SAA for CAS

RevolverRodger

RevolverRodger

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Somewhere in QC
I'm interested in starting CAS. I was wondering what were the differences between pietta, uberti and rugers
I'm also not sure if I should buy .357 or .45.
Is the barrel diameter on the .357 the same as the .45 ?
Thanks
 
Pietta and Uberti (and the Marstar sold Chapparals as well) all use the old style original Colt internal action. They have the famed four clicks that you can feel as the hammer is cocked. The Ruger New Vaqueros use a new modern action with a hammer block safety.

So if you want a faithful copy of the old guns then it's Chapparal, Pietta or Uberti. If you go with Ruger they are very nice guns, shoot fine, work fine and all the rest just like the copies of the older and more faithful guns but they are modern guns designed to look classic. How much does this matter to you?

In the end I found a Pietta used here on the EE for a decent price. It turned out to be such a nice gun that I got a new one to make up my pair. The Pietta product is superbly finished both inside and out with smooth actions and really nice colour case hardening on the frame, hammer and trigger. The ONLY sign of them being a budget gun is the type of wood used for the grips. It's functional but I'm going to do them up with some stag horn grips or some sort of flashy exotic wood before too long.

I've also got two cap and ball Uberti '58 clones and they are also excellently made and finished both inside and out.

So from a quality standpoint it's pretty much a wash for Pietta or Uberti. I've seen but not shot a Chapparal and found the finish to be not as nicely done as my Piettas.

A lot of my CAS group shoots Rugers and love them. You can certainly buy those with confidence.

As for caliber it's up to you. In my case I went with the .357 because I've also got .38 and .357 S&W revolvers and I'm reloading for the whole lot. I wanted to not have to load up a big variety of calibers so I stuck with .357/.38 all around for cartridges.
 
Ruger New Vaqueros are great. I recommend 45 Colt personally. If you are going to shoot gunfighter, then perhaps go with the 38. Also, don't forget your 1911 in 45 ACP for SASS Wildbunch!!!
 
I have owned SAA's, clones and Rugers. For CAS I would take a Ruger. The Colts and clones just cant take the high number of rounds associated with CAS. Well, the guns can but you had better keep a good pile of springs, parts on hand as you will be changing them often (better be good at custom fitting parts as well). If you cant do the work yourself you had better buy more than one gun so you can rotate which one is at the gunsmiths getting worked on.

IMO the Rugers can take 5-10X the abuse a Colt or clone can take before needing work. That is based on the older Rugers as I don't have much experience with the New Vaquero's, just picked one up and will have a pretty good opinion soon.

And one more thing to keep in mind is that any of them will need to be tuned up out of the box. Doing so will help increase the life of the internal parts and make things run smooth.
 
Unless you want to shoot in the "Classic cowboy" category, any caliber is fine.
Be prepared to reload if you choose the .45 colt or .44 wcf.
Personnaly, i prefer the big calibers, reloaded with black powder.
 
crazy_davey is not the only person that I ahve heard say that the Rugers are the best ofr CAS since they are tougher, but the price difference between a Ruger and a Pietta your could probably buy a pair ofr Piettas with a backup one for the price of a pair of Rugers.

I have a Ruger New Vaquero in 357 magnum; it is the polished stainless model. Most time I pull it out at the range someone states quoting Patton, but I don't mind :). When I get a few fre minutes (wife just ahd our first child), I am going to get back to TRYING to make a set of grips for it.

I just finished reading Shooting Sixguns of the Old West by Mike Venturino; it is a bit dated (written in 96 I think), but the info is solid, especially if you are going to try black powder loads. The round he recommended for CAS was a 38 Long Colt; he also loads all of his own black powder loads; I guess it would be the 38 Special for everyone else.
 
For simple longevity I would go with a Ruger. I like the way the Colt clones feel and handle better though. Still, if you want to compete you'll be doing lots of shooting, and that's where the Ruger shines. That will also tell as to what caliber, if you're shooting lots and don't want to deal with too much recoil, a 38/357 gun it is, loded with 38 Special. Easy to shoot, mild recoil, cheap. - dan
 
HOWDY ; for caliber 38/357 price and speed are the reason.
GUN -rugers for no hassle shooting or piettas if you are not a many thousand rounds a year shooter. and its just for giggles and fun.
45s if you need that cal. for the catagory you pick .
PICK your catagory FIRST then get the gun best for it .go to a few matchs and talk around to people.
 
Nah....Forget those other guys. Go for the GUNSLINGER, made by USFA, or U.S. Firearms in Hartford, Conn. The pistol comes in an antiqued finish, and retails for $1145.
I have a 5.5 inch barrel with one piece grip in .45....I've fired both smokeless and black powder cartridge. Nothin' beats black powder! A bugger to clean, but she's worth it.

Cheers,

Bill
 
I use Uberti's in .45 colt and haven't had any problems. The other thing you may want to consider is what rifle you are going to use, and if you want to keep the same caliber and loads.
 
My Humble Advice

I was in your shoes a few short months ago.

For me it came down to a number of factors. I chose the .357 because it is less expensive to shoot and loads are dirt cheap. Brass is plentiful and lead bullets abound.

As for the guns, that was a real twister. I got into CAS because I like the looks and feel of the 1873. The models, as you stated, really comes down to Uberti and Ruger. Pietta and Chapparal look good, but the CAS shooters I talked to indicated that they would not hold up to all the pounding. The Uberti is a classic clone and looks and feels great, including the four clicks. Ruger looks classic, but is totally modern. I went with the Uberti Cattleman for that classic look and feel. I have not regretted.
 
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