45 Long Colt

.45 long colt is one of the most versatile cartridges for a revolver. You can use light lead cowboy loads for punching paper or heavy hand loads for dangerous game. Heavy loads from a Ruger or NAA are some serious business.
 
Super Redhawk in .454 Casull does yeoman service with .45 Colt. Ruger only loads are more like .454 kurz. The stainless gun cleans up nicely as well. Those loads have to be kept out of model 25's, unless you want to install a little endshake in your Smith.
 
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I'm also going to suggest the .44 Magnum; especially if you don't reload. Very readily available and the option of using .44 Special ammunition is a real plus.
 
I went shopping today, I didn't realize the ruger single actions were priced so affordably. they are not very far off from the Taurus. after playing with the Taurus and then the smith, I know I do not want the Taurus, but the Ruger felt good and I have always wanted a pretty cowboy gun. the smith is definitely out unfortunately, due to cost, but the Ruger should do just fine.

After reading some reloading stuff online and in print, I am definitely sold on the 45LC. So all I need now is the gun, I found several rugers in the 5-600$ range. how do ubertis compare? not too worried about running the hottest loads out there, but def want something that's going to hold up for years.

I didn't really pay attention to the models of rugers I was looking at, I was really lust looking at whatever was in 45lc and whatever was in the lower price range. is there a huge difference between the models? will I regret buying a ruger on the cheaper end of the spectrum
 
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WITH THE BURNING ambition that is consuming your everyday thought i'd never recommend anything less the the 45big-damned-longest-of-all COLT. The rest are all for wooses....
 
I have that judge, and it's a great gun. Super accurate in my opinion. My wife isn't a gun fan and hasn't shot a lot in her life, but she's really accurate with it.
 
I would go with a Ruger Blackhawk, they have the adj sights and you can correct them for whatever load you have built, with the Vaquero you are kind of stuck with one load. I love the 45 Colt round and have S&W 25 3" & 625MG 4", a Marlin levergun, Ruger Vaquero SS 3 1/2, Ruger Redhawk 7 1/2 and Blackhawk SS 4 5/8. I would love to add a Blackhawk SS with a 5 1/2 barrel to round out the collection. The Blackhawk is built like a tank and will take most rounds including the Ruger only loads. This round is the reason I started reloading.:D
 
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like I said, I have no quams with Taurus, I have owned three and still currently own two, they are great guns for the price. my favorite carry weapon ever is the Taurus 357 poly protector. but after holding all the models, the Taurus just felt cheap, even with a big round like the 45 it still has the tiny hollow chamber crane. I would probably look closer at the Taurus if they offered a 4-5" barrel. which they may, I just haven't seen any.
if I could buy the smith without losing my wife in the process I would, but we are currently saving for a new house and need to keep my spending in check. so its going to be the lower priced rugers or the uberti. I have kind of changed my mind on the sub 700$, really looking in the sub 600$ now. and after I buy brass and dies and mold and powders ill still probably be close to a grand. but this gun is going to be for fun, not looking to use it for HD or competition or anything serious.
so if anyone has personal experience with the uberti 45lc, please chime in, good or bad. because if I can do sub 500$ that would be even better
 
I had a Uberti. I had the trigger worked. With the store bought 45 lc the very thin trigger dug into my finger.

It now lives with my father in law. He loves it. It drew blood from me.

Both my black hawk and super have slightly wider triggers. This is better for me. Also they look like they are built a bit better.

My super I got in a trade for a model 94 30-30 post 1974. Since I have two more I thought I could part with it.

I also have an Anaconda and a S&W in 45 lc. I really didn't care for them until I started reloading. Now they are some of my favorites to shoot at the indoor range. The autos don't go to that range. You can't pick up your brass there.

I need a caliber base plate for my Dillon 550 b and I will be good to go on volume reloading.

Go find one that fits you and buy it.

Oh, I use the same powder for it as my 40 and 45 acp.

