Who makes the best "old west" or "cowboy" looking revolvers?

I'd go with Uberti (and I have). They are pretty exact like the original models, unlike the Rugers and the others with odd loading gates and hammer safeties.

Uberti also makes the other Cowboy guns which the other manufactures don't venture too much into. Like the open tops, and the slew of percussion revolvers. Uberti's are reasonably priced as well.
 
M_A_T_T said:
I want a nice gun that won't break and I won't need to upgrade anytime soon, and if it has a good name and won't break the bank that would be great. It seems like the Ruger is the way to go. You guys seem to talk of them nicely. I also read one of their manuals regarding the safety system and it allowing you to keep six rounds in the cylinder.
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A good decision based on the points you mention. One question: Do you plan on doing any Cowboy Action Shooting? If so, look into the rules at your local club. IIRC, they don't allow "cowboy" guns that aren't true to the original designs. In other words, no transfer bar safeties.

Ruger's single actions have a large and loyal following at pistol ranges but, if I'm not mistaken, they aren't used by CAS shooters. If you don't care about CAS or being faithful to original designs, Rugers will serve you well.
 
I'm not interested in CAS at the moment, I just like the look, and will just be doing target practice at an indoor range for now.
 
dan belisle said:
Quite a few of the CAS shooters I know around here use Rugers SS, are you sure about that rule? - dan
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Not at all sure. That's why I recommended checking with local clubs. I'm not a CAS shooter myself, but I do have a soft spot for SAA's. The part about transfer bars is something I heard but haven't verified.

Perhaps the CAS shooters in the crowd can tell us about local club rules and/or sanctioning body rules, if they exist?
 
CAS rules don't care if the innards use transfer bars or not. Only distinction is if the gun has adjustable sights or the traditional hog-wallow.

FA hands down make the best single actions on the market. Maybe the older 1st and 2nd generation Colt SAA's are worth the money, but the new ones that I've handled all need an action job out of the box. Kinda sad when you lay out that kind of money.

The Uberti's I've owned (5) all had better actions and timing out of the box than the Colts. The only weakness on the Ubertis is the springs, but you can easily swap them out for Wolff or Peacemaker Specialists ones and still be a lot further ahead than buying a Colt.

Rugers are great value for the money and very strong. It just comes down to subjective feel. I love my Flat-Top .44, found the Vaquero too bulky, and like the New Vaqueros.

The Pietta cap and balls that I've handled can't hold a candle to the Uberti cap and balls in terms of fit/finish/smoothness. Apparently the Pietta cartridge guns are done much better on new machinery, but I haven't handled one yet.

YMMV,
Ron
 
John Sukey said:
I am always amazed at the price of a Colt compared to a Ruger. Why is there such a LARGE difference? They are both made in the U.S., so its not a question of cheap foreign labour.;)
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There's 2 reasons that I can think of. When Colt decided to restart production of the SAA (third generation), they moved ALL production to the custom shop. They still make the basic blued, walnut grip models, but I'm sure more than half of their current production are embellished in one way or another. The extra cost is due to the extensive hand fitting and finishing - they're all custom shop pieces.

The second reason is the name. You pay dearly for it. And rightly so. The Colt Peacemaker has been in production for a long time. With a high percentage of first generation guns still in circulation, they have earned their reputation for durability. Some may say that there's no good reason to pay for the name. I disagree. Besides the comfort of knowing that you're dealing with a proven company with a proven product, there's the matter of resale value. If a gun costs $500 more to buy and will sell used for $500 more than those made by competitors, what does it really cost you to own the real thing? As with all firearms, provenance has value, too. Good luck finding a Ruger that was owned by Jesse James (good luck finding a toothpick that was used by Jesse James, but you know what I mean).

In the end, it's all dependent on your priorities. Which matters most to you and in what order?

  • Price?
  • Safety?
  • Durability?
  • Provenance?
  • Quality (fit and finish)?
  • Barrel length?
  • Caliber?
  • Resale value?
  • Finish options?
  • Service availability?
  • Maker (reputation, length of time in business)?

Which of the above are important to you and their ranking will determine which SAA is right for you, personally.
 
Doc

M_A_T_T said:
What's the price of a Colt?
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Doc got this 1 for $8000. 1st generation NIB
Colt_SAA_1stgenFrontier44_40_5_5_lg_196.jpg


http://www.oldwestguns.ca/products/manufacturer.php?id_manufacturer=17
Meanea
 
One of my Ruger Vaqueros in .44, fired 20,000 rds before the transfer bar broke. Once I got a replacement, repair took less than 20 minutes if I remember correctly. GO VAQUERO !!

dscf2670abwb3.jpg

Shot with FinePix E550 at 2008-02-01
 
I have both Ruger and Uberti and I got to tell you I prefer the Uberti , I have a 1873 with birds head grips I got from Milarms for 575.00, It seems smoother than the Ruger and I prefer the grips , I consider the safety issue with the Rugers a non starter , when you load the Uberti drop one in the cylinder turn once put in the other four ,pull to full #### and let that hammer down on the empty cylinder , just like its been done for 135 years. The only problem I've seen with these Uberti guns is the screws have a tendency to back out but Dan's suggestion of blue locktite has ended that problem. thanks Dan!
 
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