Ruger Sass Vaquero 5133 357 Magnum

For the Cowboy Action Shooting competitor, a tuned six-shooter can offer better reliability, more speed, and improved shooting comfort — no small matter with about 100 rounds typically being fired in a cowboy-style match. But a tuned shootin’ iron can also appeal to the recreational shooter, who simply wants a better gun than what he or she might buy untried over the counter. 

Since Single Action Army (SAA) revolvers were first built, there have been kitchen-table gunsmiths tweaking the design to lighten the trigger pull and enable the revolvers to be fired faster and more accurately. Today, there are revolvers that are tuned at the factory that enhance the performance of the classic single-action revolver without having to pay for custom gun work.

Three of these factory-tuned 38 Specials include the Uberti El Patron Competition, Taylor’s & Company Short Stroke Gunfighter, and Ruger’s SASS Vaquero. These are all SAA-style six-shot revolvers chambered in 357 Magnum but which also fire 38 Special more comfortably and more cheaply. Barrel lengths were 4.6, 4.7, or 5.5 inches, and all had fixed sights. The Ruger SASS is a matched pair of revolvers packaged to appeal to weekend gunslingers participating in Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) or those who just want a matched pair of revolvers.

These performance six-shooters were reviewed for accuracy, point-of-aim regulation to point of impact, trigger weight, ease of use, and sights. Just a side note on accuracy for Cowboy Action Shooting matches. Pistol stages are typically at 7 to 10 yards and targets are large, measuring 16 by 16 inches. Despite these large targets, CAS revolvers are often capable of excellent accuracy.

We opted to try ammo loaded for Cowboy Action Shooting and traditional target ammo in 38 Special as well as 357 Magnum, because these revolvers can also be used to defend the homestead. Cowboy fodder consisted of Blazer aluminum case loaded with a 158-grain lead round-nose bullet and Magtech with a 158-grain lead flat-point projectile. Traditional target ammo was Defender loaded with a 148-grain wadcutter bullet that punched perfectly round holes in paper. The defense load was Hornady Custom Critical Defense 357 Magnum with a 125-grain FTX bullet. We tested accuracy at 15 yards and fast shooting at 7 yards at a tombstone-style target. At 7 yards, we fired both two handed using our support-hand thumb to cock the revolvers and one handed using our firing-hand thumb to cock the revolvers.

A preliminary cylinder gap test showed the Uberti and both Rugers were in spec between 0.003 and 0.005 inches, while the Taylor’s was a very tight 0.012 inch. Would the Gunfighter bind up with continuous lead bullets shot through it? We would find out. 

These are fun revolvers to shoot. The devil is in the details, as they say, and here’s what we liked about these tuned six-shooters.

Ruger SASS Vaquero 5133 357 Magnum,

$1791

Gun Tests grade: A-

The Vaqueros’ lowered and wider hammers make it easier to cock and fire them. The bright stainless finish looks great and makes cleaning the revolvers easier. These are rugged, built-to-last six-shooters.

The price may make your heart skip a beat, but it’s not so bad. SASS Vaqueros come as a pair with consecutive serial numbers and an SASS letter prefix before the serial number. These are standard New Model Vaqueros about the same size as the original Colt SAA. Ruger tweaks these guns for CAS with a Montado-style hammer, which has a lowered and wider hammer spur.  Our pair wore a bright-polished stainless-steel finish, which looks like nickel plate but is infinitely easier to maintain. The black checkered polymer grips feature the SASS logo and fit the frame perfectly.

In hand, the Rugers feel heavier than a traditional SAA with the same barrel length. The grip is similar to a SAA, but thinner and not as flared at the butt. There is less reach when cocking with the Montado hammer, and there is plenty of texture on the hammer spur for traction. We called the Rugers #3 and #4 after the last digit of their serial numbers. We wanted to see not only how the Rugers performed against the other guns, but against its stablemate.  

