Yeah, all of the Ruger "mid frames" introduced since 2004 have been gems. The 50th 357 is mechanically the same as a New Vaquero in 357, but with adjustable sights. Grips are the same as a NewVaq.
Quality control on the mid-frames has been exception by any production gun standards and some of the best guns Ruger has made in years.
While the mid-frame 357s are technically "weaker" than their large-frame cousins like your old Blackhawk (built on the large "44magnum-class" frame), average out-of-the-box accuracy in the mid-frames is better.
They're also not "weak". The cylinder in the mid-frame 357s is beefier than that of the Ruger GP100 or S&W L-frame, and the action on the NewVaq/50th357 is stronger than anything DA. So it can cope with an unlimited diet of the nastiest 357 factory fodder available. These mid-frame Rugers are probably at least as tough as any N-Frame S&W 357.
When handloading the large-frame Ruger 357s, if you know what you're doing you can squeeze out a bit more performance versus the mid-frame but that's getting into edgy pressure levels and not really safe...you get to a point where tiny increases in powder lead to huge spikes in pressure.
I went with the NewVaq357 and then radically modified the sights. I also threw a SuperBlackhawk hammer on mine that will also fit the 50th 357 (as will a slightly modified Bisley hammer), did a free-spin which is abnormally simple in the mid-frames (see note below), put a spring kit in myself as well.
The mid-frames have a keylock underneath the grip panels. Unlike S&W and Taurus there are ZERO reports of it accidentally engaging and it does no harm at all to trigger feel. It can be removed but most people don't bother, myself included...and mine is my daily carry CCW piece.
To free-spin the mid-frames (NewVaq, Montado, 50th 357 and the new 44Spl):
Unload it, cock it, look at the rear underneath the hammer. There's a small set-screw facing forward (towards the muzzle) underneath the transfer bar. You can get to it with a small hex key without removing anything else - it helps if you have ball-end hex wrenches but some have reported success with straight hex keys. Remove the set-screw, the spring underneath it and the plunger underneath the spring. This converts the gun to free-spin with the loading gate open, and removes almost all of the "clicking noises" as you spin the cylinder with the loading gate open, sort of a "stealth reloading effect". If you don't like it, the plunger/spring/set-screw can be put back in any time you want. You don't even have to pull the cylinder, let alone strip the grip frame and action assemblies down.
What else...hammers, triggers and grip frames from the larger series can be bolted in. Barrel threads are the same as large-frame Rugers, helping reduce costs on caliber conversions. Belt Mountain has mid-frame base pins - specify your gun when ordering as the length is different from the large-frames.
The modern reproduction "micro" rear sight on the 50th Anniversary guns and the new 44Spl has received favorable impressions. Which is good because swapping to a Bowen "Rough Country" or target rear sight might be possible but fitting will be annoying at a minimum and might look funky if it's possible at all...the rear sight channel is different from most other Rugers (SA or DA).