Just asking for my own knowledge..What is the draw of 45LC and 44 cal single actions

[chutestrate]

From companies such as Ruger? Seems to me that a double action revolver gives the best of both worlds. Not slamming I know what I prefer, but I don't want to miss out on something because I didn't ask.

[Electric88]

Recently I was asking the same thing. I've got several double action revolvers, but prefer to shoot them as single action. For whatever reason, my interest in single action revolvers was peaked a short time ago, and I started looking at Colts, the grand-daddy of them all. For me, it was the rich history of the Colt combined with the reputation of unparalleled attention to detail/beauty of them that made me finally reach out and look to procure one. I've not held one, but I'm told they are in a class of their own. I also like the idea of passing it on one day to a son, with the rich heritage that firearm brings.

That being said, I'm told some of the clones are very good. I know Ruger makes the Vaquero, and is supposed to be one of the most durable single actions though it does not adhere to the true SAA design. I guess to summarize, I'm buying a single action for the history of it all.

[jmort]

Personal preference. I have owned many single actions. Now have two Blackhawk .357s, one tuned by SASS gunsmith Jim Bowie and the other by SASS gunsmith Long Hunter. If I could own but one revolver, it would be either one of those two. I have many double action revolvers, but none come close to my Blackhawks.

[ReloaderFred]

My first revolver in 1964 was a Ruger Single Six, and shortly afterwards a Ruger Blackhawk .357 Magnum, that I ended up selling about 1977, when I was well into my law enforcement career and was carrying a S&W Model 19, and shooting PPC matches on the department pistol team. I thought I'd never need another single action revolver, even though I carried the Blackhawk for several years in my briefcase for shooting coyotes and rattlesnakes so I didn't dirty my duty gun.

Fast forward to 11 years ago, when I started shooting Cowboy Action and met some of the nicest people in the shooting world I've ever known. I now own over a dozen Blackhawks in several different calibers, plus Single Sixes in .22/.22 Magnum and .32 H&R Magnum. They're versatile firearms and built like tanks, and they're just plain fun to shoot. I've got Blackhawks in .30 Carbine, .357/9mm, .41 Magnum, .44 Spl., .45 Colt/.45 acp and thanks to Dougguy, one in 9x23 Winchester.

My wife owns five single action SAA clones of her own, and loves them. We just got back from shooting the Idaho State Match for SASS on Monday and had a great time, with great people.

I own well over 50 handguns of all varieties, so I don't limit myself to one style or action. I just plain like guns, especially ones I can carry on my belt and hold in my hands. For instance, I've got Tanfoglio Witnesses in .22, 9x19, 9x21, 9x23, 357 Sig, .38 Super, 9x25 Dillon, .40 S&W, 10mm, .41 AE and .45 acp.

In 1911's, I've got them in .38 Super, 9x25 Dillon, 10mm and .45 acp.

Like I said, I like firearms, and I don't limit myself to any one kind or style, and I'm always looking for something different that peaks my interest. The buzzards will have fun picking over my eclectic collection when I'm gone........

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Earlwb]

I would say it is more for nostalgia. To see, touch, feel and shoot a gun and cartridge that has been around since 1873 or so. Plus the cartridge would still be very effective as a self defense round even today. The old single action revolvers have a lot of history and stories out there about them and how they were used.

[dkf]

I always figured it was because the single actions were cheaper. I have always been drawn to Redhawks vs Blackhawks.

[Paul_R]

Not everybody thinks along the lines of "if I only had one gun"...

[jmort]

^^^ That was not my point, which should have been obvious in context. I own many guns. My point, as someone with many handguns, is that I like my single action Blackhawks best of all.

[bob208]

my first hand gun was a colt frontier scout. still have it. shot it a lot got used to single action. my first center fire hand gun was a ruger Blackhawk in .357. I used and carried it for along time still have it. I have many other single actions. also have some ruger security-sixs. to me they have a grip close to a single action.

I guess it is an American thing.

[mcdaniel.mac]

Easier to find them with redonkulous pipes. 10" SBH's and 9" BFRs are a thing of wonderment.

[The Governor]

My Uberti clone of a Colt 1883 is very elegant compared to any revolver you can get today. I'll post a pic if I get a chance.

