SAA or other Single Clone quality

[BoogieMan]

I think I want a single action for my collection. My only experience with a SA is with a Ruger 44mag that had pearl grips to pinch the )()* out of your palm when it was shot. Anyway I think I want one in 45. Love the Colt SAA but I cant see myself dropping $2k plus for the actual SAA. Who makes a good clone? I want color case hardening and fancy grips (i will add) maybe some brass.
Like the Uberti Cattleman and the Ruger Blackhawk for looks.
On the same note should I be looking at something else in a SA revolver?

[Idaho 45 Vaquero]

Ruger is an excellent choice. Internally they have many modern differences to a Colt SSA. Coil main springs, transfer bars, no half-cock, and loading gate safety.Also they are beefed up in other places. On the outside they look like a SSA.

I have an 7 1/2 barrel "old Vaquero" in 45LC. It is my primary handgun. It is case colored. The "old vaqueros" usually have scaled-up larger frames than a traditional SAA. Mine is the same size as a Super-blackhawk frame.

The "new vaqueros" are built nearly the same feel and size as a SAA. In the current "new vaqueros" they don't make case colored pistols in their standard production.

Uberti and all the other Italian makers are also excellent choices. Not as strong as a Ruger, but I've never had problems with them and you can get almost any finish option you want.

[Bob Wright]

I have thse Ubertis which have proven to be very accurate and reliable six guns.



I understand Pietta is making a very good copy, much better than those of the past, though I have no experience with it.

I, too, like the case hardened colors, and went this route with my Ruger:



This is a .45 Colt Blackhawk set up like a Super Blackhawk.


Bob Wright

[Idaho 45 Vaquero]

Bob Wright, that .45 Black-hawk is absolutely gorgeous Wow. Let me know if you ever want to give up that baby. Wow

[aarondhgraham]

It's hard to go wrong with Uberti,,,
This opinion is a result of watching many hundreds of SASS shoots.

I own an Interarms import that is an Uberti SAA clone in .357,,,
I own a Taylors and Co. in .22 LR that is an Uberti clone.



I am very happy with the revolvers,,,
I just need to take a better picture of them.

Aarond

.

[BoogieMan]

Bob,
The Uberti on the far left is beautiful. Love the brass with wood and CCH. How much of that is factory and how much did you do or have done?

[peggysue]

Colt SSA are the best. Italy uses inferior metal is what I heard. The colts hold their value.

[PawPaw]

I've been a Ruger Blackhawk shooter for years, but recently my wife and I got into the Cowboy Fast Draw game. When I bought revolvers for that game, I went with Ruger Vaqueros because they are what I'm familiar with, but after attending some shoots, including a major shoot last month, I see that the game is split about evenly between the Vaquero and the various Colt clones, with Uberti being the predominate brand among the Colt clones.

I'll probably be picking up another revolver or two, as loaners for friends and family that want to play the game, and I admit that I can get into the Ubertis for about a hundred dollars or so, under the cost of the Ruger.

[Bob Wright]

BoogieMan:

Bob,
The Uberti on the far left is beautiful. Love the brass with wood and CCH. How much of that is factory and how much did you do or have done?

All my Ubertis are stock, straight from the factory. They are, left to Wright:

Stallion .22 from Stoeger, .44 Special from Cimarron, and .45 Colt Flat Top from Stoeger.

Bob Wright

[Bob Wright]

peggysue:

Colt SSA are the best. Italy uses inferior metal is what I heard. The colts hold their value.

Yeah, sure. The italian copies are pot metal and the barrels fall off with each shot and the cylinders come out when you open the loading gate? And instead of grouping shots they pattern like a shotgun?



I got a lot of flak on the Colt forum because I insinuated they were accurate, servicable guns.

And as the poster stated, he wasn't willing/able to drop $2000 into a Colt.

I've got the three, Colt, Ruger, and Uberti, and have shot them very heavily. As to shooting, and based on shooting alone, one is hard pressed to tell the difference.

