Taylor's & Co. Sixguns

[clum553946]

Anyone have any info on Taylor's sixguns? I was looking at the Smoke Wagon in 44-40 on their website. Are they they good & who makes them?
Thnx!

[Green Frog]

I believe they are from Uberti. The ones I have seen have been very nice and when I attended their open house last May they were using a couple of them for the fast draw competition, so I think they are pretty solid. Their website has a lot of info about the various styles and types available.

Froggie

[Silver Jack Hammer]

You know that .44-40 is not a good choice of a cartridge if you intend to load them on a progressive.

[johnson1942]

just bought a 1871-1872 open top .38 special and love it. i think the one you are talking about is quite high end. ive put a few hundred round through it and shoots very well. mine is nickle plated and i didnt feel the grips matched the nickleplateing. this is not a neg thing about the grips as they are also well made. just too much varnish on them for a 1800/s gun. im going to make a pair of black buffalo horn grips for it, it will look more natural and very classy. also i think the grips for the gun your talking about is checkered and very very nice. you will like shooting it. smooth action and trigger is good enough to shoot well. uberti makes taylors guns. if your reloading isnt 44/40 harder to reload than 45 long colt. just a thought. because smoke less powder is hard to get for a .38 special here i have been useing easy to get blackhorn 209 powder. works and shoots great. just takes three dry patches to clean the bore and cylinder when done. no gunk, fills the case and just some dry black soot that doesnt hurt the gun or stick to it. in the very near future im going to get a r and d cylinder for my old army ruger. will shoot blackhorn 209 in that one also. have fun, you will love it and want to shoot it all the time.

[lbaize3]

I have two 5 & 1/2 inch Smoke Wagons in 45 Colt. Used them to shoot Cowboy Action matches. Generally used 250 grain boolits with 5.8 grains of Trail Boss. Smooth action, nice shooting and accurate. I think you will like them...

[DougGuy]

Has Uberti improved their metallurgy since the Cattleman days? I had one when they first started out and couldn't keep an ejector rod housing on the gun, and the hammer and trigger screws (I think) were ground, but they were soft and the threads were pretty coarse, I liked the gun overall but wasn't really impressed with the steel they used and their machining and threads.

[bedbugbilly]

I haven't purchased through Taylor's . . . yet . . but will be in a few months if they have the model/caliber I want in stock.

As far a Uberti goes (which most of Taylor's are) - they are a nice handgun. I have several Ubertis - the latest is a Uberti Bisley in 357 - 4 3/4" and it's a beautiful six shooter. Well made, excellent fit and finish - I couldn't ask for anything nicer.

DougGuy - as far as you question - I understand from my reading over time that the early ones were somewhat "lacking" as you indicate . . but that seems to be all taken care of now. Not that you might not get a bad one once in a while but that can happen with any brand.

I have three SAA revolvers on my "list" - all will be Ubertis based on what I already have and like. Two will be Cattleman and one a '72 open top. Over the last 50 years, I've owned a number of 1851 Colt Navy clones - my favorite C & B design. My current one is a Uberti that I've had for probably 5 or 6 years - well built and a fun shooter.

[clum553946]

You know that .44-40 is not a good choice of a cartridge if you intend to load them on a progressive.

I know, I have been using my single stage press, also thank you everyone for all of the responses, I really appreciate them!

[9.3X62AL]

I've owned 2 Uberti Cattleman revolvers to date. Both had/have 4-3/4" barrels, both shot/shoot to point of aim at 25 yards using "standard" loads of their respective calibers. The first was in 45 Colt, and was made about 20 years ago. The more recent example came to my house in Jan. 2013, and was finished a month earlier per the packing materials. Both showed/show no metallurgic or mechanical flaws, and I'm well past the 1000 round mark on the recent example (44-40 WCF). 200 grain SAECO #446 running 850-900 FPS are an all-day delight to run in both rifle and revolver, and I can easily see how this caliber became so popular as the West was civilized. The mainstream-maker brass is indeed quite weak; Starline brass is significantly stronger, but still expands properly at low-pressure smokeless load strengths.

[johnson1942]

the local gun shop has a mason (sp) conversion uberti with a 5 1/2 inch barrel and navy grips in 45 long colt. what a ballanced gun in the hand and so smooth a action. i really have enough good western style guns now but if i had a extra 500 bucks i would head to the store today and buy it. points like your pointing your finger. feel better then the colt 1872 types. if uberti ever makes a single action merwin hulbert clone i will be first inline to buy one. what a gun, probably the best revolver of the late 1800/s. they had a single action open top that was better than anything else out their.

