Review your Single Actions

[Tinbucket]

I've read some articles on the new mostly Italian single actions.
There are quite a few of them.
All the article point out the positive features. You don't want to lose Advertises.
I've seen several that are eye candy. The Uberti 1875 in Stainless is tight locked or hammer down and flawless.
What about all the others and accuracy, the ones you have, and rigs too?
Photos?

 

[mk70ss]

Here are some of mine. My favorite it the Cimmaron Rooster Shooter .45 Colt. It has a superb trigger, perfect balance and is very accurate.

Not pictured and one of my favorites to pack in a crossdraw belt holster, is my Ruger birdshead gripped New Vaquero .45 Colt. You can safely load 6 rounds and the short barrel makes it easy to carry all day.

Most fun is this one.


Ruger Single Six flat gate .22.

 

[SaxonPig]

I have owned a bunch of Italian SAA copies and they were all OK. Two years ago I got snobbish and sold them all and bought three genuine Colts to go along with the one I already had. Then I added a three screw Ruger BH in 30 Carbine for fun.

This is the one I've owned since 1989...

These are the ones I acquired recently...

2G in 45 Colt (a commemorative turned shooter).

3G nickel 38-40.

2G 45 Colt (another commemorative turned shooter).

And the Ruger...

 

[COSteve]

I have 2 Uberti Cattleman single actions, a SA Cav model in 357mag and a SAA model in 45 Colt to go with my leverguns in those calibers. I slicked up both with some stoning and new springs and they are slick shooters. With puff loads they are nice to plink with and with low level loads, my 5'0" wife likes to shoot them.

 

[ThomasT]

I have no pictures but my two favorite single actions are the two Ruger Single Sixes I have in 32 mag. Mine have 5.5" barrels and adjustable sights. Reloading with lead bullets I can shoot for the same price as 22s when I cast my own bullets. Full power loads are still easy on the hands and provide all the power I want in a 32 caliber gun.

They are lighter in weight than the same gun in 22/22 mag. I wish Ruger made one just slightly scaled up in 38 special.

 

[Real Gun]

Pietta and Ruger will give you a transfer bar safety feature, allowing loading all 6 chambers safely.

My Uberti/Taylor's/Stoeger/Cimarron Stallions and Lightnings (38 Special) are my favorites. It shoots high, but my Uberti El Patron Belleza is a real handsome thing that functions well. The best gun overall though is my Ruger New Vaquero. However, it has had considerable help from my gunsmith.

The guns I shoot the most are New Model Blackhawk Flat Tops in 44 Special, .41 Magnum, and 44 Magnum.

Also have a couple miscellaneous single actions by J.P. Sauer & Son or the distributor Hawes, but these guns are too old and rare for parts to be found in some cases. My favorite is out of commission with a broken hand pin and no replacement found. The estimate on drilling it out and fabricating a new pin on a lathe is $200, so I am on hold with that project. The market value of the gun is not a lot more than that. I might do it though, since losing the gun is keeping me from using a brace of 44 Magnum SAA style (fixed sight) guns as 44 Special in SASS, matching a 44 Magnum rifle. I am stuck with adjustable sight classes and the 44 Blackhawks.

Have two Ruger Single Sevens, one 4 5/8 and one 5 1/2. Am finally having better luck with these triggers and lighter weights. The guns are easy to push off target with the trigger pull. My smaller hands could be a factor, along with shooting so many guns that I am master of none.

 

[Targa]

My 5.5" Super Blackhawk seems to be very well built and is very accurate. Rather it had a Bisley grip but other than that I really like it.

 

[Real Gun]

My 5.5" Super Blackhawk seems to be very well built and is very accurate. Rather it had a Bisley grip but other than that I really like it.

My thinking for my use is that unless I am shooting high performance loads, which really justify the Bisley grip, I have to learn to shoot the gun that is given to me, although I typically change to thicker, better looking wooden grips than stock plastic.

 

[Paladin7]

I have two Ruger Single Actions...

