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My latest toy

JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
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It is a Colt Single Action Army, Arizona Territorial Centennial commemorative edition. The gun was manufactured in 1963 so that makes it a 2nd generation Colt. These are well made guns but not highly desirable so I picked it up pretty cheap, about half what a good 2nd gen Colt would cost. I’m not crazy about the gaudy gold plating but I changed out the gold plated cylinder for a blued 2nd gen cylinder off a different commemorative Colt.

I think it looks much better now and I can’t wait to shoot it.

Update: I finally shot it and it exceeded my expectations.

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How loose are the gun laws in CA? In NY it's very strict on pistols but rifles are much easier.
 
rh71 said:
How loose are the gun laws in CA? In NY it's very strict on pistols but rifles are much easier.
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California has a bunch of really stupid gun laws. They have a roster list for handguns that the manufacturers have to submit to and Colt doesn't submit any of their guns to California for approval so you can't buy new Colt firearms here. You can buy and own other makes, even Colt clones of the 1911 but you can't buy a new Colt here. That said, the Colt Single Action Army is over 100 years old and is legal to purchase and transfer into this state through a Federal Firearms Licensed dealer, which is how I brought these guns in. We have another dumb law that says you can only buy one handgun every 30 days... not sure what crimes that law is preventing.

Any gun over 50 years old can be brought in as a Curio and Relic.
 
MrBailey said:
Dude, those are some beautiful pieces. Enjoy the heck out of them!
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Thanks!

I blame my son for getting me into these guns (at least that's what I tell my wife 😉 ). He plays Red Dead Redemption 2 and he wanted a cowboy gun so I bought him a Colt Cowboy, which is based on the Single Action Army but has a transfer bar safety like the Ruger SAA does so you can load and safely carry it with 6 rounds in the chamber. You can't carry a Colt SAA with 6 rounds chambered, it isn't safe to do so. The Colt Cowboy is also less expensive than a Colt SAA but once I shot his gun I started looking on gunbroker.com and now I own three of these guns.

Personally, I think the timing and action on the 2nd gen gun is better than the 3rd gen gun I own. I am in the process of acquiring an early 3rd gen Colt with nickel plating and a 7.5" barrel. It is supposedly unfired and in NIB condition. The nickel gun has walnut stocks. It might replace the 4.75" barrel Colt in this display case. Or maybe I'll get another display case for it. Not sure yet.

I would like to get stag grips for at least one of these guns too. Probably the 2nd gen gun with the mother-of-toilet-seat grips.

I'd like to purchase a decent 1st gen Colt SAA but I'm just looking around right now until I find one that I like.

I used to own a first gen Ruger Vaquero but got rid of it more than a decade ago because I just didn't shoot it much. I really like these guns though, they are addicting.

All the Single Action Armys I own are chambered in .45 Long Colt.
 
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clamum said:
Dang, nice. I def want to get a Single Action Army at some point.
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You should!

There are a number of decent clones but there's nothing like a real Colt. All mine are genuine Colts.

I love that this gun was designed more than 120 years ago yet these guns retain almost all of the same specs as the original.
 
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whm1974 said:
How do you feel about SSA clones that are chambered in more modern cartridges? Back when I used to be into guns, I was looking at a affordable clone in .22lr/.22 Magnum.
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Colt has made the SAA in .357 magnum and .22LR.

I have no problem with the clones and have owned one myself but those are mass produced gun. Colts are mass produced but there is a lot of hand fitting that goes into individual guns to get them to operate perfectly and that level of fitting is not present in the clones. Plus, case hardening is an expensive process so many clones use a chemical process to mirror the look but they aren’t true case hardened.
 
JulesMaximus said:
Colt has made the SAA in .357 magnum and .22LR.

I have no problem with the clones and have owned one myself but those are mass produced gun. Colts are mass produced but there is a lot of hand fitting that goes into individual guns to get them to operate perfectly and that level of fitting is not present in the clones. Plus, case hardening is an expensive process so many clones use a chemical process to mirror the look but they aren’t true case hardened.
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My main reason for wanting a SAA clone was they were more affordable at the time, and with more modern ammo, cheaper to shoot. I never actually shot a Single Action revolver before, so what is that like?
 
they only fire single action . The hammer must be cocked back , then the trigger pulled to fire . The colt will click four times as the hammer is cocked , most others(like the Ruger Super Blackhawks)click once . The cylinder doesn't swing out , it remains in the gun frame , so you have to eject each spent shell casing one at a time . Most are very accurate , due to the single action firing sequence .
 
whm1974 said:
My main reason for wanting a SAA clone was they were more affordable at the time, and with more modern ammo, cheaper to shoot. I never actually shot a Single Action revolver before, so what is that like?
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Yeah, .45 Long Colt ammo is not cheap. The good thing is these guns take longer to load and unload so you go through it more slowly than you might with a semi-auto handgun.

As far as shooting, it takes some practice to shoot a single action revolver well. The trigger is very light at about 3.5 lbs but you have to cock the gun for every shot which is a very deliberate act. The hammer is shaped to give a very easy and sure grip on it and you have to move the gun in your hand to cock it which takes your sights off target. You really only have 5 shots if you load it properly with the hammer on an empty chamber. This is how these guns should be carried.

The guns point very naturally and feel good in your hand with a good balance. The sights could be better but they get the job done. I appreciate the history of these guns too. There is definitely some nostalgia involved in my appreciation of these guns and the fact that Colt still makes them (although very few) and that people still want them is a testament to this.
 
So, I took it to the range yesterday and shot it for the first time and I’m really pleased with it. It shoots fantastic, it feels good in my hand, it is very accurate and it points very naturally. Honestly, it feels better than the 3rd generation Colt that I own. My son and I put almost 100 rounds through it and I could easily put 6 rounds in a 3” group at 10 yards holding it with one hand.

I changed the mother-of-toilet seat grips for some black pearl grips too which I think look much better.

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I shot my SIG with the laser sight and wasn’t happy at all with the laser. I ended up just using the iron sights and was way more accurate shooting with the sights vs the laser. I’ll keep it on the gun though for home defense just because of the light.
 
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