[cajun shooter]

I own two Uberti Smoke Wagons in 44 WCF and they are top quality revolvers. The Smoke Wagons are forged and not castings. They are very strong and the action out of the box is probably the best in the business.
As far as the statement by another member about the 44WCF not being a good cartridge for reloading on a progressive press, that is as false as it can be. I have shot the 44WCF since the early seventies out of an original Colt first, then with a pair of USFA's and now with a pair of Smoke Wagons.
I have used the Dillon 450, 550 and the Lee Cast Iron Classic for loading this cartridge. I've always used Starline Brass and I've never had one darn problem. If you load with your head some where else then you will have problems with any case.
I have loaded and fired thousands of rounds with only about two that I crushed the mouth of the case on and that was my fault, not the case.
The Uberti guns are some of the best made in the world of cowboy shooting. If you have any abilities to change out springs, then changing out the main spring and the bolt spring will make your Smoke Wagons top shelf. Take care Fairshake

[Love Life]

I own two Uberti Smoke Wagons in 44 WCF and they are top quality revolvers. The Smoke Wagons are forged and not castings. They are very strong and the action out of the box is probably the best in the business.
As far as the statement by another member about the 44WCF not being a good cartridge for reloading on a progressive press, that is as false as it can be. I have shot the 44WCF since the early seventies out of an original Colt first, then with a pair of USFA's and now with a pair of Smoke Wagons.
I have used the Dillon 450, 550 and the Lee Cast Iron Classic for loading this cartridge. I've always used Starline Brass and I've never had one darn problem. If you load with your head some where else then you will have problems with any case.
I have loaded and fired thousands of rounds with only about two that I crushed the mouth of the case on and that was my fault, not the case.
The Uberti guns are some of the best made in the world of cowboy shooting. If you have any abilities to change out springs, then changing out the main spring and the bolt spring will make your Smoke Wagons top shelf. Take care Fairshake

How would you stack the Smoke Wagon against the USFA in regards to accuracy, fit and finish, etc?

[DougGuy]

What kind of dimensions bore/groove/cyl throats do the Smoke Wagons have in 44-40? With a Ruger, the 44-40 is indeed a poor choice due to their lack of proper dimensions.

[9.3X62AL]

The Uberti's throats are about .4285", grooves are .428". Bullets sized .429" work well in it and in the original '73 carbine; its throat is just a hair under .429". Very fortuitous, all of that, given that they were born 115 years apart. If I was to find a Ruger SA in 44-40, I'm sure I could make it work well. It might not share ammo with the other 44 WCFs, but its own ammo would fit and work or I'll know the reason why--and I'll remedy same in short order. Just because Ruger can't/won't cut a proper chamber or throat doesn't mean others can't find reamers and finish the mess they started. In fairness to Ruger--the last 2 Blackhawks I've bought--a 30 Carbine and a 41 Magnum--had PERFECT throat and groove dimensions.

[runfiverun]

I know, I have been using my single stage press, also thank you everyone for all of the responses, I really appreciate them!

I load my 44-40's on my Dillon 550, I also load 30-30 and 25-20 [shrug]
you do have to do a little prep first [like make sure the case mouths are round]
but they run just as smooth and fast as anything else.

[DougGuy]

If I was to find a Ruger SA in 44-40, I'm sure I could make it work well. It might not share ammo with the other 44 WCFs, but its own ammo would fit and work or I'll know the reason why--and I'll remedy same in short order. Just because Ruger can't/won't cut a proper chamber or throat doesn't mean others can't find reamers and finish the mess they started.

Ruger's issue with 44-40 is they Do cut a nice chamber and throat, .425" (I think, but it may be .427") the problem is that they put it in a frame with a .429" - .430" barrel! You could ream the throat for a larger boolit but the neck of the chamber also has to be reamed so the loaded ammo will even go fully into the cylinder.

[9.3X62AL]

Yessir, Doug--you read between the lines succinctly. The 44-40 variants by Ruger were the worst-case examples of The Built Backwards Blackhawks thematic statement made by that company through the 1990s and into the 21st Century. Revolvers had only been in series production for what--150 years? By that time, folks knew what size relationships needed to be between throats and barrel grooves.

But not Ruger. Of course not. The Rules don't apply to Ruger. And so, a cottage industry still flourishes, finishing the revolvers that Ruger starts but doesn't quite complete correctly. Have Pin Gauges--Will Travel.