1. Super Single Six with a 5.5" barrel in 22 LR / 22 WMR
2. Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley Lipsey's Special Edition with a 3 3/4" Barrel in 44 Magnum

Both are extremely accurate guns and overbuilt for what they are. They are works of art and I will never sell either.

The Bisley grip is super comfortable with heavy kicking magnum loads and is my preference.

I have a Tom Threeperson's Holster from El Paso Saddlery for the Single Six and an Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake Holster for the Bisley. Both are excellent holster and extremely comfortable. I wear a Ted Blocker 1.75" gun belt to carry either gun.

You cannot go wrong with a Ruger Single Action...

Let us know what you end up with...

 

[Screwball]

I have a Davidson's Ruger New Vaquero Convertible in .45 (Colt and ACP). Very happy with it, but the only fault I can say was that it was a polished stainless. I think they look nice, but too much work for someone that just wanted one as an additional to his collection.

So, I improvised...

I put on the hammer (hated the stock Vaquero hammer), then sent it to Long Hunter Shooting Supply to bead blast it. No more cruddy polished stainless that I won't keep up on.

Accuracy between the two rounds are pretty damn good... definitely better than myself. Happy I went with the 5.5" barrel, as I like the balance of it A LOT better than the short barrel.

Don't do CAS, so I only have a Ross belt holster... which isn't anywhere near to call a rig.

Maybe I'll consider going into CAS when I leave NJ... being I have that revolver, a Uberti 1860 Henry (steel frame in .45 Colt), Century PW87, IAC 97, and even though I probably wouldn't use it much... a Springfield Trapdoor carbine, in the Custer era serial range. Just would need a side by side, but want one with hammers, but no safety... oh, and another Ruger.

 

[Bob Wright]

This Uberti Flat Top .45 Colt does O.K.:



As does this .44 Special from Cimarron/Uberti:



New Frontier in .44 Special:




And a .44 Magnum from Ruger:



And my "American Express" (Never leave home without it) gun, a .45 Blackhawk in a Graveyard Jack rig:




A sampling.


Bob Wright

 

[BigJimP]

https://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=82010&d=1339790943

I only have one single action.... Freedom Arms, Large frame, model 83, its a 4 3/4" octagonal barrel, 5 shot, that I special ordered several years ago for my 60th birthday ....in .357 Mag ( which is my favorite caliber in a revolver )...like S&W model 27's, etc..

Freedom Arms is a great gun ...very accurate / great craftmanship...the gun is capable of 1" groups at 25 yds, ...( not in my hands ...)

I recommend the Freedom Arms...they make a mid sized model as well that is a 6 shot ..model 97 / model 83 fits my hands better, the model 97 is a little too small for me - but its also an example of great craftmanship..( octagonal barrel is an upcharge, but I like the looks of it very much / and the extra weight -- makes this gun very soft shooting even in full power .357 mag ).

 

[Bob Wright]

With all due respect, Freedom Arms embodies two features I object to: Stainless steel and plastic impregnated laminated grips.

Prefer blue/case hardened and oil finished wood grips.

Bob Wight

 

[Real Gun]

I prefer the look of a SAA over the shark fin front sight on my Blackhawks. My favorites are polished stainless or nickel. One is machine engraved for which there need be no apology to purists. It looks great and was affordable.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I have a few.

I bought this Uberti\Cimarron Cattleman a bunch of years ago. 45 Colt. I used to have another one, but it was so bad, and had so many defects that I sold it and used the money for a down payment on a Ruger Vaquero. Uberti used to make the best colt clones, with Pietta a distant second. Pietta's quality has been rising recently. I don't have one, but everything I have read states that they are just as good now as Ubertis. One thing you should be aware of. This year Uberti introduced a new model that has a retractable firing pin in the hammer. Not a transfer bar, a retractable firing pin. Pulling the trigger allows the firing pin to protrude to fire a round, making it safe to carry with the cylinder fully loaded with six rounds. But the retractable firing pin means it is not the same as the earlier models. This Cattleman has a tradtional Colt type lockwork (except for the silly two position cylinder pin it came with) and must only be loaded with five rounds, leaving the hammer down on an empty chamber.

