Got the itch for a SAA - need advice

[Deep Six]

I've accumulated a safe full of Ruger new models over the last five years. I love single action revolvers and have always wanted the original. Lately the itch has gotten really bad, to the point that it's at the top of my "next gun" list. However, I find myself in a quandary about what to get. I hear the latest 3rd (some would say "4th") gen Colts are as good as ever. The only problem is that they don't exist for all practical purposes. I haven't seen a new Colt on a dealer shelf in years. Not even Gunbroker is any help. The other problem is that I want a shooter and I don't know that I could bring myself to shoot a $1400 new gun. The next option is find an early 3rd gen gun. These seem to be the most reasonable (if you call $1100 reasonable....). I hear the early 3rd gen had QC issues and should be inspected in person before buying. Unfortunately I haven't even seen one of these locally either. Gunbroker is chock full of 3rd gen guns, but the sellers are usually trying to sell them as "new" for $2000+ without very good pictures or description - no thanks! That brings me to the third option: an Italian clone. I hear these are usually of perfectly acceptable quality for a shooter, but they're just not the real deal! On the plus side, while the 45 and 357 are readily available, I should be able to order my favored caliber of 44 special. Adding that stipulation to a real Colt would only make the search that much harder.

So I need advice. Should I:
1. Try to find a nice early 3rd gen Colt
2. Wait 6 months and hope that Colt increases SAA production once they emerge from bankruptcy
3. Settle for an Italian

I'd also appreciate any advice on where a new or used Colt could be found.

Thanks all!

[Beagle333]

I think the Pietta 1873 clone in .45 is a great one. I'd buy another one in a minute!

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/1873/Pietta002_zps13c0af7f.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/1873/Pietta013_zps5771db27.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/1873/Pietta017_zps9f4cd6f8.jpg

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I own over a half dozen Colt's 3rd Gen's and I just paid $2,000.00 for another one. I've heard that too about the QC of the early 3rd's. When the early 3rd's were coming out there was QC issues with everything from Smith and Wesson to Dodge. We bought knowing a good 'smith who could easily take care of the problems, whether we bought Colt or Smith. The early 3rd's had what I consider some of the nicest color case hardening. Today's Colt's come out of the box zeroed which was unheard of in the late '70's and early '80's. Back then we filed the sights and turned to barrels to zero. A 'smith has to turn the barrel, most came out of the factory shooting low and left so we could zero them to our load. There was shipping costs and 'smithing fees to turn the barrel to zero but once you got your Colt's shooting right there's nothing else like 'em.

The way I look at is either part with your money to get what you want or part with less money and get a copy. Both will shoot but there's nothing like a genuine Colt's. I work hard and deserve a genuine Colt's for my labor.

Ya, they're expensive. My co-workers cajoled me for wasting $575.00 for a new Colt in 1982 and called a fool for shooting it but few purchases have brought me so much joy and satisfaction over 30 years later. I've gone through several pick-up trucks but the Colt's I buy last and work for me. Personally I'd never be satisfied with a copy, you decide for yourself.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

You can see pics of my new Colt's on my other post about a new addition to the herd.

[shoot-n-lead]

I have several Cimarron 44 Special revolvers (my much favored cartridge...sold of all of my 45's) and they are great guns. I have a safe full of Ruger single actions in all cartridges (again, except 45 Colt) and while they are great guns...they just do not have the same feel as the SAA type gun.

Nothing at all wrong with the real deal...but I am sold on the clones, as well...and they will do anything that I need to do with a handgun...deer or hog.

[DougGuy]

One thing I will say about the Uberti clones, man them Italians can SURE fit a set of one piece grips! Nobody in the industry melts wood grip panels to steel back straps nearly as good! You close your eyes and run your hands around the plowhandle and you can hardly tell where wood stops and steel starts. That one single thing always impressed me about the Italian clones. And they do some beautiful CCH as well. Their threads aren't as sharply machined and the metal seems soft on some of the early clones, they looked REALLY GOOD until you started taking them apart and then you knew for sure you weren't taking apart a Colt.

I had an early Uberti .44 magnum "buckhorn" I think it was called, fit and finish were shades and away better than even Colt 3rds, but you couldn't keep the ejector housing screw tight and it would shoot off the whole housing and the ejector rod flew downrange quite often.

Many years later I wound up with another Uberti, this one with an "Old West" finish that they do with cyanide or some ch1t but it looks period correct. I owned a 1st Gen Colt that had no finish left on it but mechanically it was tight as a new drum. This Uberti is strikingly close to the original Colt I had. Enough so that I enjoy the Uberti and don't feel bad about letting the Colt get away all those years ago. In this case, it's managed to scratch the itch for me, and maybe a clone will find favor with you as well.

