Ruger Vaquero Bisley Single-Action Centerfire Revolver

Ruger expands its single-action centerfire revolver family with the Vaquero Bisley, available in .357 Magnum and .45 Colt. Editor J. Scott Rupp tested the .357 Mag.

February 09, 2024 By J. Scott Rupp

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Bill Ruger and his company single-handedly revived the single-action revolver in the mid-1950s with the Single-Six rimfire and centerfire Blackhawk. Both were huge successes with hunters and shooters who appreciated the nostalgia of the Old West and guns that mimicked the Colt Single Action Army.

One of the more recent and coolest outgrowths of Ruger’s single-action family is the Vaquero Bisley, which is available in .357 Magnum and .45 Colt. With its high-gloss stainless finish and simulated ivory grips, for me the gun immediately brought to mind Kevin Costner’s character Jake in “Silverado,” who wore nickel-plated, pearl-handled SAAs.

The Vaquero has an interesting backstory. The Blackhawk had gained a loyal following, but then came the 1980s and the burgeoning popularity of Cowboy Action shooting. Ruger found itself missing the boat because its Blackhawk wasn’t eligible for competition due to its adjustable iron sights.

The company moved fast to come up with a gun to meet this new demand. Really fast. According to Ruger designer Stan Terhune in R.L. Wilson’s book Ruger & His Guns, it took the company only four months to go from the original idea to production.

Terhune said the response to the new revolver was “as tremendous as any product the company has come out with in my memory,” but that didn’t mean it was perfect. The stainless-steel version of the Vaquero didn’t meet expectations. It had too much of a satin finish to suit shooters who wanted the bright and shiny look of nickel plating.

Ruger Vaquero Bisley centerfire revolver grip is straighter and longer than standard Vaquero — The Vaquero Bisley’s grip is straighter and longer than the standard Vaquero, and it provides better control. The Bisley hammer is not as curved, which makes it easier to cock quickly.

“We worked on that until the gun division perfected the current polish,” Terhune said. “So now the stainless model has the appearance of the classic nickel-plated versions. We actually have to tell people it’s not plated.”

It is this finish that graces the Vaquero Bisley. The Bisley is also characterized by its longer, straighter grip, a wider, more swept-back hammer spur and a slightly enlarged trigger guard. It’s based on a Colt design that dates to the 1890s, named for the famous Bisley shooting range in England.

The Vaquero Bisley’s barrel is 5.5 inches long, with a blade front sight. The rear sight is the traditional gutter cut into the topstrap. The polishing on this sample is a tiny bit uneven, with the rear of the barrel, cylinder and frame having a slightly glossier appearance than the forward part of the barrel and ejector rod housing. But you have to look super closely to notice this.

Ruger Vaquero Bisley centerfire revolver gate interlock with reverse indexing pawl — The gate interlock has a reverse indexing pawl for quick loading and unloading. The faux ivory grips look great with the highly polished stainless finish.

I love the simulated ivory grips. They’re proud at the top and behind the cylinder frame. The black-on-stainless Ruger logo medallions and the brass grip screw and escutcheons are perfect complements to the white “ivory” of the stocks.

The action features Ruger’s well-known transfer-bar safety and also has the company’s gate interlock. Unlike the Super Wrangler rimfire profiled elsewhere in this issue, the Vaquero Bisley’s gate interlock doesn’t permit the cylinder to rotate freely in either direction. But it does have a reverse-index pawl system that makes it easy to align cylinders with the ejector rod.

Shooting the Vaquero Bisley was a real pleasure, and bench accuracy results are shown in the accompanying table. The only things I noticed from the bench were: One, the gun shot four to eight inches low at 25 yards, depending on load; and two, the top of the front blade can show a lot of glare depending on sun angle.

A shot of sight black would fix the latter if it is really bugging you, but when I shot the gun offhand later I didn’t even notice it. And the elevation issues were non-existent in 15-yard offhand shooting, where the hits were centered up on a paper-plate target.

Until I handled the Bisley I didn’t realize how short the plowhandle grip on the standard Vaquero is. Makes sense since the Single Action Army, on which the Vaquero is based, worked mostly out of the holster—whereas the Bisley has a target heritage.

Ruger Vaquero Bisley centerfire revolver crescent-shaped ejector rod head — The crescent-shaped ejector rod head is easy to hit for fast ejection of empties. The revolver sports a blade front sight and a gutter topstrap rear.

Getting a full firing grip like you do with the Bisley really helps in the accuracy department. As an added advantage, the Bisley grip rolls backward in the hand a lot nicer under recoil than the plowhandle style. Not a big deal with .38s but certainly appreciated with the .357.

Whether you’re shooting two-handed or one-handed in Cowboy Action “duelist” style, the lower hammer is so much easier to reach and cock quickly. Between that and the grip, if I were a Cowboy Action shooter I don’t think it would be a hard choice to pick the Bisley style over the standard model.

The Vaquero was Ruger’s answer to satisfying Cowboy Action-spurred demand, and the Vaquero Bisley takes it one step further. But you don’t have to be a competitive shooter to appreciate this revolver. If you’re looking for a capable yet striking single action that would look as good at a barbeque as it does on the range, the Vaquero Bisley is for you.