Dach Savage
Bearcat
This is a large frame Vaquero in .45 Colt (aka .45 Long Colt) that I purchased NIB from a lgs many years ago. Made in 1994, it is the one that was produced with "color case hardening" on the frame and had the faux mop grips. Took it to the range and shot 6 rounds out of it. Nice gun, great shooter but I whined about the cost of ammo and vowed to get the dies to reload .45 Colt before shooting it much more. Cleaned it, put it in the safe and there it sat for too long while I was busy with life. Took it out a few years ago and much to my chagrin the color case on the frame had, for lack of a better term "faded". It was still there and had the blue/grey mottled background but most of the beautiful red/gold/brown that I so love about color case hardening was gone! Whoa. To say I was pissed would be an understatement! Decided to find someone that could properly color case or reblue the gun; Renwaxed it up and put it back in the safe and forgot about it. A few years ago I was recounting this story to a friend who said "Why not send it back to Ruger for the re-blue"? Frankly it never occured to me as I had heard that Ruger had cut back on their custom shop and besides while I bought it NIB I bought it from a lgs that had gotten in a collection of NIB stuff from an estate. Anyway, figured "what the heck" and gave Ruger a call. I told the rep my tale of woe and the rep said she needed to check on it, put me on hold for a few minutes. Came back and told me that they did not offer the "color case" finish any longer but could do a complete re-blue. Whoo hoo! Pulled out my credit card, got the shipping instructions and the rep said that when the gun was processed that the gunsmith would call me to discuss the work before it was started. Cool. About 2 weeks later I got a call from the Ruger gunsmith and we discussed a complete re-blue, fitting a Bisley hammer and trigger, Wilson spring kit and an action and trigger job as I had developed severe arthritis and it was a bit awkward to cock. He told me that it required modification to the Bisley hammer which he was not allowed to do; however he could fit a lower Super Blackhawk hammer and smooth trigger, action and trigger job and put in a set of Wilson (made for Ruger) lighter springs. I also asked if the alloy ejector rod housing could be replaced with a steel one and a nice set of smooth wood grips to replace the mop grips. He said the parts were getting scarce but if he could find them he would add them to the order. He was an older fellow that said he had been with Ruger "forever" and that he knew just what I needed and he would fix me up. Seemed quite pleased to do so as well. Well a month or so later I got a nice brown box from Ruger, opened it and my jaw dropped. This did not look like the same gun I sent it; the bluing is astonishing (probably from the stripping and re-polishing - whoever did the polishing knew what he was doing) and it is a beautiful blue / black more akin to the old colts. The action is glass smooth, the trigger perfect - a crisp, light (probably 3-4 lbs). The ejector rod housing was replaced and the grips are not fancy but very nice, just like I like them. Put it back in the safe to await the next range outing; before that could happen I had a major heart attack with complications. Feeling pretty good now but have realized that I likely won't be shooting this gun much if at all in the future so have decided to see if anyone else wants to be the next caretaker. To sum it up, its a 1994 dated Vaquero large frame .45 Colt that has had 6 rounds shot thru it, factory re-blued and factory customized with a Super Blackhawk hammer and smooth trigger, action and trigger job with Wilson/Ruger springs, steel ejector rod housing and smooth wood (walnut or rosewood?) grips. I am looking to get $1,500 for it and I will cover CONUS shipping to your FFL. I will knock off a few bucks if picked up in person (my preference anyway), I will be attending the next few Crossroads of the West shows in AZ if you wish to meet. BTW, I will take junk silver either fed or can in trade for this as well as Biden biscuits (for now).
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