advice on a "cowboy" gun

wingsuit

wingsuit

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I'm looking at getting my Dad a birthday present and have thought an old cowboy style gun would make a good gift. He's a pilot, but when we were growing up we owned an acreage just outside the city and had a few horses. He also got into leatherworking for awhile and even built his own saddle (which turned out amazing) I think he's always been a bit of a cowboy at heart.

Not being into older model revolvers I'm looking for help on .... well, on where to look. So far I've seen the Uberti wesite, and am wondering on their quality. I guess I'm used to looking at a new 1911 and seeing at least a $1000 price tag, so when I see some of their revolvers in the 5-700 range I wonder if they are good quality or if its just a case of them being a replica and revolvers having less moving parts.

My budget is going to be in the 800-1800 range. First off I dont know if this is going to be in the range to get something authentic, but even if its not I'm just looking for advice on if there are other replica makers. Authentic would be great if possible, but its not a requirement in my case.

I'd like to stay in the realm of cartridge revolvers so if he wants it would be easy for him to find ammo and reload for it (.38 special, .45 colt, .357 etc) Do these things stand up to modern factory loads or would he need to handload down to not blow them up?

any advice on where to start or what to expect would be great.

thanks
 
wingsuit said:
My budget is going to be in the 800-1800 range. First off I dont know if this is going to be in the range to get something authentic, but even if its not I'm just looking for advice on if there are other replica makers. Authentic would be great if possible, but its not a requirement in my case.
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I'm no expert but I think authentic nineteenth century revolvers are very much out of the question. No idea if you could afford to buy one but, if you could, you would cetainly not want to fire it. Modern steel is much tougher than anything Sam Colt or his contemporaries had to work with -- and modern cartridge loadings are far stronger.

You can get a new gun that looks new or, for a little bit more, one that looks antique. You can also find a range of styles, not just the ubiquitous 1873 SA. Marstar has a wide selection, probably a good place to start looking.

Most replicas are made in Italy, including some sold under American names. They are fine guns but need a bit of babying. Ruger is Ruger, not completely authentic but tougher than a reheated steak.

BTW, nice idea. Hope your father likes it.
 
I own a pair of Ruger Bisley Vaquero's. 45 long colt. Luv them. They shoot great, and are easy to handle. You can pick up a plain Vaquero for under $700. Add $100 for stainless and fake ivory grips.
 
Rugers are fantastic quality, accurate and reasonably priced, I've used several of their SAA-modelled revolvers and own a Super Blackhawk (the S.B. is farther away from the traditional SAA lines than the New Vaquero etc listed above) and found them all to shoot very well & reliably.

I've also got a Uberti Cattleman in .45 Colt, nothing wrong with it, I don't personally find mine to be as accurate as the Rugers I have shot or own but I enjoy shooting it. Not an exact replica but quite close enough for my requirements and tons of fun. I put a lot of lead through it.

If you buy a Uberti I'd suggest taking a few moments to add some BLUE Loctite to the screws (including the screw that holds the release for the cylinder base pin) as mine shot loose after ~400 rounds or so, dropped a couple of screws and ended my day early. It was a quick fix though & haven't had a repeat since the Loctite.
 
Donster 125 said:
http://countryclassics08.com/cimarron.html

I personally like the no-name conversion. I plan on buying one hopefully within a year or so.
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STAY AWAY, from this dealer. He tends not to be very customer oriented. What comes out of his mouth at times and reality has a tendency to be 2 different things. I have shot with him on the same posse in a couple of large matches and have dealt with him on a business basis also, as have a few friends who shoot Cowboy Action. I have met more of his disgrutled customers than the other way around.

Recently he was heard to be bragging to a dealer in Edmonton about how he is the "go to guy" co-ordinating the new range being built in the MD of Taber, when in fact he stomped out of the council meeting, when his "plans" didn't conform to either the MD's or the RCMP Guidelines for building a range.

Personally I have 7 Vaqueros, 5 "old style", 2 "New" style. I've had one of these pistols fire in excess of 20,000 rds before it broke a transfer bar. Good value for the money you spend.
 
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I have a Uberti 1873 SAA clone in .45 Colt with the "antique " finish, it is a replica of the older black powder frame SAA but it can handle modern .45Colt loads no problem. The ammo isn't cheap at about a dollar a round for factory...had to get into re-loading to afford to shoot this thing. I also have a Ruger Single Six .22LR which looks a lot like an 1873 SAA but a bit smaller and a lot cheaper to shoot. Pietta also makes 1873 SAA clones and they are good quality for the money.
 
I have 3 Uberti's, 2 are Colt clones, the other a Remington cartridge conversion, all in .45 colt. All the three are good guns, but my favorite is my actual Colt 3rd generation, also in 45. These are current Colts, so they can fire modern ammo and are not super valuable antiques that you wouldn't want to shoot.
With your budget you could get the Colt. Mine is a far better gun that my Italian copies, shoots to point of aim, has a much better trigger, and nicer sites, they are also twice the money.
Plus, there's nothing like having the real thing!

Brian
 
wingsuit said:
I'm looking at getting my Dad a birthday present and have thought an old cowboy style gun would make a good gift.
My budget is going to be in the 800-1800 range. First off I dont know if this is going to be in the range to get something authentic, but even if its not I'm just looking for advice on if there are other replica makers. Authentic would be great if possible, but its not a requirement in my case.
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If you want to give him the real thing...either an older generation or new, it should be a Colt ( .45 ). Colt invented the Single Action Army and it has not changed much since 1873.

Here are a few Colts...1st, 2nd and 3rd generation!:)
The last one belongs to our moderator NAA;)

P2190016.jpg

P2190013.jpg

DSCN0684.jpg

DSCN0687.jpg

DSCN0674.jpg

2004-12-20_235623_JWrig3.jpg
 
thanks for info guys. I'll be looking into my options. something keeps drawing me to the 1851 conversion. But I'll be looking into colt saa as well.

The Umberti doesnt quite have the conversion silouette but has an ejector rod by the looks of it.

cimarron seems to make one, might have to look into that.

MWNN1.JPG
 
okcorral1881 said:
The last one belongs to our moderator NAA;)

2004-12-20_235623_JWrig3.jpg
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I've been lucky enough to own that 2nd gen Colt SAA in .357 Mag above for a number of years, purchased from the original owner, who bought it new in 1961. The rig is a custom left hand, made by leather 'smith Walter Ostin, and is patterned after a "John Wayne" style rig, as seen in many of his movies.

:canadaFlag:
-------------
NAA.
 
Garand said:
STAY AWAY, from this dealer. He tends not to be very customer oriented. What comes out of his mouth at times and reality has a tendency to be 2 different things. I have shot with him on the same posse in a couple of large matches and have dealt with him on a business basis also, as have a few friends who shoot Cowboy Action. I have met more of his disgrutled customers than the other way around.

Recently he was heard to be bragging to a dealer in Edmonton about how he is the "go to guy" co-ordinating the new range being built in the MD of Taber, when in fact he stomped out of the council meeting, when his "plans" didn't conform to either the MD's or the RCMP Guidelines for building a range.

Personally I have 7 Vaqueros, 5 "old style", 2 "New" style. I've had one of these pistols fire in excess of 20,000 rds before it broke a transfer bar. Good value for the money you spend.
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That's really disheartening. Do you know where else I could find the No-Name Conversion?
 
pistols and revolvers

i know your delema , i was in that spot as well. i got the uberti/cimarron wyatt earp. it is a nice piece for a .45 . i think the next 1 will be a colt . just because thats where it all started , nothing like a colt.H:S:
 
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