Best Colt SAA replica?

UnixDork

UnixDork

Joined
Dec 2, 2001
Messages
453
I've been drooling over a single action colt replica lately (now all I have to do is afford it) but I was wondering who makes the best one? Best to me means reliability and then fit and finish. I've looked at guns by Cimmaron, Uberti, Beretta and the Ruger Vaquero. Which would you reccomend and why?

I'm looking at shooting this just for fun, not cowboy action shooting so it won't be modded or anything. Thanks!
 
You can't go wrong with the Ruger. It's about the most iron clad gun on the market, has great factory support, and is made here.

The only time I had trouble with a Ruger was my old MK2 target. I was doing alot of club matches and with about 20,000 rounds through it the bolt hold open latch started to malfuntion. Sent it back to Ruger with a note telling them to send me a bill for the repair as it was WAY out of warentee but the gun came back overhauled and no charge!

Can't beat that with a stick.
 
Especially now that Ruger has "downsized" back to near the original Colt deminsions.
 
I've been looking to get into Cowboy Action Shooting and have been looking at Colt's and Colt replicas. My friend Ed Fowler says that US Firearms are as good as they get, he owns three.
http://www.usfirearms.com/cat/gunslinger.asp

For CASS I would need two Colt replicas and as good as I know the USFA pistols would be, they're a little out of my budget right now. While in a gun store here in Houston I got to handle a lot of Colt's and replicas and the one that felt best in my hand was from American Western Arms. At about half the price of the USFA's they may be the guns that I start out with.
http://www.thegunsource.com/shopping_search.aspx?idmanufacturer=68
 
USFA makes a great "traditional" SAA:

SAA1a.jpg


Fit and finish are amazing though the price is well within the "enthusiast" realm ;)

USFA also makes a "Rodeo" model (http://www.usfirearms.com/cat/rodeogun.asp ) which is basically their traditional SAA sporting a lower grade of finish--these are, by all accounts, *great* guns for the money. You sould be able to find them used for the cost of a new Ruger (which LOOK good, but don't balance very nicely).

The only other SAA I've owned was a Cimarron and it was OK (dimensions and balance were very good, but the internals were not, and Cimarron's customer support was unhelpful).
 
Normally my vote goes to the Ruger Vaquero. I a matching set of 4 5/8" SS .45's and they are well built enough that I wouldn't hesitate shooting regular or hot reloads in them. They are a little heavy compared to the others you mentioned, and said replica of the Colt, and I'm assuming that you want the same feel of the action, and style hammer, so I will vote for the Uberti. I have shot a few Uberti models, and they seemed to be very good guns.

I haven't fired a Rodeo, but the one that I had in my hands was very smooth, and a decent price.
 
Gun Tests did a review of SAA clones within the last couple of months. IIRC the Beretta was reviewed very well, although I believe the Beretta is actually made by Uberti or one of the other lesser known Italian replica makers. Interestingly, I also seem to remember that Cabela's offering was well received as a great budget buy. I'll try to locate that copy when I get home and make sure I haven't misspoken.
 
You are right! I forgot about those. Cabela's had the Uberti Milleniums at a cheap price of $199.95 and now they have jumped a little to $249.95. These are great shooting guns if you don't mind the matte finish.
 
Bronco said:
Gun Tests did a review of SAA clones within the last couple of months. IIRC the Beretta was reviewed very well, although I believe the Beretta is actually made by Uberti or one of the other lesser known Italian replica makers. Interestingly, I also seem to remember that Cabela's offering was well received as a great budget buy. I'll try to locate that copy when I get home and make sure I haven't misspoken.
Click to expand...


You're right. Gun Tests did like Cabelas. I thought it was the blackpowder one they were testing, because it was so cheap.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top