Speaking of wish-listable Rugers

[Totem Polar]

This .357 is pretty:

https://ruger.com/products/vaqueroBlued/specSheets/5165.html


https://ruger.com/productImages/5165/detail/3.jpg

[JHC]

That is cool. What are bird's head grips like in handling, recoil etc? I've got just a couple hundred rounds with SA revo's, a standard Blackhawk. I parted with it dumbly before I got the hang of it.

[HeavyDuty]

I have a 5152 (the .45 ACP stainless birdshead Vaq) and I find the handling to be superb. I can see getting the stainless version of this one, just because.

[JonInWA]

Other than the admittedly attractive aesthetics the birdshead grip possesses, are there any real, quantifiable advantages for it versus the traditional plowhandle grip configuration? Are such advantages (if any) caliber dependant (or caliber sensitive)? Genuinely curious. My initial thoughts is that the birdshead configuration would be most applicable to lighter-recoiling cartridges/caliber, but what do the more knowledgeable and experienced say?

Best, Jon

[HeavyDuty]

I like how the birdshead rolls under recoil.

[Dave T]

Admitting that I don't get out much and am not a follower of Ruger's offerings, is a color case finish on their single actions now an option they offer?

If the gun pictured was available as a 7-shot 32 Mag I just might have to buy one...and I don't like new model Rugers at all.

Dave

[oregon45]

The surface treatment on that gun is the same type of "case coloring" Ruger has offered for about the past 25 years in the Vaquero line. It is not a true bone charcoal color case hardening, but instead is a chemical coloring process that does not increase surface hardness, and wears similar to ordinary bluing.

[oregon45]

That is cool. What are bird's head grips like in handling, recoil etc? I've got just a couple hundred rounds with SA revo's, a standard Blackhawk. I parted with it dumbly before I got the hang of it.

I've found the birdshead to be more difficult to control than the plow-handle grip frames; it tends to shift in my hand under recoil. The hammer pictured on that gun also is not ideal for use with the birdshead grip because the hammer spur is fairly high, and likely would require you to break your grip to thumb it back with your strong-side thumb if shooting one-handed--unless you have long thumbs. A Super Blackhawk or, even better, a Bisley hammer solves that because both have much lower hammer spurs. This is a non-issue if shooting two-handed because you can just cock the gun with your support-hand thumb.

[HeavyDuty]

The faux case colors are attractive, but I’ll take the durability and scrubability of stainless...

[revolvergeek]

Other than the admittedly attractive aesthetics the birdshead grip possesses, are there any real, quantifiable advantages for it versus the traditional plowhandle grip configuration? Are such advantages (if any) caliber dependant (or caliber sensitive)? Genuinely curious. My initial thoughts is that the birdshead configuration would be most applicable to lighter-recoiling cartridges/caliber, but what do the more knowledgeable and experienced say?

Best, Jon

It conceals better because no sharp pointed corner at the heal of the grip. Personally I find that something like a modified Bisley grip works best. I find the birdshead rolls more than the others, which may or may not appeal to you.

[Tennessee Jed]

That sure is pretty. For what it's worth, I once had a pair of Vaqueros with this type of Ruger case coloring. After a while and a fair number of draws from leather holsters, the case coloring started to wear off a little bit, like Ruger's normal bluing.

[fatdog]

Those Ruger birds head versions with the shorter barrels were designed for the mounted CAS game. Most of the people shooting those things feed them a diet of sawdust blanks and bust balloons. They seem to be the rule more than the exception for female competitors for whatever reason.

I had a pair of the .45LC versions a few years back and found them a tiny bit slower and harder to manage in recoil even with light loads. Not terrible, but in a game where speed is everything they were not working as well as full size grips. For me it was the same with the Ruger version of the Bisley grip guns, not as fast for me running it with respect to recoil management and shot to shot recovery.

That said, they are beautiful guns and if somebody is not playing SASS (they are not legal for the NCOWS branch of CAS, another reason I sold mine) they are not bad guns, and are not unpleasant to shoot. I was tempted to keep one of mine in the collection as a fun gun, but the person I sold too really wanted the pair.

[HeavyDuty]

I’ll just leave my non-CAS .45 ACP woods carry gun here...

https://pistol-forum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=60298&d=1599933525

[Tennessee Jed]

I’ll just leave my non-CAS .45 ACP woods carry gun here...

https://pistol-forum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=60298&d=1599933525

That is beautiful. Are those fixed sights close to point of impact with 45 acp?

[HeavyDuty]

That is beautiful. Are those fixed sights close to point of impact with 45 acp?

Yep! I lucked out, they are well regulated for me using both 230g ball and Gold Dots.