Mel
 
so if anyone has personal experience with the uberti 45lc, please chime in, good or bad. because if I can do sub 500$ that would be even better
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Sure, I have had a couple of Ubertis, chambered for 45 Colt. The Uberti is a fairly faithful replica of the original Colt Single Action Army. I have a few of those too. Although the parts are not interchangeable, the lockwork inside both is identical in the way it functions. You must remember to never lower the hammer on a live round with a Colt or Uberti, always lower the hammer on an empty chamber. This is because the so called 'safety notch' on the hammer is very weak and either it or the tip of the trigger is likely to break off if the hammer spur is struck a strong blow, causing the weapon to discharge.

Ruger completely redesigned the way his single action revolvers work when he made the first Single Six and the first Blackhawks. First, he replaced all the leaf springs with coil springs, which are far less likely to break than leaf springs, but he left the mechanism largely unchanged from the SAA. Then in the early 1970s Ruger completely redesigned the workings of his single action revolvers, incorporating a transfer bar into the design. It is 100% safe to carry a transfer bar equipped Ruger fully loaded with six rounds and the hammer down on a loaded chamber, because the transfer bar is withdrawn and the hammer cannot physically reach the firing pin. A Ruger looks similar to a Colt on the outside, but they are completely different on the inside. And the cross section of the parts tends to be a little bit heavier in a Ruger, so the parts can stand up to more abuse.

It gets a bit tricky when you talk about frame size and strength. Colts and Ubertis are the same size, there is roughly the same amount of steel surrounding the chambers, not a whole lot, so 45 Colt loads must be restricted to SAAMI Max pressure. That does not mean you have to stick with Cowboy ammo, just stay away from the stuff that is advertised as +P or other more powerful stuff.

Rugers are a bit more confusing. The Blackhawk, except for a few distributor specials, is built on a larger frame and the cylinders are more massive. So they can take hotter loads. The 'original model' Vaquero was just as stout and could take loads just as hot. The New Vaquero has been scaled back down in size to resemble the SAA, and should not be fired with loads above SAAMI Max.

Regarding fit and finish, Ubertis are fine on the outside, beautifully finished. But inside they usually have rougher surfaces than a Colt. That is part of what you pay for with a Colt, better fitted parts. Plus you are paying for real Case Hardening, and more forged parts, less cast parts.
 
In the Ruger New Vaquero, the longer barrels (like mine) look Hollywood, but if you have any notion of carrying the gun, a barrel length under 5" would be easier to conceal and draw and would not ride up so much when seated.

See model # 5105
 
Howdy

I have absolutely no experience with the transfer bar equipped Uberti. Frankly though, I would go with either a standard Uberti, complete with leaf springs and without the transfer bar, or a Ruger, with the transfer bar.

The Ruger was designed about 30 years ago and has a long and proven track record. The Uberti version is very new, obviously an attempt to appeal to shooters who want a transfer bar. I have not examined one personally, but I'll bet it is kind of jury rigged in order to stuff transfer bar inside.

The thing about leaf springs is, the two that are most likely to break in the old colt style lockwork are the split trigger/bolt spring and the hand spring. I have never heard of the big mainspring (hammer spring) breaking on a Colt or clone. I suppose it has happened, but it is rare. Trigger/bolt springs and hand springs do break on occasion. Not guaranteed the first time out, but I have had them break once in a blue moon. A coil spring hammer does tend to feel a little bit mushy compared to a leaf spring.

If it wuz me, I would make my choice of either a Ruger with transfer bar and coil springs, or a traditional colt style lockwork like the Uberti.

Just my two sense.
 
so... I have many of these revolvers, love them & still have more coming & being built...

personally IMO, you should also buy the Ruger, it's a solid investment, agree with the suggestion to get adjustable sights, since it sounds like you want to play with different loads...

I also have several Tarui, & several Uberti's so you know I'm talking straight...

the Taurus is a practical gun ( when you get a good one, I have several, & never had to send one back yet ) but they are not as smooth, & leave you feeling like they need "something" the resale of a used Taurus is dismal unless you are talking a few rare & desirable models...

the Uberti's just have "the look" & a "feel" you certainly don't get with a Taurus, but their steels & hardening are less "durable" than either the S&W's or Rugers ( yes they send out some beautifully case hardened guns ) many are more true to the Colts they were designed around, but they should only be used with standard ( very anemic ) factory 45 Colt loads ...