Bob Wright

[mehavey]

I've both a New Vaqurero (45Colt) and a Uberti Smokewagon (44-40)

The Vaquero is a hard workhorse.
The Uberti is just a comparitive dream to hold & shoot.

I'd love to hear the source of the "inferior metal" tall tail.

[James K]

I have Ubertis and they are good guns and will do fine for most users. But Colt's MSRP for blued guns is a bit over $1400, and some places are selling them for that or a little more. A dealer charging $2000+ is gouging the customer.

Jim

[Hunter Customs]

I have Ubertis from Cimarron, have owned and still own a Colt, and have Rugers.

All are 45 caliber and the gun in the picture is one I hunt with, it will shoot groups as good as any SA revolver I"ve owned.

That being said the Colt I have now is still new in the box so I don't know how well it shoots.

I've had no issues with my Ubertis and I don't believe you will go wrong with one.
They have the sweetest trigger pulls out of the box of any SA revolver I've ever shot.

[sevt_chevelle]

I have an Uberti cattlemen in 44 Mag, absolutely love the pistol. Looks good and shoots good.

[tallball]

I have, and do, own Rugers and clones. I prefer the Rugers because I prefer the way that the loading works (no half cock), but it sounds like the OP would not go wrong with a Uberti either. It's great when you have two choices and they are both good ones.

[Colt46]

The only downside is all blue or stainless. No color case frames

[Driftwood Johnson]

Colt SSA are the best. Italy uses inferior metal is what I heard. The colts hold their value.

Howdy

I don't give a whole lot of credence to somebody who can't even get the initials correct. It is Single Action Army. SAA, not SSA.

For what it's worth, I have four Colt Single Action Army revolvers; two 2nd Gens and two 1st Gens. I currently only have one Uberti replica SAA, I used to have another but I sold it years ago, and I have several Ruger Vaqueros, and one old Blackhawk, and a few old Three Screw Blackhawks.

I prefer the details on a real Colt to an Uberti, there are several places where I feel the Colt is superior. The most important is the hardened insert that is pressed into the recoil shield of a Colt. This hardened insert is there to prevent the firing pin from peening over or raising a burr around its hole in the recoil shield.




As the firing pin 'finds its way' through the recoil shield, it can displace metal and raise a burr on the inside of the recoil shield. As I said I used to own another Uberti Cattleman. I bought it used, and it had such a bad burr raised around the hole that the first time I loaded live ammunition into it the cylinder jammed as the burr scraped across live primers. It was really pretty scary and I had the dickens of a time getting that revolver unloaded safely. That one had other problems so I eventually sold it. This photo is of the recoil shield on my remaining Uberti Cattleman. You can see where I have removed a little bit of metal to prevent a burr from rising again. I'm not saying that all Ubertis will have this problem, but the hardened insert of the Colt prevents a burr from rising at all.





Colt hammers are machined parts with the knurling applied the traditional way as a secondary operation with a knurling tool. Uberti hammers are castings, and the knurling is a cast in detail. To my thumb, the knurling tool leaves a sharper, crisper knurl, less likely to slip out from under my thumb if I get hot and sweaty. In this photo, the Uberti hammer is in the front, the Colt in the rear. For what it's worth, the cam on a Colt hammer is a separate part pressed into the hammer body, while the cam on the Uberti hammer is a cast in detail. If the gun is shot enough to wear down the cam, it is simpler to replace it on the Colt. (Yes, you would have to shoot it a great deal to wear down the cam)





Uberti rear sights mimic the old 1st Gen Colt 'V' groove. 2nd and 3rd Gen Colts have a squared off rear sight. My old eyes find it easier to use the squared off rear sight.





Colt still uses old fashioned bone Case Hardening for its frames. Yes, the colors do fade over time, this gun is over 40 years old. The protected area around the spring loaded cylinder latch shows how brilliant the colors once were.





Uberti does use a form of Case Hardening on the frame, but it is not the old fashioned bone Case Hardening. Bone Case Hardening is a labor intensive process, accounting for some of the extra cost of a Colt.