Like all Vaqueros, this SASS variant features a reverse indexing pawl that allows for easier loading and unloading, since the cylinder rotates clockwise and counter-clockwise for faster loading. This is unique to the Ruger and does make loading and unloading easier and faster compared to a traditional SAA because you don’t have to make a full rotation if you spin past the chamber. Loading the Rugers is different, too. There is no need the pull the hammer to half cock to open the loading gate. Keep the hammer and trigger fully forward and flip open the gate to expose the chambers. The loading procedure with the Ruger is simple. By the way, the cylinder latch rides on the outside of the cylinder and is designed to leave a line or ring around the outside of the cylinder between the stop notches. The cylinder has traditional bevels on the front edge, and this simplifies holstering.

The front-sight blade is wider than a traditional SAA and can glare in bright sun light because it is brightly polished. The rear-sight groove is wide and offers a good sight picture. The back of the rear-sight groove is cut out to reduce glare. We liked these sights and thought they were easier to use than traditional SAA sights with a thin front blade and narrow rear sight groove.

The ejector head is a small crescent shape that pivots slightly away from the barrel. We didn’t burn a finger tip using it. The trigger is wide, which makes it feel more Ruger than traditional SAA.

The base pin is grooved and provides adequate texture to pull it free when field-stripping the Ruger. The base pin pulls free, unlike other Ruger single actions, which use a captured base pin so it can’t be lost or the wrong base pin reinstalled.

Going hot at 7 yards, our shooters found both Rugers were smooth to cock and easy to aim. The effort needed to cock the hammer was noticeably more than the Uberti and Taylor’s. The heft of the Rugers helped to stifle recoil, even though the 38 Special loads were mild. Unloading empties required use of the ejector rod, especially with the aluminum-case Blazer ammo, which just needed a nudge. In the speed portion of the test, we saw no difference between Ruger #3 and #4. They both shot to point of aim. The lowered hammer allowed us to shoot the Rugers faster than a traditional-style-hammer SAA. The texture is not abrasive, but it allows the thumb enough texture to cock the revolver then easily slip off to fire the shot.

The results of accuracy testing showed that, on average, #3 was more accurate than #4. Part of that could be the trigger-pull weight; #3 was 3 pounds and #4 was 3.5 pounds. The shooter-facing edge of the front blade can be shiny, and some felt that was an advantage shooting a dark target. At 15 yards, both Vaqueros soundly beat the others with the 357 Magnum Hornady ammo, with #3 shooting a best group of 0.82 inch and an average of 0.87 inch and #4 shooting 0.81/0.87 inch. Would we use these to defend the ranch? Absolutely.

Traditional 38 Special target loads with Defender wadcutters had a best/average group size of 1.04/1.07 inches and 1.69/1.88 inches for #3 and #4, respectively. Both Rugers preferred the Magtech, with best/average groups for #3 of 0.83/0.84 inch and for #4 of 1.92/1.98 inches. Blazer ammo gave us well over 2-inch groups with both Rugers, with best/average groups for #3 of 2.11/2.23 inches and for #4 of 2.50/2.52 inches. Recoil was mild with the hotter magnum load from Hornady due to the Rugers’ extra weight and the way SAA grips curl up in your hand during recoil.

Our Team Said: The Rugers are sharp-looking, rugged revolvers that will no doubt endure high round counts. The finish makes them easy to clean, and the sights are good. If we owned these guns, we’d install a trigger and hammer-spring kit to lighten the trigger pull and hammer cock. Buy these if you want a matched pair that are nearly there for fast-action competitive shooting, or if you just want a damn nice pair of non-traditional six-shooters. 

To collect accuracy data, we fired five-shot groups from a bench using a rest. Distance: 15 yards with open sights. Velocities and energies were recorded using a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph. The Blazer ammunition has aluminum cases. LRN = lead round nose. LFP = lead flat point. FTX = Flex Tip Expanding. 

Written and photographed by Robert Sadowski, using evaluations from Gun Tests Team members. GT