Question on SAA, I'm a green one!

jtmarine0831

I am fairly new to shooting revolvers, I am interested in purshasing a good single action in 45 Colt, preferably a SAA of some sort, but am quite ill-informed on what is out there. Was hoping that some of you guys could point me in a good direction. Thanks in advance!

Sky Soldier

Take a look here:

http://www.uberti.com/

Spider7115

Get a Ruger "New Vaquero" - a fantastic SAA with the Ruger quality.

Here's mine - I wouldn't trade it for a real Colt [:D]

longspur rider

I have Uberti cattleman, an old Ruger Vaquero, & Berreta Stampede Deluxe. I would buy another Ruger or Uberti in a heartbeat. If you want a tack driver go with the 7 1\2" barrel.

R D Henry

Take a look here http://www.emf-company.com/ check out the Great Western II.

They're made by Pietta and imported by EMF. I've got a pair of the 4 3/4 45's, nickle/ivory grip that are my main match guns...when I'm not shooting my 58 Remmies! [8D]

Tough as nails and accurate too. I've had mine for about 5yrs and never had to repair anything! [;)]

jtmarine0831

Thanks guys! I had been looking into buying another Ruger. I had one about 7 years ago, but didn't have it very long, got hurtin for money and had to fix the truck to get to work. I really liked it, all stainless, pearl grips, was a real nice piece and I only had $180 in it. I will look at the Uberti's, have a couple guys at work I was talking to tonight and they seem to like them. Again, Thanks!

Jeremy

Mort4570

My fourty year old Ruger is still going strong,my much younger clones will never last that long.They look great on the outside but the metals used inside do not measure up to those used in Rugers.
No one would ever be able to convince me otherwise as I"ve had them all apart for cleaning and fixing,and the Ruger has never needed fixing.

However,if you want a sixshooter that feels and looks more like a Colt,but without the Colt price,I'd buy a Cimarrron-branded Uberti.Very very nice shooters.

Wolf.

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Kind of late getting in on the discussion here, however, I want to clarify a few points.

The Ruger New Vaquero is a pretty good gun. The original Vaquero model is quite a handful in that it is too big, in my opinion. The New Vaquero was sized down to emulate the Colt's design. I don't care for them personally because they don't have Colt's-type "innards".

Uberti reproductions of the Colt SAA revolvers are very nice guns. They are generally fitted and finished very well. That was not allways true, years ago, but even then, they were nice. Cimarron and Taylor's are the major US distributers for the cowboy-type guns. In my opinion, the Uberti reproduction guns will match shot-for-shot with any other similar gun for the next fifty years, including an original new-made Colt (I believe Uberti actually makes the major components of the Colt gun anyway).

US Firarms Company's reproductions of the Colt SAA revolvers are in my opinion, the very best SAA ever produced, including the original Colt guns. All parts are made assembled and finished in the USA by USFA in Connecticut. They are wonderful guns and are tomorrow's antiques. These are the ones to get if you want the best, in my opinion.

Pietta also makes a SAA reproduction. The only source for those to my knowledge is EMF Company out of the San Diego area. Since I have not seen, handled or dismantled the Pietta SAA, I can't comment on that gun. However, I have a couple of Pietta black powder .36 Colt Navy reproductions and I like them very much.

Armi San Marcos (or Marco) was another manufacturer of SAA reproductions. They were bought out by another company some time back and I don't know if that company continued to manufacture SAAs. I do know that ASM had some quality issues along the way. I have found, however, that the ASM was pretty much an exact (here I mean size and measurements) copy of the Colt. You can take Colt SAA grips and they fit perfectly on the ASM SAA, whereas that is not the case with the other reproductions.

Advice
The only real issues I have found with any of these guns is the internal parts and then only minor issues. While others may have some horror stories, I do not. However, in my opinion the SAA revolver is, on a scale of 1 to 5, with five being most difficult, a "1", or at most a "2" as far as dismantling and repairing goes. By this, I mean drop-in replacement parts. Like any gun, replacement parts may have to be fitted. For the SAA the mainspring probably falls most readily into the "needs fitting" category. For fitting parts, experience, common sense or a good gunsmith will solve that problem. Doing a trigger job is a taak best given to someone who understands the gun thoroughly, meaning a SAA specialist. Do youself one of the biggest favors you could possibly do if your are interested in messing with guns: Buy a gunsmith's screwdriver set. Brownells and Midway sell them, either the single size screwdriver type or the type with a magnetic handle with several bits. I have all of them, but I suggest you go with the Brownells full set. Don't EVER try to work on gun screws with a plain old standard-type keystone screwdriver. Marred screws are the sign of someone that doesn't know what they're doing.

jtmarine0831

Wolf,
Thanks for the info, it is really appreciated! I still haven't bought one yet but hope to here in the next week or two when the profit sharing check hits the bank. Anyway it is taking third place in priority at the Ruger#1 in 7mmMag and the 1895 in 45-70 I have been eyeballin the past week.

I also hear what you are saying on the gunsmith screwdrivers. I don't do much work on my firearms but have really been wanting to get in to some minor smithing. I do have a small set of some hollow-ground bits that I use when I do need to do something small and a small assortment of plastic, wood and leather mallets, but I don't want to buy a lot of stuff until I start needing it.

Again, Thanks! And I will look into the US Firearms Company Repros as well![;)]

odentheviking

If you have a larger hand, and a Colt or like pistol seem small,(for me my pinkie finger will fall short on a SAA Colt style grip), you should try a Virginian Dragoon by Interarms. 44 mag.s are most common but 45 Colts can be had and there is atleast one on the auctions right now. These pistols were all milled, not cast and/or stamped out and the actions are very smooth. Good luck,

NDNOutlaw

I use an off brand.EAA Bounty Hunter.Mine are 4 3/4 bbl .45LC SAA in blue with walnut grips.My reason to get them was price and gaurantee.The pair cost 600 clams and have a lifetime guarantee.They have stood the test of time and perform very,very well.They have a butt the same as the 1860 Army Colt so they work well for someone such as my self with big hands.You can also get them in Nickel with Ivory handles.
I like the Cimmaron P models but the issue is the small butts and the price.

slumlord44

No one mentioned the original. Colt. Looked for a reasonable real Colt for a couple of years. Haggled on a slightly used 3rd gen with a dealer for 6 months. Finaly gave him the $900 he wanted for it because I couldn't find a cheaper one. It is realy hard to find a used 3rd gen Colt. Most of them are NIB and you can buy a new one for about the same price.I just wanted a real Colt to shoot occasonialy. If I had not been hung up on a Colt, I would have gone for a Ruger Vaquero. They are the toughest and best for the money.