Ruger Vaquero - Calibers

Calibers

• .357 Magnum/.38 Special
• .44WCF
• .44 Magnum
• .45 Colt

The Firearms Distributor known as Davidson's offered two exclusive chamberings of the Vaquero with convertible cylinders:

• .357 Magnum/9 mm Convertible
• .45 Colt/.45 ACP Convertible
• .38/40 Winchester/.40 S&W Convertible

An additional special Commemorative Edition chambered in .40 S&W was ordered by the San Diego Sheriff's Association in 2000 to celebrate the agency's 150th anniversary. The association wanted the Vaquero's to use the same caliber as their normal service weapons. The original order was placed for 500 but later was increased to 800 due to overwhelming response from the association members and alumni. Sources conflict on the reasoning but either to ensure plenty were available for members, or, due to a minimum 500 production run size limitation Ruger went on to produce an overrun of about 200 for a total of 1000 models. Some of these overrun models were taken by the SDSA members. All of the models sold to the SDSA members were embossed with the SDSA logo on the right side of the barrel and came in a special display case along with an acrylic encased badge. Approximately 125 of the extras were eventually released through select Ruger distributors in standard black plastic cases and with no SDSA logo. Most had the safety warnings on the left side of the barrel like normal Vaqueros and the original SDSA guns. However, Ruger ran out of the .40 S&W barrels before the frames and cylinders and later produced extra barrels to finish the remaining few guns, some of these were released through select distributors as late as 2009. These are referred to as "cleanup" models, something all manufacturers do as the production run of a model is winding down. On these approximately 25-30 cleanup models the warnings normally stamped into the left side of the barrel were moved to the underside of the newer barrels leaving the side clean and completely smooth. While all of these models are desirable for their unique caliber, the few that escaped without any markings on the left side of the barrel are now sought after collectables, not only for the unique caliber but for the smooth barrel that many collectors feel adds to the overall beauty of the guns.