Yes, I admit these are fussy details, but they are part of what sets a Colt apart from an Uberti in my mind.

But I can certainly understand somebody not wanting to spend the money for a Colt. Uberti makes a solid, respectable pistol. No, the metal is not inferior, it is good arsenal grade steel.

[James K]

I think the hardened steel firing pin bushing is primarily to prevent primer back-pressure from dishing out the recoil shield. Colt put a hardened bushing in their 1911-type slides for the same reason.

Jim

[salvadore]

Wow Johnson, dismiss a guy for a missed key stroke? Tough room.

[BoogieMan]

I should have mentioned I am not stuck on the SAA and its clones. I do want to pick up a single action wheel simply because I dont own one. One of the others that caught my eye is the Beretta Stampede. Nice looking gun with wood grips. Dont like the hard plastic grips. And I am also open to any other Single action wheel as long as its not stainless or magnum or rimfire. Think I want to stick with 45s.

[stubbicatt]

Thanks guys for all of your insight and valuable experience. I've been eyeballing a Uberti SAA in 44-40 for some time now, only trying to decide whether 5.5 inch or 7 inch barrel at this point. I think I am favoring Taylors versions of these revolvers. I guess I should have to call them and try to understand the differences between the "old" and "new" versions they offer. So far the only difference I can ascertain is I think the "new" versions have a push button release for the cylinder pin, while the "old" versions require one to remove a screw or something in order to remove the cylinder pin. Perhaps the square notch vs "V" notch rear sight is another difference.

This forum has been a source of good information over the years, and years ago it was a very friendly place. But from time to time some snarkiness has been creeping in, where other members are disrespected or belittled. Too bad some folks behave that way. I find that sort of rudeness says more about a man than all of his knowledge.

[Hunter Customs]

My Uberti Bisley I posted a picture of has the larger square notch rear sight with the wider blade front like my Colt and Ruger Vaquero.

My other Uberti which is the 1873 model, Cimarron list them as a model P-OM has the V notch rear and smaller front sight, even with my old eyes I actually prefer this sight set-up over the others I have.

To my understanding Uberti guns have forged frames and barrels.
Both my Ubertis have held up very well and I'm shooting higher pressure Tier II types loads in them.

My first Uberti the 1873 model has 10,000 rounds through it the Bisley model in the picture has 3000 rounds, I've had no issues with either gun.

Both guns had the best trigger pulls right out of the box of any guns I've ever owned. the actions are slick, the guns are accurate, the fit and finish is excellent, the price is right, I don't know what more anyone could want.

[Real Gun]

stubbicatt - <snip>Thanks guys for all of your insight and valuable experience. I've been eyeballing a Uberti SAA in 44-40 for some time now, only trying to decide whether 5.5 inch or 7 inch barrel at this point.<snip>

My 44-40 is a Uberti 1875 Remington clone, but I went with the 5.5 barrel. The more authentic 7+ barrel would have been too much for me and would have ruled out carrying the gun, even cross draw. Could be different if I was a reenactor. In any case, the gun shoots the best for me of any of my single actions. I load my own and use 700x powder with 200 gr coated bullets.

[KenL]

I picked up a Pietta in 44 Mag last summer. I've run a couple of boxes thru it, and it handles very nicely. I really like the case hardening on it. Don't have a picture handy but will try to get one posted up.

[Bob Wright]

A note as to the hardened firing pin bushing:

I had a 1975 vintage Cattleman .44 Magnum, made by Uberti and imported by Iver Johnson. After firing a few rounds, the firing pin had puckered up a small crater around the firing pin opening. As subsequent rounds were fired, the primer would flow back around this crater and lock up cylinder rotation. Stoning down the crater fixed the problem. Of the Ubertis I've had since, the problem has not occurred.

And the current Pietta copies do incorporate the firing pin bushing.

Even the firing pin bushing is not a solution to all problems. I've had that bushing set back on a S&W Model 29 so the primer blew back into the recess, tying up the gun.

Bob Wright