Colt vs USFA SSA

Teapot said:
Does anyone have experience with either or both of the Single Action Army revolver made by Colt and US Arms? I am just curious about how they compare. I've always wanted an old cavalry revolver shooting a black powder load.
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No experience with USFA, but my brother has a 3rd gen Colt SAA that he bought new a couple of years ago. It appears be a well-made, reliable gun.

One thing that you might want to consider is resale value. When it comes to SAA revolvers, real Colts always hold their value much better than clones.
 
Colts are more likely to have oversize cylinder throats, which require oversize cast bullets for good accuracy and to minimise lead buildup.
 
Colt is Colt no matter what. When Colt built and rebuilt and rethink and rebuilt (I'm talking here about every time Colt SAA died and then resurect), the other companies (called clones) just copyed the original Colt SSA.
So, you cannot think progress when you just "copy and paste". A copy will always be a copy.
The only single action beside Colt that put something in they're guns is Ruger.
 
Can you bring some viable reasons please? Except the ones that are paid with heavy money for marketing.
Please, some tech point of views. Because the price.....c'mon. I've seen on TV a outrageous comercial about superiority of Kya in front of Toyota. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry.
 
Moose_Master said:
Can you bring some viable reasons please? Except the ones that are paid with heavy money for marketing.
Please, some tech point of views. Because the price.....c'mon. I've seen on TV a outrageous comercial about superiority of Kya in front of Toyota. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry.
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Sure ,look what they did to 1911 with the series 80, for a start and like I said "JUST WHAT I'VE READ, something like this I took this off another forum,

2008-03-29, 05:30 PM #21
CraigC
Senior Member


Join Date: 2001-11-28
Location: West Tennessee
Posts: 3,057 I'll just copy my post this morning from another forum:

The Colt's of the last year or two have definitely gotten a lot better than any 3rd generation gun preceeding them. Previous 3rd generation guns have almost always been way overpolished with dished out screw holes and lettering, rounded off edges and wavy surfaces. The new guns appear to be very well done. I'm disappointed the chamber mouths are still oversized and they still don't case color the hammers. They still fall short of USFA. USFA's case colors are much more vivid and they usually get the specs right. What most people don't realize and it almost never gets brought up, is the difference in the bluing. Colt hot salt blues their sixguns like every other major manufacturer. A nice finish when the metal prep is done right and the new guns are definitely nicer than almost any other production gun. The USFA Pre-War model is carbona blued like the originals. This is a very labor intensive, expensive process that results in one of the most beautiful finishes available. No major manufacturer does it. It's also a very durable finish. Not to mention the case colored hammer, a nice touch indeed.

So even though Colt's have gotten much better, I still don't believe them to be a very good value, just better than they were. Not when compared to USFA. If it were me, and once I sell my old truck and pay off my credit cards it just might be, I would check out the Cowboy Classic from Doug Turnbull at about $1200. He procures new USFA's in the white and finishes them off himself.
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M_A_T_T said:
New Colts & copies won't do that, unless specifically built for it.
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Why not? I can't think of any reason you can't shoot black powder in any single action revolver. It wouldn't be my first choice given the cleanup requirements, but it should work fine.
 
Greenhorse six,

Hold on please. The guy who wrote that thing didn't like the curves on the gun ???? Is his name Gucci ?
Everything there is about blueing. C'mon, give me something about tech. Something mechanical. Anything.
As I say, is very easy to make "copy and paste". But were talking about better price and better gun than Colt.
I can say all day long to all my friends how good and smart am I. But that won't make me Einstein. (Just a good image salesman).
 
Moose_Master said:
Greenhorse six,

Hold on please. The guy who wrote that thing didn't like the curves on the gun ???? Is his name Gucci ?
Everything there is about blueing. C'mon, give me something about tech. Something mechanical. Anything.
As I say, is very easy to make "copy and paste". But were talking about better price and better gun than Colt.
I can say all day long to all my friends how good and smart am I. But that won't make me Einstein. (Just a good image salesman).
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Ah,That pretty much what it says,If you going to pay that much for a single action,shouldn't it look good,if all you want is function,get a ruger,or for the price of a colt get 3.

And you fogot the part of the chamber mouths being over sized.

Or are you telling me ,"because it says COLT it's a better gun" for no other reason then the name on the side?
 
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Greenhorse,
I really enjoy the discusion but let's face it. Take an BMW and an Impala. They both have 4 wheels and comfy and leather seats and so ad so. But BMW will always be an BMW no matter what.
If you slap me with the price is not what I was intended to find out from you. Is not the price but the gun itself. That gun has tradition. That gun was invented first and all the rest(you name it) are just "copy&paste". I'm not rolling money and I'm frustrated by the Colt prices, but what would be if everyone on the street would drive a Mercedes? Put it this way. Buy a Colt, take care about it and sell it in 10 years. Do the same with any clone. Wich one will still have value? What that says to you?
When it comes to single actions is about the simbol that the gun spread around. Now everybody want to shoot CAS (I swear to God I'm so happy about that) but with Colt prices just few will shoot. That's the clones succes. Clones are single action for every pocket. Colt not.
I would love to have enough money to have only Colt single actions but....I'm waiting the next 6/49. Untill then no matter what I have to be honest with myself and to give to the Caesar what deserves.
 