[rintinglen]

The first handgun I ever shot and the first handgun I ever bought were Ruger Single Sixes. But the ones I have now are for shooting. When I want to shoot, to strive for a tiny group, I shoot single action. And the current production Ruger Flat Tops are excellent. My Single Sevens get plenty of play time.

[45 Dragoon]

Dkf, Couldn't be the fact that double actions have more parts and machining that would make them more expensive would it? Hmmm . . . . nah . . . . . course, you could always throw in a few hundred extra bucks and make it more "palatable" to bring home ? I'm surprised you don't shoot Korths . . . .




Mike
s

[Paul_R]

^^^ That was not my point, which should have been obvious in context. I own many guns. My point, as someone with many handguns, is that I like my single action Blackhawks best of all.

Obviously it wasn't so obvious. :kidding:

Personally the open top Colts fit my hand and shoot better that any other single action design. The 1860 Army is my favorite. Just like the guy in your avatar.

[45 Dragoon]

Gotta agree Paul R. Open tops rule in my world!!


Mike

[dtknowles]

I think the open tops are prettier than the peacemaker but I like a S&W Model 3 even more

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Smith_%26_Wesson_No._3_Third_Model_Russian_867.jpg/305px-Smith_%26_Wesson_No._3_Third_Model_Russian_867.jpg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Smith_%26_Wesson_No._3_Third_Model_Russian_86 7.jpg)

Oh, and you don't have to knock out the empties one at a time either.

Tim

[Blackwater]

First off, a SA Ruger is probably THE most reliable, bulletproof, work-every-time handgun ever made. Its simple lockwork makes it very reliable, and it's very easy to learn to work on and tune up if one simply uses good judgment and thinks it through.

Secondly, most shooters find SA shooting easier to hit their targets with. This ain't no small thing! Several quick misses don't do nearly as well as one well centered shot.

Third, from the holster and for the first shot, there's nothing really faster. Even with a "River holster" rig, with snap strap over the hammer, if the tab past the snap is long enough, and curled up (trained to that configuration), you can go for it and with the heel of your hand, run up just touching the holster, and swipe off the snap as your hand comes up, and draw very nearly as fast as if you had on a simple open top holster. Occasionally, that can be an important consideration when afield.

Fourth, the Rugers (except Vaqueros) have good, adj. sights that allow precise sighting, which will always not only be a great aid to hitting what your aiming at, but hitting it in the exact spot where the bullet will do the most good.

Fifth, they're incredibly strong, and this CAN be a very reassuring factor. I once managed to blow up a Super Blackhawk with essentially a double charge, and the top strap STILL didn't come completely loose! It was cracked 2/3 of the way across at the rear sight notch, which is the weakest point in that top strap, but it held! I've long figured I may well owe my life to Bill Ruger!

And sixth, they're good natural pointers. Sam Colt gave us the essential pattern for the grip, and I have no idea how many patterns he tried before settling on the 1873 pattern's grip, but he obviously knew what he was doing. Not only that, but due to the tapered design, most any size hand can get pretty comfortable with a classic syled SA grip. This again ain't no small thing!

And seventh, they bring to us old timers and anybody with a strong appreciation for history, and maybe even a desire to "experience" as much of what our forebeard did once, a distinct link with those old timers who left us so very, very much that we enjoy today, and laid the groundwork and foundation for everything that followed.

If you don't have one, get one. I think it'll become plainer to you then, than any amount of jawing we can do here. I carry 1911's and DA revolvers for self defense, but afield, I carry SA's, simply because they work so darned well for that, and are easy and convenient to carry, quick to get to work, and powerful enough to do anything I'd ever be likely to want or need to do with a gun, even including self defense. One of the times that I was closest to having to drop the hammer on another human being, I had my Super Blackhawk. Luckily, I didn't have to pull the trigger, and there's no doubt that though it would have been a long shot, what the result would have been. So it's really no slouch for self defense if the need arises either!

It just does what a gun's supposed to do, and does it very, very well and reliably and dependably. And ACCURATELY. The frame design is much stronger and stiffer than any DA I'm familiar with, and that's always good for accuracy. You see a lot of Rugers on handgun silhouette ranges, but not many M-29's, etc. They handle hot loads without a hiccup.

