Colt SAA owners-What barrel lengths do you like most and why?

D

DARTH 44

New member
Well..I realize someone might just say
-''I like them all''- and that would be all too easy,
so,please choose only two from the five below:
-Sherriff 2,5'' 3'' (3,5''?)
-Civilian 4,75''
-Artillery 5,5''
-Cavalry 7,5''
-Buntline 10'' 12'' 16''

Yes,the 1st and the 5th options are not very much popular,
but I`m sure there`re many of such Colts there,as well as
men who shoot them.Let them speak too!:)

I decided to post this,because when I tried to choose two
SAAs,it was a PITA to decide which barrel length would be
most -practical/cool/fashionable/balanced/comfortable etc.
thus,I thought it`d be good to ask those who shoot the
Colt SAAs quite often,or more than quite often;)
Replies from owners of SAA clones or from CAS shooters
are also welcome.
 
My CAS sixguns are 7.5" .44s.
I had a gunfighter 4.75" installed in one for about one season. It looked good, felt good, and shot different bullet weights (.44 Special cylinder with 240 gr and .44-40 cylinder with 200 gr) into the same group at CAS ranges.
But I could not hit as well with it in rapid fire at match conditions.
So I had the 7.5" put back on.

The couple I usually go to shoots with use 5.5" Ubertis (hers) and 4.625" and 5.5" Rugers (his.) they do very, very well. If I shot more CAS, I would try 5.5" but it just is not worth the trouble and expense at my present schedule.
 
Hard to choose just two - - -

- - and maybe harder still to say just why. I strongly prefer the caliber .45.

4-3/4 because this is the "good looking" one. It was also the one carried by most 20th century lawmen who clung to the old type sidearm into modern times. I knew at least two old timers who carried 4-3/4 SAAs right up to the time they began carrying 1911 Colts. No in-between DAs, no magnums.

I like the 7-1/2 model, purely for historical reasons--It was the original, army-issue SAA., and it was the favorite of horseback peace officers. It was so universal in my part of the world in that era as to serve as an identifying characteristic. When Ranger Sergeant John Armstrong tracked John Wesley Hardin to Florida, he approached him on a train, where he had friends present. SGT Armstrong drew his Colt. Hardin took one look and yelled, "Texas, by God!" There was a struggle but Hardin couldn't draw his pistol when Armstrong parted his hair with the long barrel.

Tradition aside, I have never been able to do good, quick, work with the long barreled guns, Colts or Rugers. Deliberate, aimed fire is another thing, of course. It is no trick to hit a silhouette target at 100 yards, and one could easily set a horseman afoot at 200. Okay, maybe not with the first shot, but soon thereafter.;)

Best,
Johnny Guest
 
I guess that for daily wear when not expecting trouble, I'd go with the 4.75 inch. It handles very well, and allows easier sitting than long bbls. Power is reduced quite a bit in modern factory loads, but handloads or the original black powder rounds correct this to a large degree.

The 7.5 inch points VERY well, and hits hardest. If I thought Indians or rustlers were about to attack my camp, I'd get out my 7.5 incher.

Out of curiosity, I recently took a Ruger Super B. to the range and loaded it with the medium power round that Remington used to make. It throws a 240 grain lead .44 bullet at some 1,050 FPS. I ran the silhouette target in to about ten yards (indoor range) and just swung the gun up to more or less center mass on the target figure and fired. All six rounds hit the chest. The Colt points even better than the Ruger.

Mike Venturino from, "Shooting Times" has a trio of books out on classic guns. He discusses issues like this one. If you want to know how old timers who were gun nuts probably would choose their weapons and why, get Mike's books. He runs an ad in, "Shooting Times"; you can get the address and current prices there; I don't have a copy in front of me just now. Good insight.

Lone Star
 
My Colts are all 4 3/4 barrels, as is my Cimarron, and I just bought two U.S. Firearms Rodeos, both in 4 3/4. (That matte blue got me! Very well made and only $505 retail!!)

My Rugers are also 4 3/4 except for the Single Six.

Jim
 
I LIKE ALL THREE OF THE COMMON BBL LENGTHS IN COLT SIXGUNS, BUT

I like the 4 3/4" best for carrying...and shooting.

and the 5 1/2" best for lookin' ....and shooting.

and the 7 1/2" best for shooting.

The Colt 5 1/2" 45 sixgun gives me heart palpatations just lookin' at it.

Shucks, I even forgot about my 4" 45 SAA. It's pretty cool too. Easy to carry on a full 2 1/2" leather belt and Mexican shuck during the winter under a winter ranch coat
 
TERRY M - - -

The winter coat under which you wear the wide gunbelt - - - Is that the Marlboro Man (tm) fleece-lined model? Worn with battered Resistol and wooly chaps? :p Love it.

In our warmer climes, I kinda liked a 4-3/4 SAA in an old A. W. Brill holster, or IWB with the loading gate flipped open, under bloused shirt front, next-to-bottom button open.

Alas, only SA I have now is a chopped-down SBKH, carried in a T. Rybka that Shurf Wilson gave me. The adjustable sight is uncomfortable for belly carry.;)

Best,
Johnny
 
Sorry for the delay and muchos gracias for the replies:)
Now I`m sure,if I`d have two SAAs one of them would
definitely be a 7,5-incher.I love the CLASSIC feel :cool:

As to the second Colt,I`m still hesitating between 4,75''
and 5,5'' barrel lengths.I must admit I was kinda surprised
there were so few votes for the 5,5'' Colt.
The difference in barrel lengths is just .75''/19mm.
This is length of a 9mm Luger case,or width of my thumbnail.
That makes me think both 4,75'' length and 5,5'' length should
present the same degree of carry-friendliness.
The 5,5'' tube can also produce some more fps and range.
Data from the Internet:
.45 Colt,balloonhead case,40grsFFFg,255grs LRNFP
Colt SAA 4,75'' - 863fps
Colt SAA 5,5" - 892fps

Final thoughts about these two?
Which one is better to do tricks like
Michael Biehn in "Tombstone" or
Russel Crowe in "The Quick and the Dead?

WOW!! It`s my 50th post.
I must celebrate this.
Methinks,there`s a bottle of Heineken still waiting in the fridge
:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top