Which "replica" SAA pistols are good and which ones do I avoid?

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sgt.rock

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I have never had much of a hankering for a 45colt SAA. But as my tastes have changed over the years, now I think I will acquire one shortly. Anyhow, I like the looks of the color-case hardened ones I see, but wonder if they are a decent value. I am not spending the $$ on a Colt, so my choices seem to be:
Pietta
Uberti
Chaparrel
Taylor & co
Which of these are good? Which ones exibit poor Q.C.?
Any particular brand have variable bore size inconsistency or poor lockup/timing?
Thank you guys for your input!
 
You want either the Uberti El Patron or the smoke wagon, both are factory tuned and way better than the piettas.

But all the newer models are being made with a new safety feature, which negates the four cocks/clicks. You get first ####,then skip to 3 and 4 .. lol
So if your looking for as close to a Colt,with the four clicks, you’ll want an older model.

I believe they downgraded to the new safety feature, last year.
 
Well Taylor 1873 revolvers are Uberti's ...

If you are not wanting full replica's you could add Ruger Vaquero to your list. They use a transfer bar and they don't have the 4 position hammer but are solid guns.

As far as Uberti vs Pietta, I get 50/50 comments depending on which Gun Shop owner I speak with....

I was going to drop some dollars on a pair of tuned Pietta's but decided the cost of getting into CASS/SASS was higher than I wanted with the addition of the shotgun and lever gun.

Found a used Vaquero (Bisley) just to shoot 45Colt. Very nice gun, would like to find another case hardened colour Bisley to make a pair :)
 
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I’ve owned both ,Pietta and Uberti El Patron.
The Pietta don’t even come close.

I’ve also owned the Colt, and neither comes close to it.

And as I said, if your looking for as close as possible, all the new clones are missing the 4 clicks.
 
Having never owned or shot an authentic 4-click SAA , I doubt I would miss it. I am mainly looking for an accurate handgun that looks decent and that the quality doesnt depend on if its a monday morning/friday evening manufacture. My Dad always said never buy anything that was made on a Monday or Friday.....either the workers had a hangover or were itching to leave to factory for a party. (Monday or Friday ������) So I want a maker that puts consistent product out there I guess.
 
Ok , my Uberti El Patron was way more accurate than my Pietta. But it’s the higher end Uberti.
I can’t say what the Ruger is like.

But if I didn’t care about the four clicks, I think I’d get the Ruger.

I’ve owned two EL Patron,one Pietta,one Cimeron, and shot my buddies Ruger.

The El Patron was the best, but the Ruger could handle the heavy loads:)
 
If you go to a cowboy match, you will pretty much see 2 guns that dominate. Uberti's, and Vaqueros. Ubertis are a faithfull copy of the originals and should only be loaded with 5 rds. The vaqueros are a modernized version, and this is what most of the serious competitors use. The one guy I shoot with puts 20k down range/year. He says in 8 years of shooting, he is only on his second set of pistols, and these guys aren't gentle with them. Also, if you want to custmize it with nicer grips, etc. the vaqueros have the widest variety of aftermarket bits and pieces
 
^^ This.

I love my Vaquero but they are heavy and built like a tank. I wanted a more traditional SAA clone and was going to buy an El Patron but could not find one in stock anywhere at the time. I ended up with a regular Uberti and did the smith work on it myself. If you know what you're doing, you can get a regular Uberti to El Patron or smoother standard. Out of the box, the Vaquero had the nicer trigger of the two. My Uberti's trigger was gritty. I probably wouldn't have had that problem if I'd ended up with an El Patron version. Or Taylor's & Co. Smoke Wagon. Basically Taylor's & Co. slicks up Ubertis themselves and they do a fine job with that Smoke Wagon.
 
I picked up an Uberti "Horseman" in .45 LC last year from Grouse River's going out of buisness sale for $425 new to my door. It cocks with 4 clicks (but has a transfer bar safety), has a nice trigger, and is surprisingly accurate. The fit and finish are exceptional, with deep, consistent bluing, beautiful colour case-hardening, and extremely straight and tight fitment of the external parts. All things considered, it is a very nice pistol even at the regular street price of approximately $750 CAD.


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For Cowboy shooting, in any brand hip gun, all that you are allowed to load is 5. Some shooters feel that a cowboy gun should have a firing pin. I began participating in CAS last year, still learning, the hard way, on what equipment I want. Ultimately, it is best to have a matched pair of hip guns and a rifle in the same caliber. Not necessary, but it does make life a bit easier.

You want a 45 LC, certainly authentic, but the trend is to use 38 Spl. IMO. If I wanted to get a pair of 45's, my first choice would be a pair of SASS Vaqueros, my second choice would be a matched pair that has been tuned by a gunsmith, either Uberti or Pietta.

Also runs would be a pair of "Evil Roys" from Cimarron, or something from Taylor.

If you decide to try some of the other options, a cowboy gun that is not a SAA, a pair of '58 conversions would be sweet.

The hip guns I run with are 2 Ruger Blackhawks, one with a 6 1/2 and the other with a 4 5/8. I find that the ability to adjust the sights to the ammo is worth more to me than the authentic look. My back-up is a 2nd generation Colt New Frontier with a 7 1/2 barrel. For the record each has it's own preference on bullet and loading, a real PITA to get a load that works well in all of them. Revolvers have a fair number of variables, chamber size, throat diameter, gap, forcing cone, bore and groove diameter. Ideally, a matched pair would be the desired state.