Moose_Master said:
Greenhorse six,

Hold on please. The guy who wrote that thing didn't like the curves on the gun ???? Is his name Gucci ?
Everything there is about blueing. C'mon, give me something about tech. Something mechanical. Anything.
As I say, is very easy to make "copy and paste". But were talking about better price and better gun than Colt.
I can say all day long to all my friends how good and smart am I. But that won't make me Einstein. (Just a good image salesman).
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I'll make the assumption that you are not actually a troll.

What is being referred to is the fact that Colt has not been taking care to keep the polishing from damaging the screw holes, and areas which are supposed to be flat are rounded & dished.

If the locking bolt notches are rounder or dished, it can cause a mechanical problem when the cylinder doesn't stop in line with the barrel. Is that a mechanical problem, or a "gucci" finish problem??

Why would you or I want to pay for a "premium" gun that was delivered damaged from the factory?

That's not "gucci", it's common sense.

Mechanical? Colt has made a number of mechanical changes to the 3rd generation SAA to answer the (many) criticisms of the owners over the last 10 years. The major & most noticable item being returning to a (traditional) removable cylinder bushing.
 
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How many times your Colt SAA got that problem? If somebody is assuming something it doesn't mean is the truth. I can assume a lot of things too.
Damaged from the factory...whooow. Have you bought your Colt damaged? Sorry to hear that. Mines are working crisp and never got any problem.
Changes will always be but accept it or not I can't compare the balance of a Colt with any other SA.
And I repeat, the prices are prohibitive, but that's life.
And one more thing: stop reading only the critics. There are more other reviews to read.
 
Why pay extra for a revolver with inferior execution? Despite not having a pony stamped on them, either the US Firearms or the STI Texican are arguably more faithful to the tradition because they're done right. These are not in the same league as the Italian guns.

As for residual value, that only matters if you plan on selling the gun. Any new firearm is a poor investment. If you want a single action that will appreciate in value, stick to pre-WWII Colts, not the Third Generation ones.
 
B.s.

M_A_T_T said:
New Colts & copies won't do that, unless specifically built for it.
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That is pure B.S.

Black powder loads can safely be shot in any of the modern single action center fire revolvers.

I put thousands of rounds through mine and my M92 lever gun. B.P. pressures are much lower than pressures for smokeless powder.

The only issue you will really have is cleaning them and even that is more myth than fact. The most corrosive part of BP loads used to be the primers but I suspect they have been improved over the years as I have never run into any rusting issues with my BP gun - even when I left them sitting without cleaning for up to a week.

Field strip your gun, rinse in with hot soapy water, rinse with clean hot water, clean barrel and cylinder, oil -done. Simple.

John
 
Moose_Master said:
How many times your Colt SAA got that problem? If somebody is assuming something it doesn't mean is the truth. I can assume a lot of things too.
Damaged from the factory...whooow. Have you bought your Colt damaged? Sorry to hear that. Mines are working crisp and never got any problem.
Changes will always be but accept it or not I can't compare the balance of a Colt with any other SA.
And I repeat, the prices are prohibitive, but that's life.
And one more thing: stop reading only the critics. There are more other reviews to read.
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No, actually I have a "2nd gen" Colt SAA which doesn't exhibit those problems.

I also have a Pietta GW-II from Marstar which makes my Colt SAA mechanically look like a POS.

The only "problems" which it exhibits are the base pin needs replacing (it jumps and twists) and the screws are too short for esthetic purposes. It is perfectly timed and resembles a 'teens to early '20s SAA to perfection.

Oh yeah, I have to point out the error in your statement:
Moose_Master said:
"stop reading only the critics. There are more other reviews to read.
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Your error is that it's not something I read, it's something I have observed.

I have also seen the new 3rd Gen Colt's and they are very nice, as they seem to have solved most of their problems.
 
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Moose_Master said:
Greenhorse,
I really enjoy the discusion but let's face it. Take an BMW and an Impala. They both have 4 wheels and comfy and leather seats and so ad so. But BMW will always be an BMW no matter what.
If you slap me with the price is not what I was intended to find out from you. Is not the price but the gun itself. That gun has tradition. That gun was invented first and all the rest(you name it) are just "copy&paste". I'm not rolling money and I'm frustrated by the Colt prices, but what would be if everyone on the street would drive a Mercedes? Put it this way. Buy a Colt, take care about it and sell it in 10 years. Do the same with any clone. Wich one will still have value? What that says to you?
When it comes to single actions is about the simbol that the gun spread around. Now everybody want to shoot CAS (I swear to God I'm so happy about that) but with Colt prices just few will shoot. That's the clones succes. Clones are single action for every pocket. Colt not.
I would love to have enough money to have only Colt single actions but....I'm waiting the next 6/49. Untill then no matter what I have to be honest with myself and to give to the Caesar what deserves.
Click to expand...

You're comparing apples and oranges with your car analogy,you have to compare the same products made by different companys,like AR15s,1911s and 1873 SAAs, all of which Colt makes.

I Buy my guns to shoot not to look at or try to impress my friends.

"The fact that a Colt is a Colt (or that something else isn't) is the sort of blindingly obvious observation that one would assume nobody would be inclined to make it."

"Is the name stamped on the side worth that much more than what it is stamped on? "
 
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