New Cimarron SAA in .45C/.45A

[Treetop]

Well, after waiting all summer for a Pietta SAA clone from Century Arms, only to find out that the handguns finally being offered were significantly different and more expensive than the May issue of the American Rifleman indicated, I went shopping for exactly what I wanted.

After weeks of pleasant internet research, I finally decided on a Cimarron Model P with a 4 3/4" barrel and two cylinders, one in .45 Colt and one in .45 Auto. All I can say is "wow" I'm glad I bought this one!

It's my first ever SAA clone and I just can't believe how good it feels in my hand. It's even more of a natural pointer than my beloved 1911s!

I've been too busy with grand kid football, drill team and cheer leading to get out to the range until last week. Mrs. Treetop and I always take the first week of Texas deer season off and head for our family ranch in central Texas. I was fortunate enough to kill a buck early on opening morning (see the story and pics in the Hunting with CBs sub forum), which left me with plenty of range time.

The target shown below indicates that the front sight will have to be carefully filed down to bring my groups up, but the happy thing is, this group is a conglomerate of several different boolit weights and velocity levels. Some were shot off the sandbags and some were shot offhand. Both cylinders were used with everything from my standard 1911 practice loads of 5.4 gr. WW231 and a 200 gr. H&G 68 in the .45 Auto cylinder to my standard .45 Colt hunting load consisting of 8.5 gr. Unique and the 255 gr. 454424 Lyman boolit. I won't shoot any more of those in this revolver. The recoil dug the bottom of the grip painfully into my palm.

Once I get this six shooter's POA and POI centered, I'm going to really get some use out of this fine gun.

The bore slugged .451 x .451" and all of the cylinder throats were .453"-.4535".

The only negative is, this revolver appears to be very lonely, so I suppose a 5 1/2" Model P in .44 S&W Special will have to be procured to make it happy. :grin:

Tt.

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o146/RMAJR/IMG_0441_zps833aa4d7.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o146/RMAJR/IMG_0440_zps2bb9375e.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o146/RMAJR/IMG_0439_zps352f9cc4.jpg

[propwashp47]

happy birthday marine , with the tanks of a grateful nation for your service. sounds like you got great gun. I saw the lonely gun coming so bought a pair of rugger bisley blackhalks.i am hoping for a litter in the spring . that pain in the palm is why I went with the bisley, I use the old Keith load 18.5 gr 2400 and all I get is a sore jaw from too much grinning .I am also in centex and cant wait for hog killing weather.

[Beagle333]

That's a pretty nice lookin' 6-shooter! You should get many fun days at the range with that one. :grin:

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Excellent choice and what a great shooter! If other things in life keep you from the range simply go into convulsions around your family. Start with a little nervous twitch in the hand that moves up the arm and into the eye. Then start with the whole act. Do it around your wife in the grocery store. She'll catch on; Oh, she'll say. You need to go to the range don't you. She'll want you to leave and not embarrass her any more. Grand kids react the same way when you do this in front of their friends.

To file the front sight, get your ammo loaded up and go to the range. Shoot your groups the way you shoot your gun, not with a bench rest unless that is how you plan on shooting that SAA. But bear in mind the Duke is watching from above. So you'll shoot and file and see your groups rise on the paper. That's how SAA's are made. Get a file and place it on a flat board. Take a stack of targets the same thickness as the file and place them on the board. Place the SAA upside down with the rear sight on the stack of targets and the front sight on the file. Eye closely to keep the front sight straight up and down and stroke the front sight across the file which you hold stationary on the board with your other hand. You'll pivot your SAA on it's rear sight while you stroke the front sight the length of the file. This way all the corners stay straight and your front sight will be not only regulate to zero but the corners of the metal will be square which is favorable to the rounded and polished manner they come out of the box. When you get it zeroed the front sight will be a little too thick in the rear sight notch which is good. Cover the barrel with electrical tape and carefully file off the side of the front sight necessary to fine tune to zero windage and apply a little cold blue. The metal of the front sight is soft and designed to be filed for zero. Slow down when your getting close to zero. Don't expect to achieve perfection with one day at the range. A wise old gunsmith said to me one time: "Sometimes you just gotta walk away."

