brands shouldn’t read anything more into my patronage than that of a very satisfied and, therefore, loyal customer.
I’m the same with Baretta for shotguns and Baretta and S&W for pistols… just catering to what I know that’s happened to exceed expectations.
Gotcha. And were my experiences similar to yours, I suppose my feelings might be the same. I guess I wasn’t aware of the extent and overwhelmingly positive results you’ve experienced.
I’m with you on the Beretta shotguns. Although I do like the Browning Citoris, too. My old man occasionally loans me his Beretta 682 E Trap Combo. Friggin’ Ray Charles could shoot with that thing - despite being blind and dead.
My Browning Buckmark Target SE was made in Japan, a place I, too, have never automatically associated with firearms manufacture. But it is one sweet shooting little (well, it ain’t really so little, I guess, at 36 oz. unloaded) pistol.
.44 special, man. One box of .44 magnum, 3 boxes of .44 special.
My dad bought a Ruger revolver off a buddy of his, a .357 IIRC. It had brass frame grips and was fairly collectable. I contacted the Ruger factory with the serial number and they confirmed it was an original brass grip framed gun (dad figured it was original, the guy he bought it from had shot six shells from the only box of ammo he’d ever purchased, he got the box of ammo as well). They sent him a letter stating that his gun left the factory just as it is now. Great folks.
I got on the Ruger forum and asked around and those guys told me everything I could ever want to know about it, including an auction on Ebay with some Ruger gun boxes for the model and period, and as it turned out the exact model.
I got him a box for his birthday, like $45 for a dang box, but he got the gun for several hundred dollars less than market value and the box only enhanced that.
I don’t think he’s ever fired it.
As for Beretta shotguns, I have a pair of BL4s. One is IC/M and I can’t remember what the other is. I only shoot the IC/M, it was my first shotgun other than a single shot 410. Dad bought it for himself but never liked it, so he gave it to me when I was about 9. It’s about the only shotgun I’ve ever used and I can shoot it like it was part of my body. The second one I got when a guy owed me money. It’s in nice shape, but it’s never been out of storage since.
You gotta wonder what the second place name for this gun was. And the slogan.
“One squeeze and she explodes.”
Heh. You guys never let me down. I knew there’d be a clit joke coming.