That's a few of the reasons, anyway. There's plenty more.

[DougGuy]

Well, the BIGGEST part of it, our "heroes" of the TV westerns didn't use double actions, so that leaves them out of the "draw" as you call it. All the good guys carried a single action Colt or a hollywood Colt clone, and the toy companies responded in like kind with single and double western rigs that graced many a Christmas tree growing up, and if you had a Mattel "Fanner 50" buddy you were THE SHIZNIT in your neighborhood. Any kid would be proud to mount up and ride posse with you..

I think this is where the REAL love of a single action revolver began, before most of us were old enough to even think about owning one. Then in later years when we could afford one, Colts weren't all that expensive, you could get into a nice "shooter" first generation Colt for under $1500.00 most days, and once owning and shooting the real McCoy the affection gained a permanent home.

I had a bunch of nice old Colts, but the Harley Davidson craze pretty much ate my gun collection so they went by the wayside. There was a nickel and pearl 5 1/2" that lettered from 1927, there was a 7 1/2" King's conversion on a 1922 Colt, there were numerous 2nd and 3rd gen models, but the one that I regretted the most was a 4 3/4" .45 Colt from 1902 that saw cowboy action in Wyoming around 1910, it had nicks on the bottom of the barrel and ejector housing from breaking out a window to shoot at cattle rustlers and was carried by a member of the posse that hunted them down and brought them in.

That gun was all patina, only a faint amount of color case in the deeply protected areas, but man the action, tighter than a brand new drum even after all those years. I missed that one more than any of the others.

A while back a buddy called me up and said he has this Uberti that he wants to sell, and I went and looked at it. I was stunned how ACCURATELY they had cloned a real genuine 1875 Colt, even the sound made by cocking it is accurate, and the itch left by the old Colt was scratched well enough that I no longer miss the original, and I am here to tell you first hand, yes these guns DO invoke the looks and feel of a 140yr old Colt, they are as finely made as you could want outside of it not being a genuine Colt, even many of the internal parts will interchange with a Colt.

So for me, the Colt may be the gun that won the west, but the Uberti is the gun that reminds me of it best. Very happy with this replica..

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

[W.R.Buchanan]

To answer your question about the Main Draw of the .44's and .45's,,, It's that big hole in the end!

The part about the SA vs. DA is simple as well, as the grip shape of the Double Action Revolvers, Both Smith and Ruger tend to hit the web of your hand harder than a the grips of most SA guns.

The Ruger Bisley even spreads it out further and is the basis for all of John Linebaugh's very serious handgun creations in calibers that should really be in rifles. The reason for this is simple,,, This style of grip transfers the considerable recoil of these guns over a larger surface area of your hand and primarily directs it at the meaty portion right below your thumb which is directly in line with your arm.

The DA grips tend to direct that recoil impulse further inward on your hand and tend to punish the web area which has very little meat in it.

I used to have a S&W M29 that I learned all about this with. Now my big .44 is a SBH Bisley. I also have a S&W 696 which is a smaller gun and chambered in .44 Special,,, however that gun will never see hot loads, as I couldn't hit anything with it and it would beat the hell out of my hand in the process. I also found out I couldn't hit anything with it in DA mode, so it gets fired in SA mode 99% of the time. The biggest advantage of it over my BH Bisley .44 Special is the one shot loading with a speed loader as opposed to the loading gate of the Ruger.

As far as hot loads go you really only need to go so far with the .44's and .45 as anything above about 1000fps is not really necessary. 250gr + boolits just will do the job no matter how fast you run them.

I have shot more .44 Boolits than all other calibers combined. It's my favorite.

Randy

[bedbugbilly]

'cause those new fangled double actions will never "catch on"! :-)

I own plenty of wheel guns - both SA and DA and by far, I favor the SAA over any of them. It's just a "personal" thing . . some folks like Chevy . . . some like Ford. I like the historical aspect of a single action as well as the historical aspect of the 45 Colt and 45 Schofield. I've been shooting single actions for over 50 years and old habits are hard to break. Doesn't make any difference to me what the caliber is, I'll take a SA before anything else. I have several Ubertis that are beautiful revolvers and shoot great. Sort of like why do some like lever guns and some semi-autos or bolt . . . all depends on what turns you on. And in the end . . . there is nothing wrong with whatever a person decides to shoot.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Call me vain but I like my Cimarrons because they are pretty. They also shoot as good as they look.

