New Colt SAA

[mike454]

Just picked up a new Colt SAA tonight and thought I'd give a few impressions. Overall fit and finish is good but not great. Badly overpolished in a few areas. Case coloring looks great, probably on par with what Turnbull is doing these days. .454 bullets will drop through the cylinder mouths without too much play, I'm guessing .455 or so. Trigger feels good and the gun cocks lighter than any of my 4 USFA guns. The overpolished parts, I feel, are pretty bad. The hammer well was overpolished from the inside rounding over both parts on the area where the gripframe meets the frame. Also the area where the frame tapers in front of the grip frame, where the s/n is stamped, is not symetrical from left to right side. Flats were not overpolished. Cylinder was impossible to remove until I hit the basepin a few licks with 400 grit paper, just enough to remove the blueing. The gun is not as well fit as a USFA gun yet cost about $300 more. Still the rampant colt looks darn nice stamped on the side of the frame. Perhaps that's enough? I'll keep it as a shooter, It's certainly not an exhibition piece, but nice enough. I don't know if Colt can do better, but I won't buy my next one without me, or someone I trust, checking it out first. S/N is in S58xxxA range.

[44 Man]

With the cylinder throats so large you will want to shoot .454 lead bullets to get the accuracy you wish.  I lucked out and picked up a 1000 of the remington swaged bullets they use in the factory ammo.  With the soft lead and a slight cup in the base of the bullet, they fit any cylinder throat and shoot well over 8.5 gr of Unique.  Can you contact Colt and ask them to put a cylinder with smaller throats on it?  Something like .452 exits?  Ruger would do that, but Colt may not.  Or just use the .454 bullets.  Either way enjoy that new gun.  44 Man

[m-g Willy]

Yeah ,
But! IT'S A COLT!!!
You got the REAL thing, no reproduction.
To bad Colt quality isn't up to par with the price though.
I've got the Uberti SAA Hartford model and compared to my buddies Colt, it puts the Colt  fit and finnish to shame.
Now if I  could only find a RAMPANT COLT STAMP  to make my Uberti a Colt  I'd be happy


Willy

[mike454]

I just heard from Colt that they are going to replace my gun with a new one. I'll let you guys know how this one looks. I'm pleased at the effort they are taking to stand behind their product.

[Lloyd Smale]

I agree! it says colt and thats enough right there! All of the nice sixguns i own and have owned and im ashamed to admit ive never owned a colt saa. Almost sacreligous eh!!

Yeah ,
But! IT'S A COLT!!!
You got the REAL thing, no reproduction.
To bad Colt quality isn't up to par with the price though.
I've got the Uberti SAA Hartford model and compared to my buddies Colt, it puts the Colt  fit and finnish to shame.
Now if I  could only find a RAMPANT COLT STAMP  to make my Uberti a Colt  I'd be happy


Willy

[44 Man]

Yep!  I don't care what they say about what you can buy with the same (or less) money!  When there is a pony on the side of the frame there is a certain pride of ownership that doesn't come with anything else!  44 Man

[S.B.]

mike454, I've had the same experience with a 5&1/2" blued model. Base pin just wouldn't move very easily(had to pick it out with a fingernail), over polished areas, haven't measured the cylinder throats yet, my trigger is terrible(maybe Heinie can do something there?). The firing pin retainer pin sticks out both sides of the hammer on mine(sides of hammer should of been polished more)? Shot 20 Winchester factory Cowboy loads through it from 25 yards and accuracy looks acceptable. I would of prefered the shorter barrel length but, have learned in life, to accept what comes my way.
Nothing to judge by, this is the first and probably the only Colt SAA I will ever own? I've looked and drooled over these for more than a few decades.
Steve

[mike454]

Well, the fedex man dropped off my new SAA today and I'm impressed. I haven't shot the gun yet, but will say that the fit and finish on this gun is pretty darn good. There are a few areas where it falls a bit short of perfection, but these areas are minor. I'm very impressed with the customer service at Colt. There decision to replace the gun rather than try to convince me that the gun was within their specs pleases me. The gun is timed well and the case colors look very nice, not as colorful as Turnbulls but than, colts never were. The flats are all pretty flat, and the grip frame/frame fit are well done. The only flaws are a little rounding in the cylinder frame window and some rounding of the frame/gripframe junction in the hammer well area. Trigger pull has a bit of creep but still should be very shootable. Cylinder throats are .455. It feels like Colt is using a much lighter mainspring than in the past, lighter that a Woolf reduced pressure mainspring. I'll let you guys know how it shoots when I get it out to the range. About the higest compliment I can pay the gun is that if I saw it in person, I'd buy it.