I recently went shopping for a brace of 4.75" Single Action Army revolvers in .45 Colt. I'm not a fan of the Rugers because they are not a copy of any period design and to me, personally, that is important but I wanted CAS tuned guns with easy to use sights so I looked at the Uberti premium lines. There are essentially three versions of Uberti's best guns:
-The Uberti El Patrone sold under the Uberti name
-The Cimarron Evil Roy made by Uberti
-the Taylor's Smoke Wagon made by Uberti
I really was curious to see the difference between the Italian marketed El Patrone and the guns the US importers are re-branding with supposedly better assembly, QA/QC, etc. so I ordered an El Patrone (came in at around $700 after taxes, shipping, etc.) and an Evil Roy (about $950 after taxes, shipping, etc.). Yeah, I know... so much more expensive than US prices!!! Both guns are CI date-coded, which is supposedly 2013, but the guns were clearly actually made in 2012. I bought both in December 2012 and had the El Patrone just before Christmas and the Evil Roy in January 2013.
Evil Roy on bottom, El Patrone on top.
Without flash:
So here is my honest comparison of the two. For starters, there are differences between the two guns. The most obvious difference is in the hammers.
The Evil Roy follows a 2nd Gen colt pattern with a polished-sides hammer and no inertial hammer safety.
The El Patrone has a color cased hammer reminiscent of a first gen Colt, but with an American lawyer-inspired inertial hammer safety. This could be removed, but unlike a transfer bar it should not cause any malfunctions and I'll leave it be. It has no effect on action feel, trigger pull, etc. but I do wish it was absent.
Both guns also have cylinder pins with an additional setting depth so the pins can be used as hammer blocks - IMHO a useless feature but evidently required to get the guns exported from Italy to the US.
Next, the El Patrone has laser-engraved barrel markings, while the Cimarron has roll-stamped markings. I prefer the Cimarron markings, but both are well executed and this is a matter of personal taste.
Also, the El Patrone's proof marks are visible on the gun, while the Evil Roy's proof marks are in areas not visible with the pistol assembled.
El Patrone proofs:
The El Patrone has the chambers numbered, the Evil Roy does not.
Both frames have the same model number and were likely made around the same time in the same factory. Both are Uberti model 13728 frames.
The importer's markings are in different locations. Cimarron's are on top of the barrel and are small.
Ubertis' markings are tagged to Stoeger (who owns Uberti and is in turn owned by Beretta) and they are on the bottom of the barrel against the ejector rib.
As for comparisons not easily seen in the photos:
Fit and finish: I have to give the slight edge to the El Patrone. The polishing was better, fewer machine marks and the grips were better fitted (slightly).
Markings: Edge to Cimarron. They look more period and are nicely roll stamped vs. laser cut.
Action feel: Edge to cimarron. After 100 action cycles on both guns, the Evil Roy's action is noticeably smoother. The hammer pull is also a little lighter and the trigger breaks a little cleaner. These are supposedly tuned by a SAA smith in the states while the El Patrone is tuned by an Uberti gunsmith in Italy. The American did a better job and it's noticeable, though not dramatically so.
Price: El Patrone is easily found for $250 less than the Cimarron in Canada.
Verdict: The cimarron is just not $250 better in my opinion. I would recommend the El Patrone over the Evil Roy. That being said, both pistols are superior to a standard cattleman since they come with Wolffe springs, custom action tuning, better fit and finish, gunfighter grips, square-notched rear sights, and coil-spring driven hands.
Finally both guns arrived with all the action screws loose and I had to snug them. This is worth checking on any italian SAA you might purchase.
-The Uberti El Patrone sold under the Uberti name
-The Cimarron Evil Roy made by Uberti
-the Taylor's Smoke Wagon made by Uberti
I really was curious to see the difference between the Italian marketed El Patrone and the guns the US importers are re-branding with supposedly better assembly, QA/QC, etc. so I ordered an El Patrone (came in at around $700 after taxes, shipping, etc.) and an Evil Roy (about $950 after taxes, shipping, etc.). Yeah, I know... so much more expensive than US prices!!! Both guns are CI date-coded, which is supposedly 2013, but the guns were clearly actually made in 2012. I bought both in December 2012 and had the El Patrone just before Christmas and the Evil Roy in January 2013.
Evil Roy on bottom, El Patrone on top.
Without flash:
So here is my honest comparison of the two. For starters, there are differences between the two guns. The most obvious difference is in the hammers.
The Evil Roy follows a 2nd Gen colt pattern with a polished-sides hammer and no inertial hammer safety.
The El Patrone has a color cased hammer reminiscent of a first gen Colt, but with an American lawyer-inspired inertial hammer safety. This could be removed, but unlike a transfer bar it should not cause any malfunctions and I'll leave it be. It has no effect on action feel, trigger pull, etc. but I do wish it was absent.
Both guns also have cylinder pins with an additional setting depth so the pins can be used as hammer blocks - IMHO a useless feature but evidently required to get the guns exported from Italy to the US.
Next, the El Patrone has laser-engraved barrel markings, while the Cimarron has roll-stamped markings. I prefer the Cimarron markings, but both are well executed and this is a matter of personal taste.
Also, the El Patrone's proof marks are visible on the gun, while the Evil Roy's proof marks are in areas not visible with the pistol assembled.
El Patrone proofs:
The El Patrone has the chambers numbered, the Evil Roy does not.
Both frames have the same model number and were likely made around the same time in the same factory. Both are Uberti model 13728 frames.
The importer's markings are in different locations. Cimarron's are on top of the barrel and are small.
Ubertis' markings are tagged to Stoeger (who owns Uberti and is in turn owned by Beretta) and they are on the bottom of the barrel against the ejector rib.
As for comparisons not easily seen in the photos:
Fit and finish: I have to give the slight edge to the El Patrone. The polishing was better, fewer machine marks and the grips were better fitted (slightly).
Markings: Edge to Cimarron. They look more period and are nicely roll stamped vs. laser cut.
Action feel: Edge to cimarron. After 100 action cycles on both guns, the Evil Roy's action is noticeably smoother. The hammer pull is also a little lighter and the trigger breaks a little cleaner. These are supposedly tuned by a SAA smith in the states while the El Patrone is tuned by an Uberti gunsmith in Italy. The American did a better job and it's noticeable, though not dramatically so.
Price: El Patrone is easily found for $250 less than the Cimarron in Canada.
Verdict: The cimarron is just not $250 better in my opinion. I would recommend the El Patrone over the Evil Roy. That being said, both pistols are superior to a standard cattleman since they come with Wolffe springs, custom action tuning, better fit and finish, gunfighter grips, square-notched rear sights, and coil-spring driven hands.
Finally both guns arrived with all the action screws loose and I had to snug them. This is worth checking on any italian SAA you might purchase.
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