[tdoyka]

i've only ever shot about 3 deer with a ruger super redhawk in 44 mag. it was, how should i say, powerful, load wise( i was young and dumb too). i did things with it that bill ruger would have cringed. now a days, since i've had a stroke and i've gotten quite a bit smarter. i traded the srh and i got a super blackhawk in 44 mag. i use a 44 sp with unique and either a 220gr wc or 250gr mihek hp. i'm wishing that it gets a real nice buck with my sbh this year.

the srh was a little too much for me. the recoil didn't hurt my hand but it did hurt my triceps(after 7 or 8 shots). i tried to keep the srh with a 7.5" barrel but it was too much trying to line the sights up. i now have a sbh with a 4 5/8" that is about perfect for a one armed guy:razz:. what i do like is the way the sa points toward the target not to mention it's balance. the da, i had to look at the target and then focus the front sight and the balance i had to take up the front of the gun while the sbh just points. the sbh is like a portion of my left arm. the srh never did.

the recoil doesn't bother me, because of unique, it never goes past 1000fps. but back in the day, 1600-1700fps out of a srh with 200-240gr xtp's over a max+ load of win296 does.

i never owned any colt's, too expensive, but i have had a couple of rugers and a rossi. if i had to choose between a sa and da, i would go with a sa. why? because it points like a dream and anything with a 4 in front of it does.

[chutestrate]

Thank you all for the replies. I never leave this site without learning a little something. I have a Virginian Dragoon from my late step father in .357 that I like to use once in a while. I've been thinking about a 44 in the 4-5 in barrel range, and that might happen in the near future.

[DerekP Houston]

You know, come to think of it...the first gun I ever "owned" or got to use on a regular basis was my dads ruger single six in 22lr and 22magnum. Fun lil gun to shoot, wish I hadn't given it back now.

[hp246]

I have two pair of .45 Colts. A pair of Uberti 73s and a pair of Ruger New vaqueros. Both are set up for Cowboy Action Shooting. I prefer the Uberti's over the Rugers for a couple of reasons. First, the Ubertis remind me more of the original Colt SAA. But second, and most important, is when I slip hammer the Uberti's, there is never a problem but sometimes, the Rugers will clock the cylinder without the hammer falling on a round, causing me to go all the way around to hit the round again. Happens with both guns and have talked with other competitors that have the same problem. As to .45 or .44-40, I think it is just a matter of the legend that follows these calibers. Personally, I take pride in turning in a better time with a big bore over some of the folks who shoot the mouse fart guns.

[ReloaderFred]

The reason we have the Italian clones is because Boyd Davis, who owned EMF (Early and Modern Firearms), talked Aldo Uberti into making the copies and furnished originals from his own collection for them to copy. Boyd was a very dear friend, who passed away in November, 2014, just a week before my own Dad passed away. Boyd was also friends with the Pietta's, and carried both brands in his store. Pietta now owns EMF, having purchased it after Boyd passed away. My wife owns four of the Pietta made Great Western II's that Boyd had made for EMF, and they've been trouble free for the 10 years she's been shooting them in several hundred matches.

The Italian copies of the Winchester Model 66's and 73's were also copied from Boyd's original guns out of his collection.

Boyd's SASS alias was General Ulysses S. Grant, and his SASS badge was #2. He made a great contribution to the resurrection of the old Colts and Winchesters, and is sorely missed.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[RogerDat]

Vaquero, because the big hole in one end, large missile silos just peaking around the barrel and loud solid sound of it being cocked leaves no doubt as to what happens next, communicates danger about as well as a 12 gauge slide being racked or a rattlesnakes rattle. And as someone pointed out if single action was good enough for The Duke who am I to even think about getting up over that. Oh and it blows a chunk of 4x4 oak to splinters. Kids got a .44 mag and it just makes a nice "cute" hole through the block of wood. Of course at about 30 yards hitting stuff gets a little tougher with that gutter sight but at 30 yards just switch to rifle in same 45 colt caliber. :-)

[Bigslug]

My first real handgun exposure was the 1911 and the Ruger MKII. My attitude back then when I bought my Blackhawk was that the DA option was never going to get used, so why have it? It took me a LONG time to get around to deciding I was going to learn how to run DA, and it took a fair amount of effort once I'd made the decision to do so. Now that I'm finally there and practicing with a hammerless snubbie at 25Y, I barely use the SA option on any of my DA wheelies. Once you've got it down, it doesn't sacrifice much to the SAO approach.

