American Arms Regulator .44-40

J

JL Hunnicutt

New member
Does anyone have one of these? I know that they are made by Uberti. American Arm's web-page indicates that their Uberti SAA replicas are parts-compatible with the original Colt. How durable/accurate are these guns? A friend has one for sale in .44-40, in 98% condition, including the box, for $200.00 (this is the one w/the brass grip-frame. Is this a good deal? As a final question, is the .44-40 difficult to reload (thin case necks, split/weak brass, etc)? Thanks for your time.
 
i shoot cowboy action a couple of times a month and i use a (Cimmaron)uberti 44 special with the steel frame-and a ruger 44mag as my two primary single actions. a comment or two on the italian imports-if you shoot them a bunch they are going to break-they are just not stout enough to go the long run-as far as american arms brass framed goes-i bought one new in the box and the timing was messed up and would not index properly and it was brand new-that's got to say something for Americans quality control-Cimmaron on the other hand has very strict QC..As far as 44-40 goes i'd stay away from it unless you're some sort of purist or something. people will argue this next point forever but if i were just getting into cowboy action and was going to reload-i'd go 44 mag guns because the brass is tougher (Except for the nickle ) and the guns will go for the long run-I'd suggest buy Ruger...Dick W. Holliday
 
:barf: I had an AA Regulator in .45 convertable. I just had to dump it. Lots of sharp corners, trigger finger always got pinched between tip of trigger and trigger guard, almost every screw loosened while firing, the very tiny screw that held the hammer safety assembly together launched itself into the void while firing, hammer dragged heavily on frame, hammer fell like a ton of bricks despite the heavy dragging and the action was very very rough. Other than that, I can say the one piece walnut grip was attractive.Just buy a Vaquero and be done with it! :D
 
Dick

Sounds like you are saying that the Cimmaron is the
best of the bunch ?

Can you list these in order of quality.

I've got a couple of the Uberti's, they seem OK, I don't do
an extreme amount of shooting though.
 
Howdy Gus,

As far as which outfit sells the best Uberti firearms, most folks seem to agree that Cimmarons have the best fit and finish. Both Cimmaron and EMF have higher grade guns (Model P and Hartford) than the standard Ubertis, but the difference is basically fit and finish. I personally shoot three matches a month with a pair of Uberti 1875 Remingtons, and the only problem I've had is broken handsprings (fortunately never in the middle of a match).

If you're looking at brass gripframed gun, be diligent about not shooting hot loads out of it, 'cause the brass will stretch.

Reloading 44-40 requires that the cases be lubed before sizing. To some folks this a major turnoff, but others don't give rat's behind. So, that's really a personal choice.

Bellicose Bill
 
Howdy Bill,

Sounds like you're saying the Uberti's from Cimmeron are different then there standard production (like what Sears does with Skill or Black-Decker) I think I understand.

So other than that are there other brands, Uberti or not, that are as good or better.

I've got the 1857 Remington "Outlaw" in a .357, don't shoot a whole lot but I enjoy it.
 
Howdy Gus,

As far as I know, Cimmaron does certain things (or requires Uberti to) to the guns that they get from Uberti. Again, I think it's mainly fit and finish, and maybe wood quality. Cimmaron has a Cowboy Comp Model P, which is modified to take a coil handspring (as opposed to the flat spring used in standard guns). These guns also have some action work done to them, I think.

Your other choices for SAA clones are American Western Arms and U.S. Patent Firearms. AWA bought out Armi San Marcos. You may still find an occassional new ASM gun. The AWA guns are very popular right now. They make two grades- the cheaper Longhorn and more expensive Peacekeeper. These guns come from the factory with an "action job" , which appears to be some judicious buffing of select parts. These guns are very smooth right out of the box, but aren't without their problems. Go to this website- http://www.ycsi.net/users/gunsmith/AWA.htm - for a very thorough critique of the guns by a noted CAS gunsmith. I personally handled a Longhorn today in an outdoor store. This gun was nice, but the bolt had a bad habit of retracting just enough to free the cylinder, and then it would ride the cylinder around to the next notch. Invariably, this was leading to scoring of the cylinder. Locally, I can get this gun for $319 and the Peacekeeper for $550, and those are the cheapest prices I've seen, by far. Right now, AWA is quite backlogged with orders ( I heard 5,000). So, finding these might be tricky.

The U.S. Patent clones are highly regarded, but carry a fairly premium price of $800 or so. I haven' handled one, so I can't comment on the action.

EAA sells the Bounty Hunter, which is closer to a Ruger clone that a SAA.

Bellicose Bill
 
J.L.

I will go against the trend her and advise you to buy the gun if you want a .44-40 sixgun. Personally I'd buy it and promptly order a .44 S&W SPL cylinder from American Arms or Uberti. I have an American Arms Regulator .44-40/.44 SPL that I carry on a daily basis. I've done this for about three years now. It shoots good and it looks good. I paid a lot more than $200.00 for mine and feel that it was worth every cent.

Bellicose Bill's comments about the brass frame are correct if he were talking about a cap-and-ball revolver with a total brass reciever. They will eventually strech. No such worries on a Uberti Regulator. Only the grip frame and the trigger guard are brass. If you shoot loads heavy enough to damage the grip frame and trigger guard, the exploding cylinder and the flying topstrap will have killed you before the grip frame gets loose.

Depending on the gun, it will probably benefit from the attention of Tom Sargis. Tom is one of the few gunsmiths in the country that will tune a SAA clone. You can reach his web site from the link posted by Bill. If you contact him, tell him that I reccomended him, Tom is a fine fellow.


JL, what it boils down to is the Cimmarron's and USPFA, and AWA guns might be prettier, but they are the same gun from the same maker. The American Arms and Uberti America guns are less expensive. Decide if you prefer spending money on pretty or on ammo and gunleather.

Doc
 
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