BlackEagle
Blackhawk
Is there anybody other me that wishes they would make a real Old Model Vaquero? I think a case colored .44 magnum three screw Vaquero would be the nicest revolver anywhere.
Three Screw Vaquero
- Thread starter BlackEagle
- Start date
Driftwood Johnson
Blackhawk
Howdy
Not gonna happen. Ruger will never abandon the New Model design with the transfer bar. They put up with too many lawsuits back in the three screw days and will not go back.
Not gonna happen. Ruger will never abandon the New Model design with the transfer bar. They put up with too many lawsuits back in the three screw days and will not go back.
Bucks Owin
Hunter
Yep, sad but true.... Buy them fine OM's while you can is my view....Driftwood Johnson":19ftbdpd said:
flatgate
Hawkeye
I've handled one. Joe Bowman used them for years and years prior to the release of the Vaquero then the New Vaquero.
Of course, they were NOT Factory done.......
flatgate
Of course, they were NOT Factory done.......
flatgate
yessir, we too have seen Joes guns , as welll as others that were 'redone' into Vaquero ( really Colt SAA) type, welded up, and grooved along the top strap.........plated, color casd, etc, alll are really neat ,BUT to us, they looked more like Colts....... :roll:
DGW1949
Hawkeye
Want a Colterized 3-Screw Ruger?....here's your guy;
http://cas-town.com/WestFargoGunsmith/index.html
Not only does he know more about Ruger SA's than anyone on the planet, he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever talk to. I can't say enough good things about him.
DGW
http://cas-town.com/WestFargoGunsmith/index.html
Not only does he know more about Ruger SA's than anyone on the planet, he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever talk to. I can't say enough good things about him.
DGW
DGW1949":6814pzgv said:
Well Now DGW. Alan Harton built up 17 of Joe Bowman's guns so he knows a wee bit about them ole 3 screws. :roll:
Jfmcco If you got the money and want one bad. Alan will make one for ya.
I came close to it a few times :lol:
Jim
flatgate":1i8tatl8 said:
Joe did not use Vaqueros in his act. He had them there to show and sell. But used the old 3 screws and flattops that were made into Vaqueros.
Joe would tell you that the 357 flattops and OMs were the best six gun for his use and CAS Ruger ever built.
Jim
Hashknife Hartley
Single-Sixer
Yeah, I think the Old Model Ruger made into a Vaquero is the best CAS gun going. Here's my set, after having one set of Colts in .45, and a set of Italian Clones in .44 Special. They're in .44 Special, have Old Army steel grip frames, steel ERH's and Lett grips. The front gun is another .44 Special OM.
They were done by Wes Flowers that DGW1949 mentioned, but I don't think he's doing them anymore.
Bob James drilled me a set of cylinders in 44-40 to go with them so now I have a set of convertibles. They are a handful with a full load of KIK2F powder. Here's a shot of the business end of the cylinders with 44-40's in them.
With Wes Flowers not doing them now, I'd go to Alan Harton as mentioned by Wyandot Jim.
HH
They were done by Wes Flowers that DGW1949 mentioned, but I don't think he's doing them anymore.
Bob James drilled me a set of cylinders in 44-40 to go with them so now I have a set of convertibles. They are a handful with a full load of KIK2F powder. Here's a shot of the business end of the cylinders with 44-40's in them.
With Wes Flowers not doing them now, I'd go to Alan Harton as mentioned by Wyandot Jim.
HH
OP
BlackEagle
Blackhawk
Thanks for sharing. I might need to start looking for some project guns...Has anyone heard of anyone making a three screw Ruger out of a new model? Can it be done?
flatgate
Hawkeye
I swear Joe was holding New Vaqueros. I hate to say this but this image is probably one of the last of Joe.......
May he Rest in Peace at that great big "Gun Show" in Heaven!
flatgate
flatgate":11eyjzc8 said:
I swear Joe was holding New Vaqueros. I hate to say this but this image is probably one of the last of Joe.......