I don't know of many Cowboy Action Shooters that only own 2 hip guns, I have 6 and am always on the lookout for an extra. Minimum would be 3, IMO a spare is a necessity.

You didn't say if you were going to participate in CAS or just wanted a (one) 45 Colt Cowboy gun. If you just want one, a shooter, a Ruger Blackhawk Convertible would be my first choice, the one with a spare 45 ACP cylinder. One of my 357 Blackhawks has a spare 9mm Luger cylinder, nice option to shoot cheap 9mm.
 
nitro-express said:
For Cowboy shooting, in any brand hip gun, all that you are allowed to load is 5. Some shooters feel that a cowboy gun should have a firing pin. I began participating in CAS last year, still learning, the hard way, on what equipment I want. Ultimately, it is best to have a matched pair of hip guns and a rifle in the same caliber. Not necessary, but it does make life a bit easier.

You want a 45 LC, certainly authentic, but the trend is to use 38 Spl. IMO. If I wanted to get a pair of 45's, my first choice would be a pair of SASS Vaqueros, my second choice would be a matched pair that has been tuned by a gunsmith, either Uberti or Pietta.

Also runs would be a pair of "Evil Roys" from Cimarron, or something from Taylor.

If you decide to try some of the other options, a cowboy gun that is not a SAA, a pair of '58 conversions would be sweet.

The hip guns I run with are 2 Ruger Blackhawks, one with a 6 1/2 and the other with a 4 5/8. I find that the ability to adjust the sights to the ammo is worth more to me than the authentic look. My back-up is a 2nd generation Colt New Frontier with a 7 1/2 barrel. For the record each has it's own preference on bullet and loading, a real PITA to get a load that works well in all of them. Revolvers have a fair number of variables, chamber size, throat diameter, gap, forcing cone, bore and groove diameter. Ideally, a matched pair would be the desired state.

I don't know of many Cowboy Action Shooters that only own 2 hip guns, I have 6 and am always on the lookout for an extra. Minimum would be 3, IMO a spare is a necessity.

You didn't say if you were going to participate in CAS or just wanted a (one) 45 Colt Cowboy gun. If you just want one, a shooter, a Ruger Blackhawk Convertible would be my first choice, the one with a spare 45 ACP cylinder. One of my 357 Blackhawks has a spare 9mm Luger cylinder, nice option to shoot cheap 9mm.
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Not going to do CAS. That isnt practiced up here. I am just looking to buy a shooter. I owned a .357 GP100, but really just want a traditional looking 45 colt. (Preferably with colour case-hardening........which is why I havent looked at Rugers)
Do any of the guns you guys are talking about have adjustable sights? Or do you have to just hold over according to how each load shoots?
 
Well I had a Pietta in .44 mag...cannot fault it...loved the colour case hardening with brass accents..was a hefty piece..and that was just fine with me..shot pretty much point of aim..and was a blast to shoot with...havn’t shot the uberti or ruger so can’t comment on them..but best bang for buck has to go to the Pietta...I would happily buy one again...jmho..
 
If you just want a shooter with colour case hardening, get a Uberti cattleman in 45LC (I just saw one at Cabelas). None of the period guns have adjustable sights. You either tailor the load, file the sight, or just learn where it shoots. If you want adjustable sights, get a Blackhawk. Just remember if you are going to shoot any amount, 45lc is pretty much a reloading proposition only, unless you have real deep pockets, and you can load 45lc lead loads for just a couple of cents more than 38/.357. I shoot cowboy and prefer 45lc, just because I like to follow the spirit of the game, but that's just me. I shoot Taylors and company smoke wagons and love them
 
Import said:
Well I had a Pietta in .44 mag...cannot fault it...loved the colour case hardening with brass accents..was a hefty piece..and that was just fine with me..shot pretty much point of aim..and was a blast to shoot with...havn’t shot the uberti or ruger so can’t comment on them..but best bang for buck has to go to the Pietta...I would happily buy one again...jmho..
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What barrel size do you have ? and how about recoil ? Ive been looking at one of these to go with my 1894 I got last xmas .
 
Just seen the Uberti "Expendables" clone of the one Sly used in the movie. Ported barrel and no sights. Would be a cool addition to a collection, just not for a first entry to a SAA.
 
dogzilla said:
If you just want a shooter with colour case hardening, get a Uberti cattleman in 45LC (I just saw one at Cabelas). None of the period guns have adjustable sights. You either tailor the load, file the sight, or just learn where it shoots. If you want adjustable sights, get a Blackhawk. Just remember if you are going to shoot any amount, 45lc is pretty much a reloading proposition only, unless you have real deep pockets, and you can load 45lc lead loads for just a couple of cents more than 38/.357. I shoot cowboy and prefer 45lc, just because I like to follow the spirit of the game, but that's just me. I shoot Taylors and company smoke wagons and love them
Click to expand...

Guns with adjustable sights cost more, not as common, but definitely available pre 20th century. "The Colt Flat Top Target single-action was manufactured from 1890 to 1898 and, during that time, a little more than 900 revolvers were produced."
 
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