[Duelist]

That sure is pretty. For what it's worth, I once had a pair of Vaqueros with this type of Ruger case coloring. After a while and a fair number of draws from leather holsters, the case coloring started to wear off a little bit, like Ruger's normal bluing.

IIRC, that’s an applied finish, not true case coloring. Not that case coloring won’t wear, but it should be a different kind of wear than an applied finish wearing off.

[DueSpada]

I'm under the impression that the bird's head is for stealth. Cutting away the bottom rear of the plowshare makes for a smoother drape of the covering garment.



Other than the admittedly attractive aesthetics the birdshead grip possesses, are there any real, quantifiable advantages for it versus the traditional plowhandle grip configuration? Are such advantages (if any) caliber dependant (or caliber sensitive)? Genuinely curious. My initial thoughts is that the birdshead configuration would be most applicable to lighter-recoiling cartridges/caliber, but what do the more knowledgeable and experienced say?

Best, Jon

[Hambo]

I’ll just leave my non-CAS .45 ACP woods carry gun here...

https://pistol-forum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=60298&d=1599933525

You guys kill me with these. Eventually I'll find a deal on one, and then you bastards better get Tony Mayer to make a holster so I can carry "Old Lucky" along with a 9mm.

[fatdog]

One of my fantasy guns would be one like Heavy Duty's with and updated DA lockwork, a modernized Thunderer or 1878.

[Dave T]

One of my fantasy guns would be one like Heavy Duty's with and updated DA lockwork, a modernized Thunderer or 1878.

fatdog,

That would be KOOL! I'd probably have to buy one of those as it would solve my problem with NM Rugers. (smiley face goes here)

Dave

[Totem Polar]

One of my fantasy guns would be one like Heavy Duty's with and updated DA lockwork, a modernized Thunderer or 1878.

Dude, if Ruger made an updated (reliable) “lightning” in .38spec, I’d grab one to get my inner John Wesley on so fast it would make the credit card swiper throw sparks.

[JAD]

...get my inner John Wesley on...

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201114/dd30e249eb4454a1bfea8412024f8184.jpg

[Totem Polar]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201114/dd30e249eb4454a1bfea8412024f8184.jpg

LOL!

Well, the guy I was thinking of was the son of a Methodist preacher, so there is that.

[jtcarm]

Those Ruger birds head versions with the shorter barrels were designed for the mounted CAS game. Most of the people shooting those things feed them a diet of sawdust blanks and bust balloons. They seem to be the rule more than the exception for female competitors for whatever reason.

I had a pair of the .45LC versions a few years back and found them a tiny bit slower and harder to manage in recoil even with light loads. Not terrible, but in a game where speed is everything they were not working as well as full size grips. For me it was the same with the Ruger version of the Bisley grip guns, not as fast for me running it with respect to recoil management and shot to shot recovery.

That said, they are beautiful guns and if somebody is not playing SASS (they are not legal for the NCOWS branch of CAS, another reason I sold mine) they are not bad guns, and are not unpleasant to shoot. I was tempted to keep one of mine in the collection as a fun gun, but the person I sold too really wanted the pair.

Ruger grip frames peaked with the XR3.

[Dave T]

Ruger grip frames peaked with the XR3.

Spoken (typed) like an old SAA shooter. (smiley face goes here)

Dave

[11B10]

You guys kill me with these. Eventually I'll find a deal on one, and then you bastards better get Tony Mayer to make a holster so I can carry "Old Lucky" along with a 9mm.



A bit of a drift here (my specialty): I just bought and finished reading the linked book. For anyone who's a fan of the Old West, Texas, and most importantly, Frank Hamer, this book is a must:

https://www.amazon.com/Texas-Ranger-Frank-Killed-Bonnie/dp/125006998X




A further drift is the last book I finished: "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" by Lynne Black. A great, first person account, retold in the best page turning way. I could not put it down.

https://www.amazon.com/Whisky-Tango-Foxtrot-Lynne-Black/dp/1463797796/ref=sr_1_2?crid=32AWART7V7MGB&dchild=1&keywords=whiskey+tango+foxtrot&qid=1605540247&s=books&sprefix=whiskey%2Cstripbooks%2C184&sr=1-2

[jtcarm]

Spoken (typed) like an old SAA shooter. (smiley face goes here)

Dave

My handle on the Ruger forum is “ThreeScrew”.

You may be familiar with the 3-4-5 method of making a square. It’s also how I select SA revolvers:
3 screws in the frame.
4 clicks of the hammer.
5 beans in the wheel.

[Dave T]

My handle on the Ruger forum is “ThreeScrew”.

You may be familiar with the 3-4-5 method of making a square. It’s also how I select SA revolvers:
3 screws in the frame.
4 clicks of the hammer.
5 beans in the wheel.

I like that! Any chance I can borrow it?

Dave