Best cheap SAA clone

[Angus]

So I am getting semi-obsessed with making holsters after my third, and figure I might want to do it for money. I figure a SAA would be good start for a pattern that a lot of guys own, but I really don't have the scratch available for anything pricey. I might also play around with CAS next summer, so need to get my guns together. I'd also prefer 357 since I already load for it. I'm looking at the Heritage Big Bore and the EAA Bounty hunter, mainly because of price point.

Is one better than the other?
Are they both dimensionally the same?
Parts availability?
What barrel length seems to be the most popular?

I'm also planning to make grips, are the grip frames of both of them the same?

Or does someone have an Uberti or Cimarron they would come off for a bargain price? It's mainly going to be a pattern gun, with the occasional plink so condition really isn't a problem.

[tek4260]

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=248267599

I got one a few years ago and it will shoot with most anything out there. I think this is the same thing as the old Cabelas Uberti that was $99 a few years back.

Not sure if they make them in 357 though.

[Ziptar]

If you look and are patient you can find Vaqueros for $350-$450, that'd be the way I'd go.

[Angus]

Are the dimensions of a Blackhawk/Vaquero close enough to a SAA for holsters to be interchangeable?

[tek4260]

Are the dimensions of a Blackhawk/Vaquero close enough to a SAA for holsters to be interchangeable?


Not unless you get the Midframe Vaquero/Blackhawk

Ex Lipsey's 45/45ACP Blackhawk
New Vaquero
50th Anv 357
44 Special Blackhawk

Otherwise it will be the standard Blackhawk frame which is too large

[Angus]

Ok, good to know

[dougader]

Once in a great while (not lately) I have seen a guy or two who was needing to sell a USFSA Rodeo... which is the same quality as their other, more expensive, SA guns but with a matte finish. If you can get a good deal on one of the rodeos, that's the way I'd go.

Tek: that's good to know about the Uberti. I've often wondered about their quality.

[jh45gun]

Uberti's are good value for the money and well made. I like mine in 45 Colt.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have a pair of Ruger new model Vaqueros in 45 Colt and a pair of Pietta Colt Clones in 44/40. The frames are supposed to be the same size but the Ruger seems roomier to me, especially in the trigger guard.

Both pairs are tuned and both work well. I was worried about the fact that Colt Clones are supposed to be more fragile, but mine have seen about a thousand rounds of Winchester SASS factory loads (work well, but lead a bit) and all of that brass have been reloaded at least twice. 500 or so of those loads were warthog Black Powder loads (Warthog= black powder filled to the point where the boolit just compresses it slightly, :) ). No problems so far.

If you have very big hands like me, I think the Rugers would be worth waiting and saving for. Like the Rolls Royce salesmen used to say, the quality is appreciated, long after the cost is forgotten.

Having said that, I really love the Clones, they are so sweet, even if they do bite me on a regular basis.

[Uncle Grinch]

Wasn't paying attention when posted.... moved to it's own thread.

My bad!!

[Four Fingers of Death]

nice rifle

[Wayne Smith]

Uberti Cattlemen. I'm told that when Colt sold the gages and such for the 1873 Uberti bought the whole deal. That means Uberti should be selling the same gun as the Colt 1873.

[Multigunner]

So I am getting semi-obsessed with making holsters after my third, and figure I might want to do it for money. I figure a SAA would be good start for a pattern that a lot of guys own, but I really don't have the scratch available for anything pricey. I might also play around with CAS next summer, so need to get my guns together. I'd also prefer 357 since I already load for it. I'm looking at the Heritage Big Bore and the EAA Bounty hunter, mainly because of price point.

Is one better than the other?
Are they both dimensionally the same?
Parts availability?
What barrel length seems to be the most popular?

I'm also planning to make grips, are the grip frames of both of them the same?

Or does someone have an Uberti or Cimarron they would come off for a bargain price? It's mainly going to be a pattern gun, with the occasional plink so condition really isn't a problem.


As for a revolver to use when making holsters, to insure fit and function, look around for cast aluminum reproduction revolvers. They used to market these and advertise them in gun mags back in the sixties, both for use in holster making and as motion picture throw down props. Cast rubber was also available, but aluminum was better for molding holsters.
You wouldn't want to subject a revolver with a good finish to the wear of repeated holster fittings, especially if you mold damp leather for form fitting hide out rigs.

There are also very realistic replica pistols with many moving parts, but these can be fairly expensive.
The Airsoft replicas of semi auto pistols are usually very close in dimensions, and the higher quality airsoft revolvers are even more realistically done, but the revolvers are much more expensive than the semi auto types, especially replica SAA airsoft pistols.

You might find a few non functional revolvers available at gunshows or from gunsmiths. pistols with compromised frames, not worth restoring and stripped of most internal parts. These can sometimes be had for peanuts. But any original Colt SAA no matter how doggy may end up with a buyer willing to pour money into a rebuild.

I still have a Pyro plastic model Colt Peacemaker I've used to cut payyerns for western style holsters. Not study enough for molding or detail fitting, but useful in getting started on a pattern.
These were once very popular , the entire line was very well done, most parts were cast on molds made off museum original fire arms. I picked up a discontinued kit of their Colt 1860 revolver some years back out of nostalgia. Haven't put it together yet.

A French member of another board once posted images of a percussion cap & Ball replica of the Colt Peacemaker he'd bought over there. Since these don't use fixed ammunition it was easier to get these than a cartridge firing replica.
Very nice, though he had to make some modifications to the breech to prevent frame damage from cylinder slap.

Anyway, these may not be to your liking, but figured I'd list some alternatives that might fill the bill.

A friend who'd owned a shop that made custom car parts once asked if we could market cast resin replica guns. I wish we'd followed through on that. It would be just what a holster maker would need. An accurate waterproof and expendable piece, easily repaired if necessary.

[jh45gun]

MG makes a good point why subject a good gun to the abuse of making holsters I forgot that form fit means a wet holster to the leather to form fit to the gun. There are repo non firing guns out there cheap.

http://gunsofold.com/1873_SAA_45.html

[August]

Uberti Cattlemen. I'm told that when Colt sold the gages and such for the 1873 Uberti bought the whole deal. That means Uberti should be selling the same gun as the Colt 1873.

This is the least expensive clone, that I'm aware of, that has Colt's dimensioned parts. Some of the Uberti guns are absolutely great, all are good. Metallurgy is not on par with a USFA or Colt's pistol, but they Ubertis last a long time and, as I said, are true 1873 guns in terms of dimensions.

I interchange my New Model Vaqueros and Colt's in the same holsters and don't notice any issues with that practice. I'm not saying they are exactly the same (frame, cylinder, barrel) dimensions, just that they seem to be equally at home in the same holsters. FYI.

[buckweet]

would u make a holster for a glock 17L longslide ?

and a s&w k22 model 17 with a 8 3/8 barrel ?

thanks

weet

[Four Fingers of Death]

I interchange my New Model Vaqueros and Colt's in the same holsters and don't notice any issues with that practice. I'm not saying they are exactly the same (frame, cylinder, barrel) dimensions, just that they seem to be equally at home in the same holsters. FYI.

I used my holsters on the old 5.5" Vaqueros that I used to own as well as the 5.5" 45 Blackhawk convertibles, my 5'5" New Model Vaqueros, my new model Super Blackhawk and a short barrelled 45 Blackhawk 45 convertible as well as my 5.5" Ruger Old Armys and my Pietta Colt Clones, phew!. There is not that much difference in them.

[wallenba]

Somebody out there makes non-working steel full size replicas for under $100 .

Found one http://www.old-west-guns.com/proddetail.php?prod=M1186G