Bring back the
Old Army!! I have coveted a pair of them short barreled Ruger Old Armies in SS ever since I saw Howdy's. Beautiful and reliable revolvers, iff'n
you remember to put bullets in them.
In 1993, when CAS and I were younger than we are now, and the Vaquero had just showed up on the market, I decided that it was the game for me, so my dear old dad, rest his soul, and I went out to the local gun store, and I bought myself a Vaquero. It was a polished stainless beauty with a 7 1/2" barrel, and I decided that I was most likely the fastest gun alive! I bought a cheesy rig, and went plinking a couple of times. Then, sadly, life got in the way, the Vaquero went in the drawer, and didn't think much about it for most of the rest of the decade.
In 2001 the time had finally come for me to start shooting some steel with that dear old revolver, so I hauled her out of the drawer again. By this time I had bought a companion for her and my father-in-law, Martin Riley, leatherworker extraordinaire, had provided me with a gorgeous, silver mounted, two-gun rig. I looked good. No one knew then that I was about as slow as molasses in the winter. I approached the line and when the buzzer sounded, I drew. Every single time I cocked that first Vaquero, the timing missed and the cylinder ended up halfway between the next two chambers! It was a nightmare. The revolver would cycle adequately when plinking, and taking my time to cycle it successfully, but, when cocked aggressively, it would absolutely not work.
So, nine years after I bought the original revolver, I packed it up and shipped it back to Ruger. Within a week and a half, they shipped it back to me, and it was pristine! The put a new cylinder in it, marked with compatible numbers and sent it back. Best customer service EVER!