A lot of folks are averse to putting in the work, and there's a lot of bad technique out there that folks try to "crutch away" with light springs and trigger jobs. That contingent probably won't embrace the DA option on their revolvers, and they probably won't practice the DA/SA transition on their autos so equipped.

All that said, there is a certain somethin' to the '73 Colt/'75 Remington/Blackhawk/Freedom Arms approach to the problem. It's a system that has it's true practitioners (Munden), as does the 1911 (Leatham) and the DA revolver (Miculek). It isn't loaded down with lawyer-instigated systems that impede a practitioner in the interests of trying to make something that's INTENDED to be dangerous "safe". In the hands of the practitioner, it is an impressively formidable thing, and HEY! History!

[jimb16]

I own 5 single actions and 3 double actions. I prefer the singles. For me it isn't a question of looks or speed. I just find that shot for shot, I'm more accurate with the singles. It may take me half a second longer for the second shot, but then that's plenty of time when you are switching targets after flattening the first!

[charlie b]

I've shot many but only owned a Blackhawk in .45 Colt. I liked it for plinking and if I wanted to carry a heavy caliber handgun in the field. But, after a while I sold it off and kept my DA and autos.

My wife loves the Colts but she likes the .32's. She has been drooling over original Colt .32-20's for years but can't justify the cost. Why does she like the SA? Cause they fit her hand perfectly.

[quail4jake]

My compliments to the owner of the S&W no. 3 Russian! When I was too young to drive, maybe 15, my father called me from his pharmacy and said "I need you to ride out to Oscar Jenkins and pick up a gun I bought". Oscar Jenkins was gas station, clothing store, auto repair shop, minnow tank, sporting goods store that was a landmark in Mullica Hill, NJ owned by an old curmudgeon who delt in a lot of guns and had a reputation for having shot more than one thief! But if he liked you he was a kind and generous old troll, and he liked dad, he was his pharmacist. Anyway, what does all this have to do with single action revolvers? Well I rode my bike to O.J.s as instructed and met with our cigar chewing friend who looked at me and said "you got a way to get this pistol home legal, boy?" and I said "oh yeah, all good". He handed me a Ruger Single six and the NJ handgun permit that my father had taken care of, I paid no money I guess dad already paid the $90 for it!? I took the gun in the box and got on my bike realizing that the box was awkward so I trashed it and stuffed the revolver in my belt and rode 5 miles home! That was 1976. Not only a different time, a different world. Can you imagine that today? In New Jersey? and I rode through the parking lot of the High School on my way! I still have the 1956 three screw Single Six my dad gave me, since that time S&W No. 3, Ruger new Vaquero and many more...why? I guess they take me to that long gone world when no one cared that a kid on a bike had a gun in his belt, or maybe no one noticed...

[Drm50]

I too started out with Ruger s-six & SBH when I was a kid. When I was still in High School I owned every on they made. The single six was like a target gun compared to the H&R & IJs of my
buddies. Then I shot a K22, night and day, then got all the Smiths, same thing. I never shoot my
S&Ws D/A. The short hammer travel of a S&W and closer tolerances make them a lot easier to
shoot. Now you can talk about a S/A that has been tuned shooting just as well, but if you put that
against a tuned D/A, the results will be the same. I have S/As, D/As and autos, I like them all.
I never saw anyone shooting a Colt or Ruger S/A in bulls eye type matches, there must be a
reason.

[M-Tecs]

I have and I like both. I much prefer Bisley grips for very heavy recoil.

