Interested in first sa revolver

[Bobbum Man]

So I'm pretty sure I have it narrowed down to either ruger vaquero or Blackhawk (ss or blued I like both) (5.5"). It would be nice to have a 45 colt in the collection. My only concern with the vaquero in 45 lc is it has a fixed sight and if a regular supply of the same ammo isn't available I'm guessing shooting consistent with different manufacturers could be tricky? 357 ammo is probably easier to come by regularly? I currently don't reload so Im taking that into consideration for now.

This gun won't likely see a ton of use but will be taken out occasionally to ring some steel. This will be my entry into sa revolvers and don't care much about resale because if haven't been able to part with any firearm to date. Price would ideally fall between 6-800 but I can be swayed.

I've done a bit of googling but I'd like to hear the cgn communities opinions on the subject. Pros? Cons? Better alternatives? Thanks everyone!

 

[Dsiwy]

Why not get a Blackhawk 45 convertible in 45LC and 45ACP?

I have one with a 5.5" barrel and its fantastic in both calibers

Cheap 45ACP is about $23 a box and reloading ethier caliber is even cheaper.

 

[caramel]

The Ruger Flattop convertible 5.5 inch in 45 Colt/ 45 ACP is an awsome revolver, mine have become one of my favorite... JP.

 

[Bobbum Man]

Hey now that's handy! I keep a decent supply of 45 acp anyhow or at least try to. I found one for 699 from jo brooks too. Thanks for the quick responses, that's fantastic.

 

[Dsiwy]

Flat top is probably the better choice as long as you dont want to shoot Ruger only 45LC loads. If your reloading and want to shoot crazy ruger only loads then go with the standard blackhawk.

 

[Mark-II]

Prophet River has a nice flat top or two, I recall.

Rugers aren't "Authentic" SAA revolvers, so I skip the Vaquero, which are chiefly competition guns, and go for the Blackhawk.

Because if you're going to #### around with Kentucky Windage, you may as well be shooting an actual replica of the real thing.

 

[Bobbum Man]

So 'ruger only loads' are new to me as of this week. Is this referring to a hot reloading formula or is 'ruger only' commercially available?

 

[Mark-II]

Hot reloads. Manuals sometimes have sections or loads for things like Ruger revolvers, Number 1 rifles, TC Encores,

 

[Bobbum Man]

Flat top is probably the better choice as long as you dont want to shoot Ruger only 45LC loads. If your reloading and want to shoot crazy ruger only loads then go with the standard blackhawk.

Please excuse my ignorance on this one here. This flat top, safe/not safe hot reload thing has got me a little spun around. Comparing the new model convertible blackhawk and the standard blackhawk, the frames look the same to me. You are saying the flattop convertible ISN'T ok for hot reloads but the standard is? Again, I'm not currently reloading but I hope to in the future. Sorry again, I'm just getting into the SA thing so the more info the better.

 

[Dsiwy]

Flat tops are medium frame and Blackhawks are large frame. As far as I know Large frame are the only ones rated for "ruger only loads"

 

[Bobbum Man]

That's great, thanks for all your help! I'm off to flip couch cushions and scrounge under cars seats.

 

[BCRider]

The .45 size convertible has a great reputation out there. And the adjustable sights ensure that you can set them to shoot a wide and changing variety of ammo.

The 9mm/.357Mag convertible on the other hand has a somewhat more poor reputation. It stems from the two sizes of bullets and the in between compromise size bore. A lot of folks report that it shoots OK with .357 but poorly with 9mm. It DOES shoot with 9 and they do group. Just not well in many cases and even then only with specific bullets.

So all in all if you like the idea of the .45 convertible then great. But for the smaller bore I'd skip it and go for a .357 Blackhawk instead.

Shooting any amount of .45Colt will certainly urge you to get into reloading sooner instead of later. Cost for factory ammo seems to be hovering at around 80 cents per round only in some cases. Most of it is up around a buck a round. Meanwhile a buddy is reloading his .45Colt for around 25 cents a round even with today's prices on primers, powder and projectiles. I'll leave it to you to do the rest of the math. Basically if you have a desire to shoot handguns with chamberings that start with a .4 then it's time to consider reloading. The only exception to this being .40S&W.