First hand gun .357 or .45 lc ?

Mark-II said:
You have to follow your heart, and drag your wallet along kicking and screaming ;)

My first single action (not my first handgun) was in 45 Colt. It's a blast.

If you have any aspirations of loading black powder I would suggest the 44-40. It's a thinner case and seals much better than the 45.

But if you don't think you'll go black, then go for the 45. If you like single actions then you'll end up with the 44-40 down the road anyway. Lol

It's not a .357, but the open top revolvers in .38 special are cool little guns.

For a .357 I'd go Ruger and hot rod the crap out of it.

Do some research on how to properly hold a single action. It can make a big difference in comfort and group sizes. It's a different sort of beast. I love em, personally. I pour less lead down range and enjoy myself more at the same time.
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I've always wanted a .45, and the real colt is a little out of reach , this yr. I'm gonna go with the uberti el patron , in .45. It's as close as I can find to the real colt saa. Already have a holster picked out :). I'll probably reload for the .45 but not much interest in the black powder yet.
 
To the O.P.
If you aren't hard up for money, (meaning you can afford more than one box of factory ammo a year) then get the gun YOU REALLY WANT!
Aww to heck with the 38/357 if your desire is with a 45. I've had over 450 guns in the last several years and sold most because they weren't what I wanted in the first place, and I "settled" for something else. Guess what, a box of ammo through them, and they get sold.
I still cannot get it together to get my dream gun (Restricted Luger) so I inevitably sell all my guns trying to be happy in the meantime.
Does the Taylor also come in 45?? That is a beautiful gun!! That would be my choice of the top 2 (no ruger)
 
rustynut1 said:
I have had the exact same issues you had with the .45Colt/.45ACP Ruger. I have yet to trim the front sight but it is going to be necessary. I had a S&W 625 that I sold and bought the Ruger. I ended up getting another 625. Way different but the S&W was almost 3 times the money and a used gun to boot. BUT the .45 Colt round is a lot of fun. Like that round a lot. I think the bottom line with these multi calibre guns is that each round is so different that you can't make the gun shoot accurate with each of the different rounds, than there is the reloading differences and projectile weights. I don't use accurate and hand guns in the same sentence!
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If you have any experience at reloading it is possible to load both the 45 Colt and 45acp to hit the same POA. My Ruger convertible certainly does and it is a fun gun. I have the Lipsey flat top model so Ruger only loads are not available to me but that said it does manage 8.5 gr of Unique under my 260 gr LSWC and that particular load is enough for me to handle. More would start to get painful. Too, the gun does come with adjustable sights for a reason.

Take Care

Bob
 
The Taylor's models are Uberti guns that have received a little more attention to the trigger and some slight slicking up work to make them competitive out of the box for cowboy action shooting. So that's something to consider. The El Patron is, I believe, the factory's answer to this sort of "factory slicked up" idea.

You REALLY need to consider getting into reloading pretty much right away if you'll be shooting .45Colt. Factory ammo runs at close to a buck a pop WHEN you can even find it. And contrary to those that say it's a little harder to find it's actually a lot harder to find any at all in any of the stores. On the other hand my buddies that reload for cowboy action shooting are keeping the cost per round down to around 25 cents even with the current inflated price for primers and powder and using store bought cast bullets. So the capital cost of the press and other gear for reloading would be recovered VERY soon if you shoot much at all.

By contrast my .38 loads for cowboy shooting are running me about 17 to 18 cents a round. It doesn't sound like much but it quickly mounts up when you're shooting higher volumes.

As for the authentic Colt clicks you're right. The Ruger is SAA on the outside only. The internal action is totally different. Opening the loading gate disengages the cylinder bolt instead of going to half #### like on a proper Colt style action. The Italian guns all use the original Colt action. Although some of the newer models are now using a transfer bar and frame mounted firing pin to make them safe for carrying all 6 loaded. The original Colt had the firing pin mounted to the hammer and could only be carried safely in a holster with an empty chamber under the hammer.

Of course for a Colt SAA the proper historical chambering was the .45Colt. So I'm not surprised you want to go that way. Lots of folks do.

Full pressure SAMMI .45Colt ammo is nothing to sneeze at. It was designed to take down EITHER a rider OR the horse after all. So I'd suggest that you'll likely find that for plinking that even standard power loads are still quite stout. And that's another area where reloading pays off. You can tune the loads to suit your own preference for recoil.

A note on "Ruger Only Loads". These over pressure loads only apply to the large frame Rugers like the Blackhawk and Super Blackhawk and the older original Vaquero models. The current New Vaquero is a lighter frame that won't take the excess pressure. And of course none of the Italian guns should be used with any of the Ruger Only over pressure loads.

The more proper barrel length was the 7.5". The cut down barrels came later or were done by local gunsmiths for those that wanted or needed a faster drawing gun. That doesn't stop the majority of us from buying the 5.5" and 4.625" versions though. The army and most cowboys that carried a Colt would have had a 7.5" version. Only lawmen and gun fighters would likely have bothered with cutting down their barrels. And let's not forget that the fast draw at high noon was a product of Hollywood and has precious little or even no historical validity.
 
Brianma65 said:
I've always wanted a .45, and the real colt is a little out of reach , this yr. I'm gonna go with the uberti el patron , in .45. It's as close as I can find to the real colt saa. Already have a holster picked out :). I'll probably reload for the .45 but not much interest in the black powder yet.
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I tell you this much - I have 2 Uberti single actions ('51 Navy conversion and '58 Remington conversion) - both are T&Co models. They do have very nice triggers, especially compared with my Pietta SAA. I could see myself selling the Pietta if I bought another .45 to replace it, just for that one reason. It's a nice gun otherwise.

Anything Uberti you're going to be pleased with, and going for a nicely finished and appointed one is a good move, because you want something that you'll enjoy looking at as much as you will playing with it. (goes for a lot of things, really).
 
image.jpgWell , I've just pulled the trigger on a Uberti el patron , 5.5 barrel, .45 LC....;). So now, what do you think of this holster? I guess I'll be needing a holster... Right?
 

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If you go reloading be aware of the different lead sizes. There is .454, .452 and maybe .450. The Colts I think needed .454 size. You need to be aware of this and get the right lead for your gun. I bought new Starline brass for my .45 Colt. I think that is the way you might want to go as well. It isn't expensive but in Canada it can be a little more costly. I forget who sells it here in Canada but it is a site sponsor.
 
rustynut1 said:
If you go reloading be aware of the different lead sizes. There is .454, .452 and maybe .450. The Colts I think needed .454 size. You need to be aware of this and get the right lead for your gun. I bought new Starline brass for my .45 Colt. I think that is the way you might want to go as well. It isn't expensive but in Canada it can be a little more costly. I forget who sells it here in Canada but it is a site sponsor.
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I do plan on reloading, but first I'll try some factory ammo....
 
rustynut1 said:
If you go reloading be aware of the different lead sizes. There is .454, .452 and maybe .450. The Colts I think needed .454 size. You need to be aware of this and get the right lead for your gun. I bought new Starline brass for my .45 Colt. I think that is the way you might want to go as well. It isn't expensive but in Canada it can be a little more costly. I forget who sells it here in Canada but it is a site sponsor.
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Since WW11 the 45Colt has been .452 as made by Colt and all the Italian copies. The OP's El Patron is .452.

Take Care

Bob
 
image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgThe holster is apparently , proving more difficult ,to choose,than the gun.....I'm leaning toward the last one...
 

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