[44man]

It is beauty and feel of the SA and the Colt was as perfect as you could get but Ruger was still close to feel. My original flat top in 56 was a dream.
Bill Ruger was a genius and came up with the transfer bar to make the gun safer and better, wound springs that never break. Less "clicks" to scare deer.
I love all revolvers and even DA but I made the SA shoot as good or better.
Just something about a Colt or well made clone and just seeing a picture brings on a hunger for it.
I remember when a kid having a SA cap gun an exact copy with round caps to fit the back of the cylinder, it never went away. Playing cowboy as a kid was so much fun, today you get shot or go to jail. Parents locked up. Have to have an orange muzzle now.
Cowboy movies where nobody ever died, Gene Autry, Matt Dillon and Roy. Life was great and the SAA was IT!
We made lances and shields and even hammered pieces of armor from scrap. Wood swords to play the 3 musketeers. We found wheels to make racers to fly down hills.
Had ice delivered to the ice box, milk with cream on top to steal first. Guy with a horse and trailer to pick up rags and scrap. Victory gardens for food.
Today kids do not live, fall and run into stuff with an I pad. All is destruction and death on TV.
But the SAA has a love I refuse to let go.

[contender1]

Most of the posts here have pretty much covered personal reasons many prefer a SA over a DA handgun.
Ergonomics, simplicity, very adaptable (read custom jobs,) nostalgia, durable, reliable, are the short & sweet explanations.

I will add one more thing, that to me, seems to be an underlying, yet not often understood reason. Personal fit which converts into accurate shooting. The SA just fits a lot of hands quite well.
And recoil,,, as noted above, a SA & DA are different when they recoil. The physics of a SA allow bigger calibers to not offer as much felt recoil (in the pain dept.) as a DA.
But simply,,, they just "fit."

[JHeath]

The reason is that cartridge development got way ahead of revolver design. The N frame was the only game in town for the .357, .44mag and .41 mag and it is a little short for the heavy bullets that Keith et al. intended for the magnums and the pumped-up .45. The old Colt DAs were not big/strong enough, except the old frame they revamped to make the Python, which was still a bit delicate. The Redhawk was decades in the future. Swingout cylinders complicated the design of revolvers for high pressure and heavy bullets. Solid frames simplified design. The wildcatters and cartridge developers did not need DA function. So they turned to the Blackhawk, SBH, and later Freedom Arms, etc.

[white eagle]

what he said
I like the single actions better for my way of shooting
I am a hunter first and even fire a DA single action but the SA
just suits me

[JWT]

Simple... Single actions are fun.

[warboar_21]

I am sure it has been said already but if not then I will say it. The heavy 45Colt and 44Mag loads are easier to handle(for me) in a Single action revolver. For me anything over 357 Mag I shoot in a single action. I bought a 480 Ruger Super Redhawk years ago and always thought to myself that it belonged in a single action. The recoil in the double action was a bit much for me. I recently was able to shoot a Blackhawk that was chambered in 475 Linebaugh while at the range. The gentleman who owned it was kind enough to let me shoot it. Even with the 420gr full tilt loads I don't think it recoiled as much as the Super Redhawk did with full tilt loads.

It really boils down to personal preference. For urban self defense I prefer a double action upto 357Mag. If out in the woods I like to carry my 4 3/4" 45 Colt when carrying a revolver.

[MT Chambers]

The finest revolver ever made is a S/A, the Freedom Arms '83.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I shoot primarily Single Action revolvers because I shoot mainly single action. The Model 29's I've owned fire just as fast, or slow if you will, as my SBH's because recoil recovery time to get back on target with the heavy recoiling handgun affords the shooter time to cock the hammer. Shooting double action is difficult to hit with, the single action trigger is more agreeable to making precise hits. Light recoiling double action .38's are easier to fire more rapidly but they are only .38's. A single action .44 / .45 weighs in similar to a double action .38/.357. In the DA revolver days of law enforcement we saw a lot of guns go empty without good hits. Looking back when I was a peace officer and needed a gun, the SA revolver would have served me perfectly well. The DA revolver puts the sights higher over the hand because of the added linkage in the DA receiver.

[W.R.Buchanan]

The finest revolver ever made is a S/A, the Freedom Arms '83.

