Taylor smoke wagon-Need a little info-Opinions, pics,targets,

[gray wolf]

I don't want to impose on anyone, but I'm still trying to gather some info on the Taylor smoke wagon, tuned or not tuned.

The net is so full of varying opinions that it's difficult for me to sort it all out.
So I will just come to the best resource I know, our forum.

What do you think of the Taylor Smoke wagon, does it function OK,
Fit N finish, balance, how does it shoot, any target picks,
Gripes or complaints, If you have a 357 Mag it would help, but 45 Colt
Is also important.

I have been told the new ones have a floating firing pin and the triggers are creepy cause they are moving some extra parts.

So if you can share any info it would be appreciated.

G W

[daniel lawecki]

Gun Blast does a nice video and review. They got me thinking and I'm going for the tuned up version.

[gray wolf]

Thanks for the comment, you do know they are 3 click hammers not 4,and the triggers are supposed to not be crisp like the older cattlemen smoke wagons. Long creepy pull.

[Love Life]

Now that they have changed to the system, I’d rather get a Ruger slicked up.


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[44MAG#1]

Thanks for the comment, you do know they are 3 click hammers not 4,and the triggers are supposed to not be crisp like the older cattlemen smoke wagons. Long creepy pull.

Can't something be done about the creepy pull? I have a New Vaquero that has a creepy but butter smooth pull and although I am used to a nice crisp pull on a Smith can still do good shooting with the NV.
What do the clicks have to do with shootability?
Just wondering about this is all. Seems like the money you will save and still have a gun that is probably just as nice as a Colt (I had the opportunity to shoot a Colt SAA a couple years ago and wasn't impressed).
Again just asking.

[Love Life]

My jean-u-wine Colts are cool, but the clones give up nothing to them. The Italian jobs are solid guns.


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[gray wolf]

3 clicks instead of 4, means nothing to me, a 3 click hammer has nothing to do with shooting. But some folks are all bent out of shape cause the Colts have 4 clicks.
Uberti has been through 2 or 3 hammer safety configurations.
The latest that is being sold now has a floating firing pin that does not engage until the hammer is back to full cock and the trigger is pulled. This supposedly allows for 6 rounds to be loaded safely, unlike the one empty chamber under the hammer.

In order to accomplish this the hammer has a small rod that travel up through the hammer when the trigger is pulled from full cock. The rod comes up behind the firing pin and stops the free floating, allowing the firing pin to fully engage the primer.

In order to do all this the trigger must not only disengage the sear from the hammer hook, but must also move the rod inside the hammer, creating about a 1/8" of creep before the sear allows the hammer to fall. Been said it's reasonably smooth,but it's a long pull nonetheless. not a crisp let off by any stretch.

I spoke to the guy that tunes the smoke wagons at Uberti, I quote him and the customer service rep. "" the triggers have creep"" I ask him what he does about it. his answer was,
""I do the best I can""
I don't decide who likes what kind of trigger on a pistol, all I am doing is relating what I found out.

For me I don't like a long creepy trigger pull, but I can shoot with them.
I ask Uberti what recourse we had. He said they would sell a new hammer for $65.00
and a new trigger for about $9.00. Replace it yourself or pay someone to do it.
They would not do it.

For me I think the pistols are very well made and look sweet, I don't think the trigger would be a deal breaker.

If someone did a search on the net there are animations of how the trigger system works.

I am in no way putting the guns down, I think they are beatifully made.

I have no idea how they shoot.

[Dale53]

Some years ago, I bought a Cimarron (made by Uberti) .44 Special single action. It had "Colt First Generation" sights, which are nearly too small to use if you have good vision and almost impossible for anyone else. Within the first two weeks, the small flat spring inside broke (common Colt SAA failure, too). I sent it back to Cimarron for repairs and it was fixed and returned VERY quickly. Service from Cimarron could not be faulted.

It had an excellent trigger pull and shot quite accurately. I met my handgun standards of 1" at 25 yards off a rest even with those horrible sights. However, it shot low left at twenty five yards. It is a GORGEOUS revolver with nice fitting grips and great case coloring. It was a bit hard to cock when I got it due to a "too heavy" mainspring. I replaced the mainspring with a lighter Wolfe spring and the trigger pull got lighter, too. It is almost too light but extremely crisp. All in all, a great buy but I sure wish it had better sights on it.
The Cimarron:


Not long after I bought it, I bought a Ruger New Vaquero in .45 Colt (both had 4 5/8" barrels). The Ruger had GREAT fixed sights (terrific sight picture) and was regulated perfectly for windage right out of the box with my chosen black powder (and smokeless using the same bullet). It shot low, which was easily corrected by carefully filing some off the front sight so that it shot center at 25 yards. The Ruger also shot well (with black powder, under 2" at 25 yards, under 1" with smokeless). I used this almost exclusively in black powder cartridge matches (using smokeless for practice, many times). Later, I decided a longer barrel would be advantageous (longer sight radius) and replaced it with a Ruger Bisley Vaquero in .45 Colt. The Ruger Bisley shot center at 25 Yards right out of the box with my chosen load. It continues to do so all of these years later.
Ruger Bisley Vaquero:


My black powder load is a fully charged .45 Colt (case full of 3f Swiss or Pyrodex P compressed 1/16" when seating the home cast 30/1 Lyman 452664 lubed with modified Emmert's home mixed lube). This chronographs over 900 fps.