When they made this one, they set out to copy one of the first 200 commercial Single Action Army revolvers made by Colt, and it has some features on it that really set it apart from run of the mill clones. They copied the "pinched" frame rear sight, bullseye ejector rod, black powder frame and cylinder pin retaining screw, and the early style hammer spur. They even copied the huge .456"+ cylinder throats the old black powder Colts had. Most distressed finishes look very artificially done, I was quite favorably impressed with the distressed and aged finish they gave this gun and the grips, having owned a real genuine cowboy history Colt from 1902, they nailed it.

Moral of the story? Doesn't detract from it not being a real Colt, -if- it's cool!

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Guns/DSC03760crop768_zpsxo4wirjx.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Guns/DSC03760crop768_zpsxo4wirjx.jpg.html)

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Guns/DSC03759crop768_zpsdumrpz3h.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Guns/DSC03759crop768_zpsdumrpz3h.jpg.html)

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Guns/DSC03751crop768_zpsmcms3evi.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Guns/DSC03751crop768_zpsmcms3evi.jpg.html)

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Guns/DSC03733crop768_zpsyheifbcl.jpg
(http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Guns/DSC03733crop768_zpsyheifbcl.jpg.html)

By comparison, here is a genuine "pinched frame" Colt made in 1875(?)

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Guns/ColtSAA163-PinchedFrame_zpsmenldwex.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Guns/ColtSAA163-PinchedFrame_zpsmenldwex.jpg.html)

[High Desert Hunter]

I regret not buying a USFA SAA, that being said, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up an Italian clone.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

USFA, before they went out of business my wife asked me if I loved that gun because I was ogling one in a magazine. It was the centrefold. I assured her USFA SAA meant nothing to me. Then a few days later she came home and caught me with a USFA SAA on the couch. $850.00. I parted with that gun and have no regrets. I'm wired for the Colt's and my hand and brain don't like anything else. The USFA's were nice but I told Dave Scovill this story and he laughed and said once you are tuned into shooting Colt's SAA nothing else will do for you.

[High Desert Hunter]

I couldn't tell the difference, the USFA was made on old Colt tooling. The fit and finish was better on the USFA as well.

[bedbugbilly]

I passed on a Colt SAA this past year. At my age, I just couldn't justify the cost for the shooting that I do. I went with a Uberti steel Cattleman and it is very nice - excellent fit and finish. Nope . . . not a "real" Colt but sure is close enough. I wanted a 45 Colt and got the 7 1/2" model - a really awesome shooter and way too much fun.

As already said . . . the Ruger SAs are nice but after I got the Uberti, mine sit pretty much unused. Just not the same "feel" as the Uberti.

I've heard of several guys who ordered new Colts and after three years, they still don't have them. If that's what a person wants and they can afford it . . then go for it. But if it's going to be a shooter and you can't find a "real" Colt . . consider the Ubertis or Piettas . . they are pretty nice and I think they are reasonably priced for the excellent quality they exhibit. I like mine so much that I'm probably going to add one or two more to the herd at some point . . perhaps in other calibers.

[opos]

I've got a Pietta Millenium SAA clone...I have a number of Ruger Vaqueros (full size and all have had cylinder jobs)....The Pietta is my far and away favorite for just plinking....all are 45 Colts except for one Vaquero Sheriff which is a 357....The Pietta is accurate, feels absolutely perfect in my hands...really like it and stick with the proper loads..if I want to heat things up they go in the Rugers.

[Char-Gar]

When U.S. Ptd. F.A. first got ginned up "under the blue dome" in the old Colt factory, they imported Uberti parts and did the fit and finish in Hartford. The result was of the most attractive revolvers I have ever seen. As time passed the firm became U.S.F.A. and begin to make parts in the US. Eventually they stopped making SAA revolvers altogether for reasons not quite understood.

In 1994 I bought one of the U.S.Ptd. F.A. Uberti parts SSA in 45 Colt quite simply because it was so darn pretty. It is an near exact replica of the very early civilian model. I sent it back to the factory and had a 45 ACP cylinder fitted.

It is a very pretty handgun and shoots quite well. Well worth the price, but hard to find on the used market these days.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

When USFA went from Itialian frames and cylinders to frames and cylinders of their own the new ones were beefed up ever so slightly making them much stranger than any Italian SA and stronger than the Colt's. The slight changes in dimensions are hardly noticeable when you handle them but the increase in dimensions increased their safety levels from the 14,000 psi chart to the 20,000 psi chart. USFA also moved the cylinder stop bolt over ever so slightly giving the ever so slightly enlarged cylinder even more metal at the bolt stop grooves.

[doc1876]

everything mentioned above, I have. I can never get enough of my real Colts. I use the Ruger when I have to "bang it hard" as the darn thing don't break, but other than that I never pick it up. The clones, USAF, Uberti, Pietta, they all get used, but the colt comes out when I want to really shoot, and if I am doing a historical thing, so when the inspection comes along, "Oh, it's a Colt, ok" is all that is ever said.
In the early days of USAF, we had to do the movie Crazy Horse, so I had one custom built for my son, with the three patent dates, proper one piece grips, bp frame, and all. Good gun, but if you hold it blind folded in one hand and one of the colts in the other, you can tell, you just can.
I got a Navy from Uberti years ago, and the guts went south. It now has all Colt insides, and it is one of my go to guns.
I guess what I am saying, if "good enough" is good enough for you, then ok, if you want to be satisfied, that is why you go Up town for a real lady.

