Thanks for the pic of the other side. I asked because I wanted to see what Ruger put there. I have had Vaqueros, and New Vaqeros and many people confuse the two because the names are so similar.
Looks nice, and its a bit of a shock to me, I was under the impression that the New Vaqueros were not built to handle .44 Magnum.
I would recommend, if you are going to shoot it, that you shoot only .44 Special or very light loaded .44 Magnum, for "safety".
Not the safety of the gun, if Ruger says it takes .44 Mag, it will, but for the safety of your HAND!!!
Those birdshead grips are neat looking,. old west period style, but are not good at handling anything heavier than black powder level loads. With full house .44 Mag, they WILL HURT!!! ALOT!!
You might find them unpleasant to use with lesser loads, as well. Friend of mine found a gun very much like the one you have, though it was not a NEW VAQUERO. .44 Mag, and he asked me for some ammo. I gave him a box of 240SWC loaded to a bit over 1000fps. He complained bitterly how much the gun hurt to shoot, and stated emphatically he was NEVER going to put any full house factory ammo in it!!
You might have a different reaction, but I expect not a lot, if any. The New Vaquero is not a heavy gun. The short barrel makes it even lighter, and the tiny birdshead grips give you very little to hang on to. I'd bet serious money full power .44 Mag in that gun will HURT!! Might even be physically damaging, I would not recommend it.
Probably be a sweet shooter at cowboy action level loads. But for full power stuff,?... no...just no!