[35 Whelen]

I've filed the sights on three SA's now. Make SURE you shoot your groups and do your testing from field positions. I did mine from the bench and really filed too much on the 4 3/4" Uberti .44 Special I hunt with. When I started practicing, sitting down, @ 50 yds. in preparation to go hunting, my load was shooting about 6" high. Fortunately, simply switching from an NOE 429421 260 gr. SWC to an RCBS 44-250 KT 260 gr. SWC lowered the POI @ 50 yds. down to where it needed to be, and PLEASE don't ask me to explain how switching to a bullet of identical weight and similar profile lowered the POI! I file my front sights with the pistol clamped in a bench vise using wooden pads. I change the direction of the file every few strokes as this helps keep things square. But, I really like Silver Jacks idea.

DO get you a Cimarron Model "P" .44 Special. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! Lovely pistols to say the least. Mine's a black powder frame and shoots every bit as good as she looks!

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Single%20Actions/5_zpsdf17a411.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Single%20Actions/5_zpsdf17a411.jpg.html)

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Single%20Actions/55100yds-ed_zps13d02494.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Single%20Actions/55100yds-ed_zps13d02494.jpg.html)

[StrawHat]

I like my old convertible revolver! Mine is a 5 1/2" barreled version.


http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc194/StrawHat/Colt%20clones/45Convertible006.jpg (http://s214.photobucket.com/user/StrawHat/media/Colt%20clones/45Convertible006.jpg.html)

[Silver Jack Hammer]

StrawHat, great pic. Another point on filing sights, trace the existing front sight on a piece of heavy paper or cardboard before you begin filing so you'll have the correct angle to reshape to after you have filed down to correct height. When you have the correct height, the top of the front sight will be flat, blue the top of the front sight so you won't take away any more metal when you re-shape the front sight.

[Treetop]

Propwash, it looks like our hog killin weather has arrived! The temperature is dropping like a rock as I type this and the north wind is blowin hard!

Silver Jack Hammer, thanks so much for your excellent description of the best method I've ever seen for filing down a front sight! That post needs to be in a sticky somewhere, IMO.

35Whelen, that's my next handgun right there! I hope mine shoots as good as yours.

StrawHat, I love those grips. Did you make them or can I buy a pair like them somewhere?

Tt.

[sixshot]

I think I went over to the Cimarron factory when we stayed in Fredricksburg, Texas a few winters ago, neat place. There was a dealer down town that had lots of them. Sounds like you know what you're doing Treetop, just remember you can't put it back once you've filed it off, the last little bit needs to be done with a stone. You're going to love that sixgun.

Dick

[StrawHat]

Treetop, I carved those grips at least 30 years ago. They are what I call American Ivory, smooth stag. I found a piece of antler in a gunshop in Delaware Ohio (Golden Age Arms) and took it home. THey are one piece, fit to the frame and then the bark is removed. I have not found a piece that dense since and have been looking. I also have made simialr from elk sheds I found when in Arizona. A bit more porous and I am trying different things to "plug the holes" so to speak.

Next up will be grips carved from holly. I got a piece at the local Woodcraft store.

Thank for noticing and asking.

[Larry Gibson]

I've the "Evil Roy" Uberti SAA with 4 3/4" barrel and a convertible 45 ACP cylinder. I shoot 190 - 205 gr bullets in mine. Mostly my own Lee 452-200-RF or 452-2190-SWCs but I also shoot any commercial cast that come my way. I shoot the 45 Colt load developed for my M73 Carbine which is 7.3 gr of Bullseye. That runs right at 14,000 psi (measured with Oehler M43). It is very accurate at 1200 fps from the Carbine and runs right at 950 fps out of the Evil Roy and 930 fps out of my Uberti 5 1/2" Artillery Model SAA. It is a very accurate load in the revolvers also. The front sight has been filed for my offhand shooting with a zero of just above POA at 25 yards. That puts it dead on at 50 yards from the revolvers.

With the 45 ACP conversion cylinder in the Evil Roy" I just shoot my generic 45 ACP load which is the 190 gr Lee's or any 200 -205 gr SWC over 5 gr Bullseye. Velocity is 890 fps and accuracy is excellent. I haven't put it on paper yet but a lot of rocks, tin cans and dirt clods have bit the dust out to 50 yards and even a few out farther. I love the conversion and find myself shooting more 45 ACP these days than 45 Colt out of it.....unless I pack the carbine along then both revolvers and carbine are holdin' 45 Colt loads.........Thank goodness for 6 cavity moulds and Dillon progressive presses!!!!!

Larry Gibson

Hostiles to the front...........

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