Single action army clones - suggestions?

[borekfk]

Uberti El Patron will be the best value. Tuned action and a good look thats available in your preferred caliber of .357/.38. The Ruger Vaquero is heavier and clunkier than the Italian clones.

[Ecclectic Collector]

Tuning a traditional design single action is about as easy as it gets. And even the basic models frequently come out of the box with nice actions. Just saying...

I even was able to tune my EAA Bounty Hunter which uses a transfer bar system to be much better. Any gun with a leaf instead of coil spring can be tweaked with a bit of polishing on the main spring and maybe the roller on the back of the hammer. Don't go crazy. Just make it smooth and shiny like glass where the hammer roller touches the spring.

[Ronin]

I'm going to go with most everyone else and say Ruger. There are really good Italian SAA clones out there, but there are also plenty that aren't quite so pretty on the inside. Its one of those things you kind of need to get into the weeds and learn what's what. Maybe check out some cowboy action forums and see what those guys have to say.

That being said I got a Cimarron Thunderer a while back and it is a damn nice gun.

Nice. When I was getting into SASS I looked at a pair of Thunderers. I love the look of a birdshead grip, but the balance felt off to me. My wife has a pair of Lightnings and being much lighter, they balance really nicely. They're also really finicky.

At SHOT Show 2019, Cimarron showed off their El Malo 2 Thunderer. I really dig the look of the octagon barrel with the birdshead grip. They have yet to hit the market, but I might take a second look when they do.


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[jthrelf]

Uberti El Patron will be the best value. Tuned action and a good look thats available in your preferred caliber of .357/.38. The Ruger Vaquero is heavier and clunkier than the Italian clones.

I will say the standard uberti cattleman's action/trigger in my experience are indistinguishable from the El Patron. Not a knock on the El Patron, just saying the standard models are quite good!

[Sandcut]

@Ronin

From the couple revolvers that I've held that had bird's head grips, I'm not a fan. Just not comfortable and I have small hands.

I did like the way that the Traditions with the large grips felt to hold. Very comfortable. But, with my smaller, arthritic hands, I had trouble reaching the hammer spur to cock it. Looks like a normal grip for me.

[Ronin]

@Ronin

From the couple revolvers that I've held that had bird's head grips, I'm not a fan. Just not comfortable and I have small hands.

I did like the way that the Traditions with the large grips felt to hold. Very comfortable. But, with my smaller, arthritic hands, I had trouble reaching the hammer spur to cock it. Looks like a normal grip for me.

If you're handy, you could always replace the hammer with a low, wide hammer. Or you could buy something that already has a wide hammer. Cimarron has several models, usually in their competition line (Evil Roy) that have lower hammers. I replaced both the hammers on my Vaqueros with Blackhawk hammers, which are not as high as the Vaquero. Made a world of difference for SASS.

[Sandcut]

Christmas came earlh this year!

My LGS called last night just before closing and I was the first customer through the door this morning. I ended up ordering the plain, old 4.75" , "case hardened" finished Traditions Frontier made by Pietta. And !et me tell you...she is SWEET! The fit/finish/function on this is WAY nicer than my old Uberti Millenium. The machining on this thing is phenomenal! There is absolutely no "slop" anywhere in the action. I've had revolvers that were "tight" before, both with the hammer down and back, but ALL of them nad at least some minimal amount of wobble to the cylinder. The Pietta has absolutely NONE. Not a perceptable trace of wobble on any cylinder. And the cylinder pin almost difficult to get back in after removing the cylinder because the tolerances on the fit are so small.

I ran two cylinders of .38s and one of .357 through it in the back yard ra ge before I had to attend to house work and point of aim is right at point of impact at 10 yards so, it shoots where I point it.

I am extremely pleased.with this revolver so far. We just need to open up the SGL ranges so I can run a couple hundered rounds through it.

Now I just have to find a good thumb snap leather holster for it. None of my other holsters fit it.

[borekfk]

Yee-howdy man.

[hunterdan]

Christmas came earlh this year!

My LGS called last night just before closing and I was the first customer through the door this morning. I ended up ordering the plain, old 4.75" , "case hardened" finished Traditions Frontier made by Pietta. And !et me tell you...she is SWEET! The fit/finish/function on this is WAY nicer than my old Uberti Millenium. The machining on this thing is phenomenal! There is absolutely no "slop" anywhere in the action. I've had revolvers that were "tight" before, both with the hammer down and back, but ALL of them nad at least some minimal amount of wobble to the cylinder. The Pietta has absolutely NONE. Not a perceptable trace of wobble on any cylinder. And the cylinder pin almost difficult to get back in after removing the cylinder because the tolerances on the fit are so small.

I ran two cylinders of .38s and one of .357 through it in the back yard ra ge before I had to attend to house work and point of aim is right at point of impact at 10 yards so, it shoots where I point it.

I am extremely pleased.with this revolver so far. We just need to open up the SGL ranges so I can run a couple hundered rounds through it.

Now I just have to find a good thumb snap leather holster for it. None of my other holsters fit it.

That is a sweet looking revolver... I love case hardened finishes. How was it extracting 357 brass? I had a Uberti cattlemen that was was hard to eject 357s due to the cylinders not being well honed.

[Sandcut]

That is a sweet looking revolver... I love case hardened finishes. How was it extracting 357 brass? I had a Uberti cattlemen that was was hard to eject 357s due to the cylinders not being well honed.

I only ran three cylinders of ammo through it, but didn't have any issue extracting spent shells. They didn't drop free on their own, but I hadn't cleaned it properly yet. I just wiped the heavy coat of shipping lube off znd out of the bore/cylinders with a paper towel so I could shoot it a few times before I had to tend to chores around the house. I cleaned it well last night. I'll post here if I notice anything the next time I shoot it. But, it is much better machined than my Uberti.