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Ruger Vaquero

• easy
• Shop tier 1
• high confidence
• Revolver
• revolver
• single action
• loading gate
• transfer bar
• cowboy action
• traditional styling

field strip ~2 min · reassembly ~3 min · detail strip ~25 min

Specifications

Model-specific safety

• A single-action revolver is loaded and unloaded one chamber at a time through the loading gate. There is no swing-out cylinder and no ejector star — index each chamber and check it individually.
• New Model Rugers have a transfer bar safety and are designed to be carried with all chambers loaded. Old Model Rugers (pre-1973, three screws in the frame) do not, and should be carried with an empty chamber under the hammer. Count the screws before you assume which you have.
• On New Models, opening the loading gate frees the cylinder to rotate. That is the intended design.
• Never remove, replace, or carry a loaded cylinder that is not installed in a revolver. The cartridges can fire if their primers are struck.

Under spring tension

• Base pin latch spring
• Mainspring
• Loading gate detent spring

Easily lost parts

Base pin · Base pin latch and spring · Cylinder

Tools

No tools required for the field strip.

Shop difficulty

Shop tier 1 Tier 1 — easy among revolvers, for the full job: strip to the parts that get coated and put it back together working. New Model coil-spring lockwork with fixed sights (51 pieces); described as not difficult. Extra small traps are the cylinder rotation-stop detent and spring set by a tiny screw in the hammer channel, plus the usual pawl plunger, grip-frame springs and loading gate.

Parts: 50 numbered parts (Current (New) Vaquero, 2005 on; the original large-frame Vaquero is not covered (50 line items)), from Instruction Manual for the Ruger Vaquero Revolver (PM170) — Sturm, Ruger & Co., p. 29 ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com [4].

Bench time: about 25 min to strip, 40 min to rebuild (estimate). Estimated for an experienced tech: cylinder, ejector housing, base pin latch, grip frame, lockwork and gate out of the cylinder frame. Rebuild is longer for the pawl spring/plunger, the two springs between grip frame and frame, the loading gate and the transfer bar, then a function check.

Small parts: 11 pins, 5 springs, 6 detents or plungers (counted from the manufacturer's parts list (one per key number unless a quantity is given))

What comes off for coating

• Cylinder, ejector and base pin: base pin and cylinder, ejector housing with compressed ejector spring and rod, base pin latch, nut and spring — jaw-protected pliers
• Grip frame: grip panels, mainspring assembly (captured on its strut), grip frame / trigger guard screws and grip frame, trigger spring, trigger spring pivot and retaining pins, cylinder latch spring plunger and spring — pin or nail to capture the mainspring, fitted hollow-ground screwdrivers
• Cylinder frame: hammer pivot and hammer with pawl, pawl spring and plunger, trigger pivot, trigger and transfer bar, cylinder latch, loading gate and gate detent spring, firing pin, rebound spring and recoil plate cross pin (if the frame is stripped bare), front sight blade (fixed-sight model; rear notch is in the frame) — small pin punches

Special tools

• Fitted hollow-ground screwdrivers — Grip-frame, ejector housing and base pin latch screws
• Jaw-protected pliers — Holding the base pin latch nut while the latch is unscrewed (Ruger manual)
• Pin, nail or paper clip — Capturing the mainspring on its strut
• Small pin punches — Hammer, trigger and spring pivot pins

Known pain points

• Owners describe the New Vaquero strip as not difficult, done with knowledge of the parts. (both)
  Owners report: Ruger New Vaquero Disassembly — Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS City) forum cascity.com [7] — “It's not difficult....quite a few folks reference this page for the Ruger....”
• The pawl spring and plunger must go back in the right way round, plunger in and spring out. (reassembly)
  Owners report: Ruger New Vaquero Disassembly — Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS City) forum cascity.com [7] — “# 45 - Pawl Spring and Plunger assembly...make sure when you put the gun back together to get the plunger in and spring out.”
• The latch spring has to be compressed off the trigger pin and the loading-gate spring pops out of place on reassembly. (both)
  Owners report: Ruger New Vaquero Disassembly — Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS City) forum cascity.com [7] — “getting the latch spring to release from the trigger pin was a chore...”
• The New Vaquero adds a spring-loaded cylinder rotation-stop detent held by a small set screw in the hammer channel. (both)
  Owners report: No clicks heard when rotating cylinder on brand new NMV — Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS City) forum cascity.com [8] — “if you cock the hammer and look in the hammer channel on the lower left side you can see the allen screw that holds the detent and spring in.”
• Aligning the grip frame to the cylinder frame without displacing the two springs that sit between them is touchy. (reassembly)
  Owners report: Ruger New Vaquero Disassembly — Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS City) forum cascity.com [7] — “it took me for ever to get the handle and the gun lined up with out damaging the springs that fit between them, there are 2 one by the hammer, one by the trigger touchy and easy to pop out of place”

