I don’t have an 1873 Single Action or any SAA in my herd. I want one. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a Colt. BTW, it’s doubtful I’d use it to shoot Cowboy Action Shooting (I’ve never even watched those matches) so it may end up as a range gun only.

I find the Uberti and Pietta interesting clones. On the other hand, I like the Ruger Bisley Vaquero in .357 as well but have never seen one in the wild at local gun stores. Come to think of it, SAA's seem difficult to find in general at LGS's apart from a few .22 SAA's.

Recommendations, including finish, caliber and manufacturer for a one and only SAA?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 2PAK,

I have an Uberti and a Taylor’s & Co. and both are nice quality. They are extremely fun to shoot. Went with .357 so I can go hot or not.

I wanted one forever and was drooling over the “coin finish” engraved model.

They are addictive, beware.


-Jeff

How much do you want to spend?

I currently own a Colt SAA .45LC, Freedom Arms .45LC, and a Ruger Vaquero conv 9mm/.357 mag. I can recommend each of these for different reasons. IMHO, for the money the Ruger is hard to beat, plus it shoots 9mm (cheap), the Colt is a beauty, classic and shoots nice (not great IMHO) but she is the prettiest of bunch. The FA, is built like a tank, extremely accurate and probably one of the best firearms I own. Not sure if that helps.

I'd give the not to a J.P. Sauer and Sohn Western Marshall if you can find one.

Swapping between the 44 Magnum and 44 Special makes it fun.

Interesting recommendations. My advice is keep it simple. Very, very hard to go wrong with a Ruger New Vaquero in .357 Mag. From there, pick your flavor, blued or stainless, and in whatever barrel length. The 4.64” balances very nice. Sturdy action, and you can safely carry it loaded with six if you want.

If you want the most authentic experience, a Colt clone is what you want. If you want to shoot it a ton, then Ruger.

The Ruger Convertibles offer a lot of bang for the buck. Have a 357/9mm and a 45LC/45ACP. I hope to run across a 10mm/40S&W when I am flush with cash.

Colts keep going up in value. Rugers are a lot of fun to shoot, and are easier on the wallet. One will not be enough, so get a shooter and go from there. I love the 45 Long Colt for just plunking myself.

If you can find an old usfa gun they are incredibly nice, some say better built than colt.
I have only stuck with colts myself.

As to caliber I prefer the traditional calibers, and will say if you reload 45 colt is much easier to deal with than the bottleneck 38-40 and 44-40, and easier to source if you ( foolishly) don’t reload.

For a shooter the obvious choice is the Ruger New Vaquero. Excellent quality and very functional. US made with warranty service, parts, etc, readily available.

For collector value it has to be a Colt, and that requires deep pockets.

The Uberti is probably the best of the clones for originality, finish, and function. Pietta has been more hit and miss over the years. USFA was outstanding, but didn't last long and has its own following of high bidders.

Caliber? I have several. 1884 production SAA .45 Colt, 1902 production SAA-Bisley .32-20, 1957 production 2nd Gen .357 magnum, 1979 3rd Gen .44 Special, my personal favorite is a 1914 production 1st Gen SAA Frontier Six Shooter in .44-40. They are all fun, but ammo choices and availability can be a factor for regular use.

For a casual shooter or cowboy action piece I would probably go for a .357 magnum, allowing use of .38 Special (or .38 Colt long or short) with the magnum option for field use. Lots of variety available for every occasion.

Most of the calibers I own pretty much rely on my reloading abilities, unless I'm willing to pay scalper prices for ammo. I cast my own bullets and load all handgun calibers I have for 5 or 6 cents per round, but retail sales these days are closer to a buck every time you pull the trigger.

If you are only going to have one and money is not an issue then of course I’d try and locate a Colt in 45LC. I have a 2019 build and it’s beautiful. Since then I found a Beretta Stampede in 357 and I really enjoy that caliber in the SAA/clone configuration, plus 38/357 is still a little easier to come by for me than 45LC.

I have an Uberti in .357 mag with the birdshead grip and man that thing is a blast to shoot. Can't go wrong with that caliber either as it shoots .38special or .357 mag.

God intended the SAA to be 45LC. Any other caliber is an abomination.

I was looking to fill that void in my gun collection a few years back.
I didn't need to spend COLT money just wanted a SAA revolver.

I finally decided to go with a used,3 screw Ruger Blackhawk in 357 mag. I just had to have all the hammer clicking when I cocked the hammer back.

I enjoyed that so much I decided to check off a bucket list item, a Freedom Arms revolver.
I bought a 454Casul in Premium grade with an extra 45acp cylinder. Now I can shoot 454Casul,45Colt,or45auto all out of the same revolver.As stated earlier in a post, the Freedom Arms revolver is something to behold as far as quality and strength.

