mtngunr
03-18-2007, 06:31 PM
My vote would go for the current USFA line, after they went in-house for all major parts production and dropped import stuff....don't know, but suspect, that was marked by them going from case-hardened hammers on Rodeos to flat machined white barstock.....the bolt is still shaped Uberti-ish but appears well machined of good material.....the rest of the gun is simply outstanding.....I bought a Rodeo after the white hammers became available, and was curious as to what lurked under the matte black finish......a disassembly of the gun and soaking all parts in white vinegar for a few minutes solved that mystery.....what I found was virtual machined perfection, the inside of the gun just as well done as the outside, including all smaller parts, yea and verily, even unto the screws which are perfect in every way with smooth domed heads, perfect slots, smooth shanks and clean threads....with apparently every single part cleanly machined from highest quality barstock with not a casting or sintering to be found.....purchased for a price which falls squarely in between S&W's sintering and Ruger's casting......closely toleranced, tightly made and fit, chamber/throat/bore relationships perfect, dead-on Colt specs for parts to the degree a Colt hammer dropped in and functioned with the USFA internals (something most Colts can't even pull off), the pivot and hole diameters of all parts seemingly lifted entire out of my Kuhnhausen Colt SAA manual.......there are very few differences, the cylinder slightly larger in diameter, the chambers tighter spec giving more strength at the bolt notches, the cylinder window slightly taller, the sear slightly beefier, the hammer bolt cam machined integral to the hammer, and the ejector housing screws directly to the barrel ala' earliest 1st Gen Colts and all later Rugers......but all of these differences have nothing to do with the execution, which is almost perfect.....about the only technical deficiency I could find to the gun was the pawl/hand being a smidge short on the second tooth which let the cylinder recoil backwards a smidge before being caught for final rotation and lock-up, that being a very niggling thing that effects function not one iota....a phone call led to immediate no-questions shipment of a new pawl/hand which has yet to be installed.....otherwise, perfect timing and rock solid lock-up, fantastic chamber/bore alignment at each charge hole.......and the "fragile" Colt-type lockwork continues to run without parts breakage, the gun two years old this June..........quite frankly, I consider this the best executed new revolver I've ever purchased, and would have to put its workmanship squarely into the pre-WWI class of weapon fit and machining, easily equal or better than my '20's vintage 2nd HE, the early 2nd Gen Colt or even 1895-1909 DWM export Mausers.......................and for those wondering what a stripped Rodeo looks like, picture the Target Grey of Ruger on a SAA.....now slightly browning with handling and use, well on its way to looking like a NICE old Colt, just as I'd hoped, shy of artificially aging/vandalizing the gun........