I got to handle two Freedom Arms Revolvers today. One was a .454 and the other was a .475. Both had scopes on them and had accounted for quite a bit of really big game including a Lion at 17 yards and a 10 foot Bear. The pics were impressive but the guns were definitely the nicest Revolvers I have ever seen and the attention to detail is just spectacular. One was $2500 and the other was a $2500 gun that he got for a Grand! He also had groups of 1/2" at 50 and <1" at 100. This guy is a hunter and has a trophy "building" on his property in AK that looks like the Natural History Museum.

I was impressed and most times that doesn't come easy.

Randy

[dverna]

For most pistol shooting, I also prefer the SAA. They are fun to shoot. But SAA's are slow to reload if the situation arises.

[chutestrate]

Well I fell under the spell of my fellow shooters. I picked up a like new SBH in 44 mag with a 7.5 in barrel. This thing is a beast.

[Bazoo]

I like blackhawks to the exclusion of double actions of any variety. I like them for various reasons. I like the way they feel, and point, and the way the recoil feels in my hand verses a double action. I like the fact that I can safely put my finger on the trigger, or in the guard, while the gun is loaded, without fear of a negligent discharge, provided the hammer is not cocked. I like the way they carry in a holster, and the way they look. The look probably is what I like the most. They have the correct proportions and lines to my eye. Also, the fact that they are among the strongest firearms available for their given chamberings is a plus for me.

Also, I like that they are simpler in terms of moving parts compared to a smith and wesson revolver. A smidge of dirt under the extractor on a double action jams the gun, but a blackhawk can take a fair amount of dirt and grit and still function.

Another thing i've considered, as it concerns reloading. A double action reloads faster than a single, but either will beat an automatic pistol if you only have 1 magazine.

[Ed K]

Well I fell under the spell of my fellow shooters. I picked up a like new SBH in 44 mag with a 7.5 in barrel. This thing is a beast.

...and we don't feel bad about it at all :grin:

[KYCaster]

From companies such as Ruger? Seems to me that a double action revolver gives the best of both worlds. Not slamming I know what I prefer, but I don't want to miss out on something because I didn't ask.


Recently I was asking the same thing. I've got several double action revolvers, but prefer to shoot them as single action. For whatever reason, my interest in single action revolvers was peaked a short time ago, and I started looking at Colts, the grand-daddy of them all. For me, it was the rich history of the Colt combined with the reputation of unparalleled attention to detail/beauty of them that made me finally reach out and look to procure one. I've not held one, but I'm told they are in a class of their own. I also like the idea of passing it on one day to a son, with the rich heritage that firearm brings.

That being said, I'm told some of the clones are very good. I know Ruger makes the Vaquero, and is supposed to be one of the most durable single actions though it does not adhere to the true SAA design. I guess to summarize, I'm buying a single action for the history of it all.




OK, since you asked, here's my take on it....contrary to most other replies, but it's just my not-so-humble opinion.

If you're looking for an investment; something that will appreciate in value, that you can leave to your kids; the Colt's SAA will definitely fit the bill. Not because of the "unparalleled attention to detail/beauty" of them, but because there are plenty of collectors who are willing to pay outrageously inflated prices for the current junk that Colt's is making. Third generation guns start in the $1500+ plus range and easily go to triple that number.

Well, that's fine if you understand what you're getting and are willing to keep it "Like New In Box". Put it in the safe and make sure it isn't subjected to any abuse or conditions that could damage the finish and the value will continue to rise. Your grand kids should be able to sell for substantially more than you paid for it.

If, on the other hand, you want something to shoot, to enjoy the nostalgia of a bygone era, something that will function accurately and reliably, get a Uberty. Actually prettier than the current Colt's products, much better quality and infinitely more reliable...and half the price.

I'll stop right here before I get into the single/double action debate.

Jerry

[Texantothecore]

I dislike DA. "Will this gun ever fire?"
And all of my guns are SA now.

[W.R.Buchanan]

...and we don't feel bad about it at all :grin:

Ditto!!!

Randy

[DerekP Houston]

Well I fell under the spell of my fellow shooters. I picked up a like new SBH in 44 mag with a 7.5 in barrel. This thing is a beast.

Lol don't feel bad, that's how I ended up with another 1911 ;).