[sundog]

Uberti El Patron's are pretty sweet.

[Deep Six]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm currently thinking a Cimmaron/Uberti will do for now. Just having 4 clicks will offer a very different feel from the new model Rugers. A Colt is within my financial capabilities but it just seems so irresponsible at this point in my life, considering I've got two young boys. I think I'll go ask my local pusher about ordering a Cimarron 44 special this weekend. As tough as the 44 specials are to find, it shouldn't be hard to sell if I decide to upgrade to a Colt at some point down the road. Then again maybe I'll walk in the shop this weekend and find a nice early 3rd gen Colt for a price I can't pass up. Stranger things have happened.

Now for the next question: what barrel length? I currently have a Ruger flattop 44 special in 4.625", so I think I want longer on the new gun. Cimarron lists 5.5" and 7.5" available in 44 special. I have no specific use for it other having a 4-click action and plinking in the backyard. Maybe shoot a deer with it if it proves to be reliably accurate. Seems either barrel length would be acceptable. Guess a 5.5 would be more holster friendly.

[Blackwater]

Don't expect any pity from me! I've wanted a pair of nickeled 4 3/4" SAA's with ivory stocks and a double buscadero rig for several generations now, and that's one real "want" that I've never fulfilled. Occasionally at a gun show, I'll find a single gun like that, but a good, well set up pair? Don't ever recall seeing a pair like that. And when I have seen the singles, they were way out of my pocketbook's reach. Sometimes, life's just hard. But as long as there's a tomorrow, we can at least hope and dream, and that's kind'a fun in and of its own self. Not as nice as bringing our dreams to fruition, but .... nice nevertheless. I don't know what I'd ever do if I fulfilled all my dreams. Not sure I really even want to find out.

I had a Uberti clone of the SAA for a while, and I really liked it. Grip panels aren't quite the same feel as the Colts, but good enough, and a little light sanding will make them any way you want them to be.

[Love Life]

Only Colt makes Colt. If that's the itch, and you have good employment with a good future, then scratch the itch and enjoy life. You only get one chance at it. Besides, I doubt you'll have any issues getting your money back if you need to sell it down the road.

[hp246]

Both Uberti and Pietta do a nice job. Doesn't say Colt on the side. I think Uberti even made some of the "Colt's" for Colt a few years back. But you'll pay a third the price and have a bunch of fun.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I love my 7 1/2" bbl. Colt's and I get tighter groups at 50 yards offhand generally, but when I'm 7 yards from a row of 12" plates on the clock I'm quicker with the 4 3/4" bbl Colt's. I don't understand why I'm better with a short bbl. up close, I'd think the longer barrel would be better. The 5 1/2" bbl is a nicely balance SA.

[Boogieman]

Back around 1966 my wife found me a Gen2 Colt SAA45 in the local paper for $75.00. I called ask to hold it I was on my way. It had a little blue wear . came with the box and all the paper work, a handmade belt & holster and 12 rounds. The man said " I know you'll want to try it quick". I still have the gun & wife. It was my ccw gun for a long time I have a Cimarron 45 & some Ruger SAs but I like the Colt best. It hits where I think.

[doc1876]

I have all barrel lengths from 1.5 to 7.5. the 7.5 seems to get more hand time. I really prefer the 4.75, but for some reason the 7.5 is really used more. If you do get the 7.5, there are an abundance of rigs for it, the Cheyenne, the Jesse James, or the old standby the Cavalry.

what a can of worms you have opened on yourself.

(I do have access to a few new rigs that are inexpensive, as I have a friend who is a gun-writer)

[Butler Ford]

Depends on what you want. A shooter? Any of the clones will do a fine job, they have come a long way in the last 30 years, look amazing, work like a champ and a lot of fun to shoot. If your itch if for "the real deal" the clones aren't going to scratch that. Any way you want to spin it the USFA are nothing but expensive clones. If it is a Colt that you want, anything else isn't going to satisfy you.

BF

[hithard]

Taylor smokewagon...fitted and timed,but otherwise a uberti. They have their own shop and great customer service,

[Deep Six]

Does Taylor offer it in 44 special? Ironically Cimarron does but Uberti does not list it.

[Walkingwolf]

Does Taylor offer it in 44 special? Ironically Cimarron does but Uberti does not list it.

The Taylor is a Pietta, I bought one a couple years back in 44 magnum, but shoot 44 special in it.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Cimarron doesn't? Odd, I bought 2 '73 carbines in .44 Special from them.

[Deep Six]

Cimarron does list their "model p" in 44 special. The Cimarron model p is the basic Uberti. Ironically Uberti doesn't list this cartridge on their own site. The Cimarron Frontier SA is the Pietta gun and it's not available in 44 special - just 44 wcf.