A couple of 2nd Gen Colts. My standard pistols for Cowboy Action Shooting. Both chambered for 45 Colt, the top one was made in 1973, the bottom one in 1968. The finish on the bottom one is challenged because a previous owner stripped it of all its finish. It has achieved a pleasing gun metal and brown finish on most of the surfaces now. I originally planned to refinish it and change the barrel for a 7 1/2" barrel like the top one. Wouldn't dream of it now, this probably my favorite revolver. I only shoot this pair with Black Powder.

First Gen Bisley Colt, 38-40. Made in 1909. Hardly any blue left on this baby at all.

I have a real soft spot for Three Screw Rugers. Left to right, 44 Mag Blackhawk Flat Top from 1958, 357 Mag from 1962, 357 Mag Blackhawk Flat Top from 1962, Single Six from 1963, and two more Single Sixes, probably from about 1968. Just like a Colt, these are only safe to load with five in the cylinder and the hammer down on an empty chamber.

Modern New Model Rugers. Left to right, Blackhawk 45 Colt/45 ACP convertible that I bought brand-spanky new in 1975, 'original model' Vaquero 45 Colt made in 1994, 'original model' Stainless Vaquero 45 Colt 1993, 'original model' Stainless Vaquero 45 Colt 2000 (this is the one I bought with the down payment from the Cattleman), and a pair of New Vaqueros 357 Mag 2006. All of these are safe to load with six rounds in the cylinder because they all have transfer bars.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Hey Bob Wright:

Love that New Frontier 44 Special. It is the cat's pajamas.

Care to sell it?

 

[Bob Wright]

Hey Bob Wright:

Love that New Frontier 44 Special. It is the cat's pajamas.

Care to sell it?

No, Sir.


Bob Wright

 

[tallball]

I like my Single Sixes and Blackhawks and SBH a lot.

My Sauer/Hawes shot well. I gave it to my FiL after I got my SBH three-screw, realizing I would never shoot it again. He replaced one of the springs with a Colt one. I don't think he even had to alter it.

I actually do have an Italian one. I am 99% sure it was made by Tanfoglio, maybe in the early 70's. I think I figured it all out at one time but have since forgotten the details. It is a decent little revolver made of steel. I paid something like $75 dollars for it. I kept it after I scored a great deal on a Single Six in case I ever wanted to carry a shorter barreled fixed sight 22 revolver for plinking or rats or whatever.

 

[deserted]

I took pictures with the phone and emailed to myself but lord only knows where they went. Email heaven, as my mother would have said. I'll have you know, I have recently been struggling with a recurring acute exacerbation of a lifelong affliction of Singleactionus revolverii gottahavitus.
This thread is not helping.
Single actions. OK. A stainless Virginian Dragoon .44 Magnum with 8 3/8" barrel and black pearl grips. A blued Italian (I assume. The only markings on it are .44 Magnum) six inch, shoots pretty good. A .357 Ruger Blackhawk, of course. My son talked me out of my old model Super Blackhawk a few years back, as well as my old Colt New Frontier Buntline. My other son got the New Frontier .45 that matched. There's a Single Six in .32 H&R Magnum, wonderful little cartridge. A Ruger New Model Bearcat. Couple years ago I bought another Bearcat, this one a stainless Lipsy's edition with the adjustable sights. What a jewel. About the same time got the Single Seven .327 Federal Magnum, my current hands down favorite cartridge of all time, bar none. I like it so much, I had a Marlin reamed to .327 (but that is in another thread). And just a week ago bought another S7 with the 4 5/8" barrel. Figure by now what the heck, I might as well get the 5 1/2" S7, too (see? Not helping). So come on, Rossi, somebody, anybody, a Model 92 in .327 Federal, just to distract me from single actions.
I'll take three.
PS: Way up a the top of the thread , top left gun...is that a Herter's .401 Atomic?
PSS: Plumb forgot...do the four .44 Navys count? They're Italian.

 

[jwise]

Stainless Vaquero in .44mag and a Uberti 1873 El Paton in .357mag.

I hardly ever shoot the Ruger anymore, but really enjoy shooting the Uberti loaded with .38spl.