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+1 .357 of you don't reload, .45. Colt if you do. Also +1, watch the barrel length on the .357 for that barrel-heavy aspect mentioned, depending on your use: Packing it on your hip as a trail companion vs predominatley range use. Anyway, lots of small holes in that chambering means lots of metal left over. Nothing you can do about the cylinder, so you're left with barrel choice as the only potential moderating factor.
I'm glad a few folks finally mentioned that it is the New Vaquero (large N) likely being discussed, and not the "old"/original/large frame "Vaquero." The latter can shoot virtually any .45 Colt load, just like the NM Blackhawk with which it shares its frame. Both New and "old" Vaquero can shoot virtually any .357 load, so the decision in either is weight, also mentioned. Most find the New Vaquero more than adequate for .357 and the larger "old" Vaquero overkill--or at least not necessary--heft wise.
Contributing to the mis-naming by folks and adding to the confusion for many - for some odd reason, for the past two or three years Ruger (with its distributors/vendors following suit) has been calling its New Vaquero line just Vaquero in its literature. (The limited distributor-only New Vaquero .44 Special is an additional oddity in having just "Vaquero" on its frame; all others to date say "New Vaquero" on them.) The use of Vaquero vs New Vaquero is supposed to denote large (BH/SBH) versus the smaller "mid" frame size shared among .357, .44 Sp and .45 Flattops and New Vaqueros, and other design/feature changes when the New Vaquero took over from the Vaquero ca 2005 or so.
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