I bought a Ruger New Vaquero in .45 Colt a number of years ago. It's been a great gun, shoots reasonably well (I'm a lousy shot with any handgun due to a neurological condition) and is very smooth with a decent trigger. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one in .357 if that's your preferred caliber. I always wanted a real 4-click Colt SAA but couldn't justify the cost, then a couple years back I fell into a good price on one through an estate sale and grabbed it. Also in .45 Colt. Both of mine have 5.5" barrels. The shorter 4.75" one would be good too, but I wouldn't want the 7" or longer versions, too muzzle heavy.

I've never handled, let alone shot a Bisley version, so I can't comment on those.

If a Colt is outside your budget, I think you'd be happy with either a Vaquero or a Uberti or Pietta SAA copy. Can't go wrong with any of them. The shorter barrels handle better, IMHO. As to finish, a nice blue is the classic. On the other hand there's nothing wrong with a shiny chrome plated one either (that'd make a GREAT bbq gun in a nice holster/belt rig). Mine are both blued.

quote:

Originally posted by Xtbone97x:
They are addictive, beware.

This is true, although in my case not in the usual sense. After picking up the Colt I started thinking "Ya know, I really should have a lever action rifle to go with these!" I also have no intention of getting into cowboy action shooting, it just seemed like a good idea. So I started researching .45 Colt lever guns and eventually settled on a used-but-like-new Uberti copy of the Winchester 1873. During all the research though, I found myself developing a yen for an 1876 or 1886 in .45-70. Now I'm not a hunter and have absolutely no use for a .45-70, but I own one of those now too, a Winchester/Miroku 1886.

Several years ago, I got a new Uberti that had Cabelas name on it. It had a paint type finish. It was inexpensive, but shot fine. It was in .45 Colt.

You need to reload .45 Colt unless you have money to burn as the factory ammo is quite pricey. It is an easy round to load for and can use a variety of powders.

A nickeled 5-1/2” Colt SAA in .44 Special might be the gun I most regret selling.

It's hard to go wrong with a .22LR Ruger Single Six, if you have the ammo for it. I guess the same can be said of the new Wrangler. Tons of fun plinking with one of these and easy on the pocket book.

I've got a 1st gen Colt SAA that has been converted to .38 Special and a 2nd gen Colt with both .45 Colt and .45 ACP cylinders.
Both with 5 1/2" barrels. Great guns, but pricey nowadays.

I also had a Ruger Blackhawk with .357 Mag and 9mm cylinders and a 6 1/2" barrel. It was a little too heavy for me, but shot well.

I'm not sure if the OP is referencing the Single Action Army specifically, or single-action revolvers in general.

If the former, I say you need to go all the way and just get the real thing. The only real advantage to the SAA over some of the more modern offerings is the mystique of having the real deal. They're expensive, but I'll admit that owning one would be cool. I've shot the Uberti clones, and Vaqueros, and they never really did anything for me. If I bought one, I'd probably want it chambered in .45 Colt or .44-40 (.45 Colt for practicality, but .44-40 has more cool factor).

If you're just looking for a single-action in general, and intend to shoot it more than look at it, I recommend the Ruger Blackhawk Convertible in .45 Colt/.45 ACP. As a reloader, I appreciate the beefy frame and cylinder that can handle really heavy loads...not that I shoot a bunch of them through it, but it's nice to have the safety margin. This $600 gun will easily consume loads that would blow up a $2000 Colt SAA.

The adjustable sights are also a huge upgrade, especially if you're shooting different loads or swapping in the .45 ACP cylinder. It's nice to be able to regulate your sights to the ammo you're using. And speaking of that .45 ACP cylinder, that cartridge is a lot cheaper to shoot and easier to find than most big-bore revolver calibers. The round-nose profile makes loading through a single-action loading gate a breeze...drop them in there and the bullet guides the cartridge right into the chamber. The ACP case also pops out easily with a short stroke of the ejector rod...something that's a lot more finicky with longer revolver cartridges.

Ruger took the single-action design to the next level when they made the Blackhawk. It's accurate, solid, reliable, versatile, and until Covid ruined the revolver market, affordable. You can still find them for decent prices, but you have to look a lot harder than you did 2 years ago.

I have seven Colt SAAs so i maight be biased, but in my opinion it's worth spending the extra money if you are only going to get one.
I collect them though, and only shoot one of them, had I been looking for a shooter specifically I probably would have bought a Ruger instead.
If you are getting a Colt and you intend to use and not just look at it, I'd make sure it was newly manufactured or a second gen, the third gen in my experience aren't that well made sadly.

My favorite are my open top conversion guns in 38sp.

45LC pretty much leaves you with reloading as your primary ammo source.