SAA or other Single Clone quality

B

BoogieMan

New member
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?
 
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.
 
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
 
It's hard to go wrong with Uberti,,,

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.

141023-cowboypair.jpg


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

Aarond

.
 
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?
 
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.
 
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?
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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
 
peggysue:

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

coltrecoilplate.jpg



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.

firingpinholeuberti.jpg




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)

hammers_down_zps821439e6.jpg




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.

2ndGenColtandUbertiCattleman_zpsbe079bb7.jpg




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.

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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.

colorcaseCimarron_zps5a6c786c.jpg


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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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