I want a ssa colt style pistol

[Jniedbalski]

I have always wanted what I call it a cowboy gun. A colt style Ssa . Only problem I don’t know what caliber to get. Iam set up for 38/357 already with every lee 9 mm and 357 bullet mold. I have a 44 mag reloading die I bought 20 years ago and never used.i have always wanted a big bore so 44 mag and 45 colt look good. Looking at a 4 5/8 or 5.5 barrel. I have looked at pistols made by ruger really like the convertible 45 colt/ 45acp. Also looked at the Italian and the German made eaa guns also. Really don’t need a magnum going to be shooting mostly lead cowboy loads at paper. What do you all like . I know I will probably get a bunch of different favorite guns but I have always wanted one so now I will finally get one.

[country gent]

If possible handle a bunch of different ones and see what feels right in your hand. Also with the rugers try vaquero, Bisley, and black hawks as they are all slightly different. If there is a club near you that has Cowboy matches a trip to a match may allow you to see handle a few different makes models styles. Everybody is different and what feels fits me may not be the same to you. As to caliber again that's up to you and what you want, nostalgic would be 32-20, 38-40 44-40, 45 colt. possibly 45 Scofield. Modern or magnum brings in the 32 mags, 357, 41, 44, and in some hotter loaded 45 colts. Take some time and decide what performance level you want then decide

[Jniedbalski]

The problem no body around here sells them so for me it’s buy and try out. I don’t have any clubs around here at all. I thank one shop has a ruger bh and one shop has a Italian 45 that’s about it. So that’s why Iam trying to find out what the cowboy shooters use. A old school 38/40 or 44/40 also sounds good thanks

[Thumbcocker]

Uberti for authenticity; Ruger for strength

[frogleg]

A lot of the Cowboy action shooters here use 38spl. Cheap to shoot, easy to get back on target and you are set up for it.
i am a 45 colt fan I have had Ubertys, Rugers , and I just recently Bought a Pietta 45 that I have not shot yet but it has very nice fit and finish and I need to go shoot it and report back.

[sixshot]

If you plan on shooting it very much you will want to reload, factory ammo gets expensive. So, if you think you might want to use it for both plinking & hunting get a 44 magnum & you can shoot 44 specials also. You can buy cast bullets pretty cheap so you can load them mild for plinking & wind them up for hunting. For hotter loads many of us prefer the Bisley grip frame, it's easier to handle with hot loads.
The 41 & 45 are great calibers if you handload, but factory ammo is limited if you don't. The 32 & 327 is very popular right now if you want to stay small & it's cheap to load for, look at the Ruger Single Seven, it shoots both calibers. A 357 Ruger single action is never a bad choice, ammo is everywhere. Lots of good choices but it's always a good idea to shoot someone's gun before you buy, you might not be happy after you've shot a few rounds, surely someone has a gun you can try without spending $500-$600 for one & then not getting the gun you want. Feel & balance are important to all of us.

Dick

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Whichever one you decide on, I'll bet it wont' be your last. As country gent pointed out, the very best way to select your first is to examine many. Not possible, you say, in your circumstances, and that's unfortunate. You'll want to bear in mind, when making your selection that cowboy action shooting isn't the only use for these revolvers, as they still have various hunting applications and even use as self-defense weapons. The adjustable sights found on the Ruger Blackhawk series are invaluable for point-of-impact adjustment for various loads, but (my opinion) the balance and feel in the hand of an 1873 Colt clone is hard to beat. This is one of those things where eventually you may own a dozen of them and still not be able to select just one as a favorite under all circumstances.

DG

[Froogal]

I own a Uberti in .45 Colt 7 1/2" barrel. With mild loads it is pleasant to shoot and highly accurate. Also own a Cimarron, .45 Colt, with 5 1/2" barrel. I'm still getting acquainted with it, but accuracy seems to be right up there with the Uberti. Also own a Ruger Vaquero, .357, 5 1/2" barrel. Accuracy is a **** shoot. Has more to do with pure luck than anything else. The Ruger will soon be retired, and replaced with either a Uberti or a Cimarron.

[Tom W.]

I had the Ruger convertible for years. Then one day in a foolish moment I traded it for something that I also no longer have..... But it was fun! I found that my best boolit for it was the RCBS 270-SAA for the ,45 Colt, and almost any cast boolit for the .45 A.C.P. was good.


And I didn't have to chase brass, either!

[Arkansas Paul]

Uberti for authenticity; Ruger for strength

^^^ This.

If you go for the Ruger, get whatever caliber you want.

If you go for authenticity, I would go with a round that the original Colt SAA was actually chambered in. That would be .45 Colt, .44-40 and a few others. I know Uberti makes guns in both.

[corbinace]

You mentioned not having any clubs in the area...There almost has to be a club shooting cowboys in a 200 mile radius of your home town.
Get up on a Saturday morning and drive over to where they are shooting and introduce yourself. You will have a nice Saturday drive, meet some great people, and get to handle a bunch of revolvers. Pack a lunch and the only expense for the day is a bit over a tank of gas.

Sure beats mowing the grass.

[Love Life]

The Colt is what it is. It’s a piece of functioning art. Has .455 chamber throats but shoots very accurately with .454 lead bullets. It’s regulated at 25 yards with 250 gr bullets. It will hold 15 shots in 3 inches from a bench.