Now, back on topic: the Cimarron .44 Special is extremely well made and just flat PRETTY. However, the first generation Colt's sights had limited it's use by me to nearly nothing in spite of the fact that otherwise it is a VERY desirable revolver. My Ruger's HAD to have a trigger job whereas the Cimarron was GREAT right out of the box.

Whichever direction the O.P. goes, I would suggest you do NOT purchase ANY revolver until you determine if it has a good set of sights. Check out the sight picture on a Ruger Vaquero and don't settle for anything less. Original Colt single actions (early ones) had terrible sights, also. Some later generations had excellent fixed sights. If your intention is to "hit something" I suggest you start, regardless of brand, with good sights.

I am a big fan of adjustable sights for both their sight picture as well as their utility value with different loads, from mild to wild, but the Black Powder Cartridge shooting matches I was involved with required single action and fixed sights. Our targets ran from silhouette targets to NRA Bullseye so to compete we had "to hit something" and that "something" included the ten ring of an NRA Bullseye target at fifty yards. That requires a good load, a good set of sights, and to be competitive, a good shooter. Further, using fixed sights, I found it advantageous to use a full load that shot center at 25 yards. The full load flattened the trajectory enough that I could hold at the top of the black on the 50 yard target and it would drop into the ten ring. You cannot do that with target loads.

The advantage is this also makes a dandy field load for practical use. Yes, I have hunted with black powder single shot pistols and revolvers without serious impairment in utility value. The disadvantage of the full load is that the recoil is rather stout with black powder (somewhat greater than a equal load of smokeless due to the weight of the ejecta).

FWIW
Dale53

[Love Life]

The newish ones don’t have the pinched sights and are pretty easy to pick up. My Uberti revolvers have all been good to go out of the box. My Ruger needed the cylinder reamed just to chamber factory jacketed ammo...ask DougGuy.

The Ruger also needed a trigger job. I sent it to longhunter for their package, and NOW it is a fine revolver.


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[Der Gebirgsjager]

I have a .44-40 Smokewagon, purchased new in 2015 on an on-line auction from "Coltman" in Florida. To me it is the equal of a Colt in every way, in fit, appearance, and function. It is quite accurate. Last count I have 6 Uberti revolvers that are cartridge revolvers and all were excellent out of the box; with the exception of a .32-20 WCF that I purchased used, and which needed the early safety hammer replaced with an original Colt-type hammer. I also have 2 Uberti cap and ball revolvers and am completely pleased with their appearance and function. I have revolvers from both Cimarron and Taylor and see no difference other than who's name is stamped on them. Additionally, I have two of the 1872 conversion models, one in .38 Sp. and the other in .45 LC. Very nice.

That testimony having been given, I'd suggest that you take a look at the Pietta revolvers also. They've come a long, long way in the last 10 years.
I own 1 Pietta cartridge revolver and 3 cap and ball revolvers, and can personally detect no difference in appearance or quality in their current products and those of Uberti. Well, there is one significant difference, an average of $50-$70 savings per pistol!

I don't have a photo handy of the Smokewagon, but here's a couple that I have readily available.
Attachment 212004Attachment 212005

Click to enlarge.

First photo is a Uberti "Evil Roy" .45 LC (top) and a Pietta "Improved Sheriff" .45 LC. Second photo is a Uberti .44-40 WCF and a Ruger "New Model Vaquero" .45 LC. As for the Vaquero, I have the old model in .44-40 and another in .44 Mag. and prefer them to the new model. This one isn't quite as accurate as I'd like it to be, and I wish I would have ordered the case hardened frame rather than all blue. It is doubtless a superior design when compared to the old Colt 1873, and stronger, but I don't hotrod my revolvers. And although they tried, it just doesn't feel like a Colt. But--it's a consideration for you. Ruger generally makes a fine revolver, and my eyesight isn't what it used to be.

Oh, yeah--to come completely clean, I also have a Uberti "Stallion" .22 LR/.22 Mag. Nice finish, but not as accurate as I'd like it to be. But, I picked it up at a good price in the middle of the .22 shortage, only tried it for a couple of cylinders full of Win. .22 LR Wildcat ammo, and have never gotten back to it. So there may be something available now that it will do well with.

[jmort]

"I sent it to longhunter for their package, and NOW it is a fine revolver."

Smart move

[AKtinman]

Dale53: Nice looking guns. What kind of grips are on the Bisley Vaquero?

[Dale53]

Dale53: Nice looking guns. What kind of grips are on the Bisley Vaquero?

AK;
Those are ivory micarta, I found those new at the Indianapolis 500 gun show at a very reasonable price. They are not only attractive but also quite practical. It has been a number of years ago and I have no idea what the brand is.

Thanks for the kind words!
Dale53

[Green Frog]

Two and a half years ago I decided I needed a SAA 45 for fast draw games... said decision made while I was at Taylor's Spring Open House. I bought the 4 1/2" Smokewagon Deluxe with their special tuneup package included. I still haven't shot the first wax bullet through it, but the little bit of shooting I've done with factory smokeless ammo has been very gratifying. As for the action, Taylor's in-house gunsmith takes each of the guns that get the "Deluxe" treatment and true up all internal surfaces using special jigs and fixtures, replace all springs, and just generally do a first class tuneup. I have never experienced a smoother hammer and trigger action on any revolver any time. It's the best I can imagine.

Froggie

[gray wolf]

Thank you all for the great pictures and all the very informative info.

G W