May he Rest in Peace at that great big "Gun Show" in Heaven!
flatgate
flatgate,
He could have been carrying them around. Remember he was promoting them for Ruger. All the shows I saw him in he used the OMs.
His last show was last years SASS End Of Trail. He died in his sleep in Junction Texas on his way back from there.
Good picture of him. He did a good show for someone that was 84. He had slowed down a bit but not much.
Notice the hammers are cocked and not tie wraped. I assume this is a gun show. Only Joe could get by with that. He did the same at the Houston Gun shows.
Jim
OP
BlackEagle
Blackhawk
Great picture. Thanks for sharing. Is that a buckskin shirt? I suppose he probably did that leather work himself, eh?! It's pretty hard not to look up to that guy. He seems to have lived a very full life.
flatgate
Hawkeye
Wyandot Jim":585j6aeo said:
NRA Show in Phoenix about a year ago.
Here's Joe and John Dougan signing posters and books at the SR&Co. booth!
flatgate
DGW1949":2xhchjp1 said:
Sorry to advise that I have been unable to reach Wes. Have left multiple messages over the past 8 months and he's not returned my calls. I have been told that he has experienced some serious health conditions. BTW, I have known Wes for more than thirty years..........
DeletedMember275
Hunter
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2002
- Messages
- 2,759
IIRC, Hamilton Bowen was working on a Vaquero-ized Blackhawk of some persuasion when I visited a week or so ago. I'm sure he could make many, many more, New or Old.
chet15
Hawkeye
jfmcco":3flrmzt8 said:
You know, I mentioned that very thing to an individual with Ruger a few months ago...not just any individual but one that actually has quite a bit of "pull" within the company. But it wasn't a Vaquero I mentioned, but an entire series of three-screw SA's.
Think about this for just a second...Ruger already converts their OM SA's made from 1953 to 1972 at the factory and ships them back out to the customer. I asked why not make a three-screw SA and send it brand new from the factory with the transfer bar??? :shock:
So there should be no "lawyer" problems with re-introducing a 3 screw with the transfer bar "improvement....Ruger has been sending "converted" guns from their factory for over 25 years now.
What would be important though would be that Ruger's engineer's give it the traditional "click-clock" sound of the Old Model...the sound of a "robust" and quality manufactured firearm. Add the reverse indexing pawl if they need to in order to give it the correct number of clicks when pulling the hammer back. That is what makes so many people fond of the OM...the sound of the action.
And....there aren't too many gun enthusiasts out there who don't know what an Old Model is. I am an ardent supporter of Ruger doing everything they can to "sell their history" and producing a 3-screw Ruger SA again would absolutely send shockwaves throught the industry. If S&W can advertise and sell "throwback" DA models, why can't Ruger do the same thing? There must me $ in it or S&W wouldn't be doing it.
A three-screw new model may prove to be so popular that the two-pin New Model series may have to go by the wayside.
And...it would again revive the SA market, make all the shareholders extremely happy and would help to put Pine Tree Castings back where it used to be...since that part of the business has consistently been sliding downward for the past few years.
Chet15
Hashknife Hartley
Single-Sixer
Yeah, Wes has had some really bad health problems starting about 8 years or so, plus lost his exceptionally nice wife a couple years ago. Just about the time I sent him the above Rugers to work on (I had contacted Joe to see if he would do them) he had a major stroke that affected him for over a year. Soon as he could start working again he worked on my guns and got them done. Then, his leg that had been severely injured in an auto accident many years ago started tio give him problems and that culminated in him having to have it taken off almost two years ago. Even through all these problems he continued to work as he could and get peoples Rugers done. He's still doing action work mostly, with action jobs, short stroke guns and work like that, but major stuff like making a vaquero is out. I think he gets so much work from cowboy shooters and fast draw for action work that it's all he can do, plus he probably can make more $'s just doing that kind of work; it's faster. He was at Winter Range in Phoenix in late February and doing OK, had his booth set up doing work and attending the fast draw event. He's a great guy and tough as nails and will probably continue to work on Rugers till he kicks the bucket and lets hope that's a long time away.
HH
HH