I'm more disenchanted with new S&W's as far as quality ( yes I've had some issues, including sending one revolver back 3 times for the same problem ) but once you get a good one, they have a feel that is mush more refined, & resale on the S&W is likely the best, model for model than any of the rest, excluding Colt

Rugers are general know as the strongest, IMO, one of the best values right now, you get a lot of revolver for the money

if I were you, I'd probably buy a used gun, either S&W or Ruger, or buy a new Blackhawk with adjustable sights, a blued one, if the stainless goes beyond your budget,,,

this is just a fraction of my revolvers ( these all single actions ) & I'm building a Uberti Colt Walker cartridge conversion to 45 Black Powder Magnum right now, so I'm pretty familiar with what they are putting out right now... that said I'm buying a Uberti Stallion, as the base gun for my next custom ( so my latest 2 customs will have been built on Uberti guns, but both are low pressure customs, nothing that pushed the high end of 45 Colt

 
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In the SA revolver line I've had and still own a Colt, I have a couple of Rugers and I just purchased a Cimarron model P (Uberti).

I can honestly say my Cimarron model P has became my favorite SA revolver.

Out of the box the Cimarron has the nicest trigger pull of any SA revolver I've ever owned, it breaks at 2-1/4 pounds and is clean and crisp.
Even though I've done trigger jobs on my Rugers I can still feel that transfer bar and to me the triggers feel sluggish or mushy.

The Cimarron gun I have is very accurate( even with my old eyes) and the fixed sights shoots to point of aim.
The fit and finish on my Cimarron is excellent, I'm so impressed that I've now ordered myself a Cimarron Bisley model.

I plan on deer hunting with my Cimarron revolver using a 255 gr SWC at a little over 900 fps.

If I was planning on loading hot rod 45 Colt loads I would be using a Ruger, but as has already been pointed out even then you have to be careful of which model of Ruger you choose.
Also I would prefer a model with the Ruger Bisley grip.

I wish you the best with which ever revolver you choose, load safe and enjoy.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
 
Is there a huge difference between the models? Will I regret buying a ruger on the cheaper end of the spectrum
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The New Vaquero and Lispey flattop BHs in .45 Colt are on the medium frame, The other BHs are on the large frame (original Vaquero, BH, Bisley, Hunter, SBH). Both will stand lifetimes of shooting. From your posts I am thinking either will do you just fine. The medium frame just can't be loaded with Ruger Only Loads (Tier 3) which, in my case, is not a 'major' restriction. I can still get to 1100fps with a 255g SWC in the New Vaquero/Flattop if necessary which is still only a Tier 2 load. As I said above, 99% of my actual shooting is at ~900fps give or take 50fps which is standard Tier 1 (SAAMI) load.

IMHO, No you'll never regret buying a Ruger (not saying their isn't a lemon out there somewhere though!) . The majority of SAs I own are Ruger and all have been good to me. Sure I've reamed the throats on my .45s to get to .4525, and have been working back through them to get actions tuned up the way I like 'em ( I would like all my SAs to 'feel' the same with ~2# trigger pull). But that is just me, On a couple of the older Rugers it was very 'necessary' to ream the throats. The newer ones are usually much closer to what I consider acceptable, but I reamed them anyway as they were still under. My original Vaquero and New Vaquero had to get the barrels turned as both out the box did not shoot 'straight'. Recommend an adjustable sighted Ruger like the BH for your first SA .45 Colt if you go the Ruger route for the reasons mentioned above.
 
I have the Uberti Little Bighorn, or Custer. or where did I get this arrow shirt model, can't remember what it was called. has the US on the frame and 7.5" barrel, now a 4.75" replacement. skinny front sight and kinda wide V rear good sight pictue. Nice trigger, good accuracy. I shoot .451", .452" bullets because the throats measure .450". I haven't slugged the bore because leading isn't a problem.

It outshoots my .44spec. flat top BH, but the Ruger is by far the better engineered shooter.
 
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