Opinions on Colt SAA vs Others

[wade _s]

I’m looking at SAA in .45 LC and have looked at a new Colt and several others by Uberti, Cimarron and I think Taylor was the other brand. The Colt feels a little better in hand and fit / finish appears to be a little better than the others. This would be my first and likely only SAA. I’ll shoot it some for fun, but mostly just want one for my collection. The Colt costs significantly more than the others, which is fine. If anyone has experience with these, I’d appreciate your opinion. Thanks.

[Artos]

I've been wanting one in 4 3/4" to carry around the ranch & won't be getting anything but the real deal when the time comes...I'm sure the others are fine shooters but nostalgia & history means a lot when someone wants to see your 'colt'.

God created men equal...Sam Colt made them equal.

[Phillip Fields]

If you can afford it and don't plan on shooting a whole lot, get the Colt. If you think you might want to shoot it quite a bit, get a Ruger. Either the Black Hawk with adjustable sights, or for a more traditional look, a fixed sight Vaquero. The Rugers are more rugged and will stand up much better to heavy loads.

[wade _s]

Thanks for the input. I have a Blackhawk in .44 mag that I really enjoy. The Colt I’m looking at is the 5.5 inch model. I’ll probably shoot 100 rounds per year out of whichever one I get. I like shooting at old bowling pins mostly.

[WBT]

If you’re willing to spend the money on a Colt, check out USFA and Standard Manufacturing.

[RJH1]

So i perused gunbroker and colt SAAs seemed to be in the 2 grand range. If that is correct and I didn't miss anything, I would skip the colt and get a Freedom arms 97. Otherwise i would just buy an uberti or something and have fun. Really depends on if a name (colt) or much finer gun (FA) is worth the dollars for you over the Uberti (or other copies), I think all would be fine. Really depends of the fun to dollars ratio for you :-)

[Artos]

Why buy a Freedom for the same $$$ if you only plan to plink...the freedom is a high volume / load them hi pressure gun for those that are going to shoot a ton.

Getting an original Colt & taking care / baby it with low volume is likely the best long term investment & you get the cool kid factor. If $$$$ is not an option & for your application the real deal is the way to go!!

[Drycreek3189]

A Colt is a Colt, but Uberti makes some nice Colt clones and that extra dinero would buy lots of ammo. Just an observation, as I’m a Ruger guy and have no need for guns that won’t handle full house loads.

[wade _s]

I don’t mind spending the money on the Colt vs a clone. As far as “full-house” loads go, what would that be? I’ll just shoot good quality factory loads like in all my other guns. Is the colt frame weaker than the clones?

[RJH1]

I don’t mind spending the money on the Colt vs a clone. As far as “full-house” loads go, what would that be? I’ll just shoot good quality factory loads like in all my other guns. Is the colt frame weaker than the clones?

Places like buffalo bore and maybe corbon have 45 plus p loads that are for guns like the ruger blackhawk, old vaquero, and freedom arms 83. Some of that hotter stuff will work in the 97 that i recommended. +p 45 colt is pretty much equal to 44 magnum. Really just depends on your usage. Normal colt ammo would generally be considered on the light side for hunting, though it will work, but +p colt is great for hunting

[RJH1]

Why buy a Freedom for the same $$$ if you only plan to plink...the freedom is a high volume / load them hi pressure gun for those that are going to shoot a ton.

Getting an original Colt & taking care / baby it with low volume is likely the best long term investment & you get the cool kid factor. If $$$$ is not an option & for your application the real deal is the way to go!!

The reason I recommended an FA 97, not the 83, is that they are roughly the same size as a colt and for a used one about the same money, but twice the gun. If i am spending 2 grand on a blaster, I will be buying quality first, but that is just me. I think the OP could be happy with any of the guns listed, but 2G for a colt, just cause it is a colt, when i can buy a much better gun for the same money, give me Freedom arms every time. But that is just what i would do. Well really I would probably just buy a blackhawk for 500 haha

[Drycreek3189]

A cowboy gun is a cowboy gun, that would include the Colt and the clones. Full house loads, also called Ruger only loads, (which is outdated because other revolvers will handle them) will certainly be too hot for Colts and most clones, and are really for hunting. If you just want a single action revolver to play with, by all means get what you want. Nothing wrong with that !

[papabearclif]

Saa

If you can afford it and don't plan on shooting a whole lot, get the Colt. If you think you might want to shoot it quite a bit, get a Ruger. Either the Black Hawk with adjustable sights, or for a more traditional look, a fixed sight Vaquero. The Rugers are more rugged and will stand up much better to heavy loads.

The new Vaqueros aren't as strong as the old ones. The old ones were designed off of the Blackhawk frames I believe.

[Phillip Fields]

The new Vaqueros aren't as strong as the old ones. The old ones were designed off of the Blackhawk frames I believe.

You are absolutely correct. The new Vaqueros are not as strong as the old Vaqueros(pre 2005), but they will still stand up to hotter loads than the Colt.

[wade _s]

Thanks everyone!