Fit or check on rebuild

• Cylinder rotates and locks in each chamber, trigger returns, loading gate opens and closes normally — Ruger’s own post-reassembly check for the single actions.
  Source: Instruction Manual for Ruger New Model Blackhawk Single-Action Revolvers — Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com [2] — “Check to be sure that the cylinder rotates and locks correctly, that the trigger returns in a positive manner when released, and that the loading gate opens and closes normally.”
• Transfer bar moves freely and the hammer cannot reach the firing pin with the trigger forward — A pinched transfer bar stops trigger return; this is the New Model safety.
  Source: Blackhawk Trigger Return Issue Help? — 24hourcampfire 24hourcampfire.com [9] — “The transfer bar is a prime candidate because it links directly to the trigger. Look hard at both sides of it, where it should travel freely in the frame.”
• Base pin fully seated and latched; base pin latch nut tight — A pin that is not home walks forward under recoil (entry commonIssues).
• Ejector housing screw re-threadlocked (non-permanent) — Ruger installs it with thread locker and asks for it to be reapplied.
  Source: Instruction Manual for Ruger Wrangler Single-Action Revolvers — Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com [3] — “NOTE: The ejector housing screw is installed with a thread-locking adhesive.”

This is Pew-Takedown's rating, not the manufacturer's. How tiers are rated. Forum reports are owners' experience, not specifications.

Manufacturer videos

Official videos from Sturm, Ruger & Co.'s own channels, linked rather than copied. Where a video and the steps on this page differ, follow the manufacturer's manual and video.

• Ruger® Single Action Revolver Disassembly Tech Tip RugerFirearms field strip · 2021-11-19
  Covers: Ruger single-action revolvers (generic Ruger video); assumed to cover the Vaquero / New Vaquero
• Ruger® Single Action Revolver Reassembly Tech Tip RugerFirearms reassembly · 2021-11-19
  Covers: Ruger single-action revolvers (generic Ruger video); assumed to cover the Vaquero / New Vaquero
• Ruger® Single Action Revolver Cleaning Tech Tip RugerFirearms cleaning · 2021-11-19
  Covers: Ruger single-action revolvers (generic Ruger video); assumed to cover the Vaquero / New Vaquero
• Ruger® Single Action Revolver Cylinder Removal Tech Tip RugerFirearms field strip · 2021-11-19
  Covers: Any Ruger Single Action revolver (per the description)

Procedures

Patent drawings

not under copyright

Drawings from US patents on this design. A patent shows the invention as the inventor filed it; the firearm that shipped can differ in detail, and later production often does. Use them to see how the parts relate, not as a parts reference or a procedure. Per the USPTO, the text and drawings of a patent are typically not subject to copyright; each patent here was checked for a copyright notice.

US Patent 6,928,763 — Firearm cylinder indexing mechanism

Joseph J. Zajk, Jeffrey R. Cornish · assigned to Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. · filed 2003-09-15 · granted 2005-08-16. Full patent (USPTO)

The Vaquero's cylinder, frame, pawl, loading gate and the cylinder indexing stop pin.

Why this is the Ruger Vaquero’s patent: listed on the maker’s patent-marking page — Ruger Patents — Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. ruger.com [6]: “Ruger Vaquero® 6,928,763”

Torque specifications

No sourced torque values from the manufacturer are recorded for this firearm. Where a fastener has a specified torque — action screws, scope bases, muzzle devices, barrel nuts — get it from the manufacturer or a gunsmith rather than estimating it.

What the manufacturer does say: The manufacturer's documents give no torque value. They say: "NOTE: The ejector housing screw is installed with a thread-locking adhesive. If the screw is removed it is recommended that a non-permanent thread-locking adhesive be reapplied to the screw." (Instruction Manual for the Ruger Vaquero Revolver (PM170), PDF p. 20)

Materials and factory finish

As stated by Sturm, Ruger & Co.. Prep, masking and cure depend on these; a polymer or aluminium part, a nitrided or anodised finish, and a blued steel part are each a different job. Variants with other finishes may exist — check the maker's page for the exact SKU on the bench.

Parts list

Transcribed from the manufacturer's parts list (Instruction Manual for the Ruger Vaquero Revolver (PM170) — Sturm, Ruger & Co., p. 29 ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com [4]) — Current (New) Vaquero, 2005 on. The original large-frame Vaquero (1993–2005) differs and is not covered by this list. Exploded view on p. 30. Key numbers refer to the exploded view in that document.

Function check

• Verify every chamber is empty before each check.
• Cock the hammer and confirm the cylinder indexes and locks at each chamber.
• With the hammer cocked, confirm the cylinder is locked with minimal rotational play.
• Press the trigger and confirm a clean hammer fall.
• With the hammer down, press forward on the hammer. On a New Model the transfer bar should prevent the firing pin from being struck.
• Open the loading gate and confirm the cylinder rotates freely and the hammer cannot be cocked.
• Confirm the base pin is fully seated and latched.

Maintenance

Lubrication points

• Base pin
• Cylinder bore where it rides on the base pin
• Hammer and trigger pivots
• Loading gate pivot

Cleaning notes

Clean the base pin and the cylinder centre hole — fouling there is the usual reason a single-action cylinder drags.

Suggested inspection interval: roughly every 1000 rounds. This is a general guideline, not a manufacturer specification.

Wear parts to inspect

Base pin latch spring · Cylinder stop · Pawl (hand) · Firing pin

Common issues

Similar manual of arms

• Ruger New Model Single-Six

Sourcing