The Uberti is a very close copy. It is not as well fitted, nor is it as smooth as the Colt. However, for its price range it is pretty good. It will routinely keep 15 shots in 3 inches at 25 yards from a bench. It is also well regulated for 250 gr bullets.

The Ruger is a different creature all together. It closely mimics the SAA, but is mechanically different. Not better or worse, just different. It’s is also nicely fitted and finished for it’s price range. What I like about it is you can load and unload without moving the hammer, and you can safely carry 6 rds. I still load it like the others with load one, skip one, load 4 and drop the hammer on an empty chamber. The Ruger can also stand a steady diet of a 255 gr bullet over 9.0 gr of unique. The other two I load with 8.5 gr of unique under a 255 gr bullet. The Ruger is also well regulated for 255 gr bullets and will routinely put 15 shots into 3 inches or less at 25 yards from a bench. The only issue I had with the Ruger was it came with .4504 chamber throats and I had to have Dougguy ream them to .453 for me. That was an unknown cost that I didn’t like having to pay. It also greatly benefited from a trigger job as it was rough as a cob out of the box.

The other 2 were good enough out of the box. The colt had the best action out of the box ( as it should) but it’s trigger is a bit heavy.

So from $500 on the bottom end to $1,900 on the top end, they all do what they are supposed to do. One is a classic and very well fit and finished, one is a pretty good copy, and one is it’s own animal. As you can see, accuracy is similar across all 3 of them. My recommendation is to pick the one that beat suits you and have a blast.

Oh, and they are all 45 Colt. I love that big, old, fat cartridge. They are also all 5.5 inch barrels, which is what I find works best for me.

[Walks]

Surely there must be someone on this website that lives within a 100 miles of you.

Some who has Single Action's that could meet you at a range and let you try out what he has.

I have had SA's all my life. The first New HandGun I ever bought was a SA Colt in .45Colt. 2nd was a NM BlackBlackhawk in .357Mag/6 1/2" bbl. Someone stole the 9mm Cylinder the first time I took it to the Range. It's had 35,000 of the Lyman #358156GC cast of #2 or Lino sized .358 over max chages of 2400. Plus who knows how many .38's and lighter loads.

If I had to chose one from the 15-18 SA's I own I would probably have a stroke between it and My RH Cowboy SA Colt. A .44Spl, 5 1/2" bbl.

Check Lipsey's online. They probably have the most extensive selection of Ruger SA's available.

And I would suggest a NM .44Mag Blackhawk in 5 1/2" bbl.
You can load everything from a 180gr to a 300+gr. However I suggest sticking to 200gr to 285gr bullets.
I like the .44spl "Skeeter load" of a 240-250gr bullet over Unique. As a easy plinking load or for Paper Punching, cuts clean holes. I load a 200-210-214gr Bullet in .44spl over a starting charge of TiteGroup for Cowboy Shooting in My Colts, depending on mold and alloy.

If you like Lee molds, I believe they offer a 240gr SWC in Tumble Lube design.

Good Luck with your first Single Action. I'm Sure it'll be the first of many.

[Green Frog]

My 32-20 is a Navy Arms made by Uberti while my 327 Fed Mag is a Ruger Blackhawk. I also have a Uberti built 45 Colt that was bought through Taylor. The 45 is "Taylor Tuned" and the 32-20 had a similar package from Navy. Both of them feel a little smoother than the Ruger, but from the factory that Blackhawk is no slouch! For casual, fun shooting, any one of these will suit you well, for serious competition, you need to examine the application and what people already shooting that specific game are using.

I would avoid 38-40 and 44-40 as you mention since ammo is harder to get off the shelf and both calibers are a little bit harder to load with less commonly available brass. As I think about this, I'm leaning toward advising you, based on your OP, to look at a 357 Vaquero from Ruger, but this is free advice and worth exactly what I'm charging you for it!

Froggie

[bedbugbilly]

I went with a Uberti . . . . then another Uberti . . . . . then another Uberti . .. . . then another Uberti . . . . then another Uberti . . . . . . then

I love all of my Uberti single actions . . . . . 38 spl - 357 mag - 45 Colt

[Baja_Traveler]

Love my 44 special!

[Love Life]

Love my 44 special!

I love your 44 special too!!

[bob208]

my first single action was a ruger Blackhawk .357 4 5/8 barrel. got it used in 71 still have it. it has been used on every thing from deer to water skippers. carried it a lot on the tractor mowing fields. I owned it for 6 years before I fired a mag. case in it. it did eat a lot of .38-44 loads.

now I have ubertis in .44-40 .38-40 and .45 colt. also more old model rugers.

but if something would happen the last one to go would be the first ruger in .357. it covers both ends light loads for tin cans and heavy loads for self-defense or hunting.

[Alchemist]

An option no one has mentioned yet is Standard Manufacturing. They make a clone of the Single Action Army that is superb! Brian Pearce did an article in Handloader about three issues ago. I bought one about a month ago, haven’t shot it yet but it is a work of art. Costs about what a Colt would cost if you could get one, but quality is second to none. All machined steel parts. No MIM, cast or alloy. Check ‘em out, they are awesome.

[Love Life]

Those standard single actions look mighty fine!!