OT-Colt SAA Advice

ceb · Post by **ceb** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 9:54 am

I've said this before, I'm a Colt man on a Ruger budget. Having said that, I have always wanted to own a real Colt SAA. I was at a gun show this weekend and run into a friend of mine that is a FFL and is big into cowboy shooting. He was telling me he had just received a phone call from a feller that was selling a pair of Colts. They are in .44spec and early 80's manufacture. Asking price is $2500 for the pair, certainly not cheap, and it seems I have read of quality problems in Colts of this era. Any advice from those that know much more about Colt than I do. I would have to sell about 2/3 of what I have to finance these!

cubrock · Post by **cubrock** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:10 am

ceb wrote:I've said this before, I'm a Colt man on a Ruger budget. Having said that, I have always wanted to own a real Colt SAA. I was at a gun show this weekend and run into a friend of mine that is a FFL and is big into cowboy shooting. He was telling me he had just received a phone call from a feller that was selling a pair of Colts. They are in .44spec and early 80's manufacture. Asking price is $2500 for the pair, certainly not cheap, and it seems I have read of quality problems in Colts of this era. Any advice from those that know much more about Colt than I do. I would have to sell about 2/3 of what I have to finance these!

That is only a so-so price for a brace of 3rd Generation SAAs. You can find them new for around that price. Personally, I'd wait and look for a better deal. That being said, if you just gotta have them then the bit you could have saved waiting won't matter when you have them in your hands.

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 1:55 pm

I paid $1145 for a NIB 7.5" 32-20 about 6 months ago. $2500 for a USED pair is HIGH.

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 5:56 pm

No quality problems from that era--just some final finishing and smoothness of the action is not as nice as previous SAA's. Cubrock is mighty close because if you look around you can find them NIB at about that price, but you did not mention:
1.) Are they NIB?
2.) If not, do they have the boxes?
3.) Are they consecutive numbers?
4.) Barrel length? color or nickel?
5.) Have they been altered in ANY way?

44 Specials do command a slight premium and if they are NIB with con. numbers, they are an excellent buy. If Colt gives up the civilian gun market, (which I expect them to do) they will be a steal.------Sixgun

cubrock · Post by **cubrock** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 5:58 pm

Sixgun wrote:No quality problems from that era--just some final finishing and smoothness of the action is not as nice as previous SAA's. Cubrock is mighty close because if you look around you can find them NIB at about that price, but you did not mention:
1.) Are they NIB?
2.) If not, do they have the boxes?
3.) Are they consecutive numbers?
4.) Barrel length? color or nickel?
5.) Have they been altered in ANY way?

44 Specials do command a slight premium and if they are NIB with con. numbers, they are an excellent buy. If Colt gives up the civilian gun market, (which I expect them to do) they will be a steal.------Sixgun

Good point - they are a good buy if NIB and consecutive.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 6:21 pm

I feel Sixgun is on the money here... IF. And we know how big a word that can be. But... .44 Specials do command a slight premium. "For a Few Dollars More" you could have personalized ones. Although not in .44Spl.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:18 pm

I have a few blue box Colt SAA from the custom shop. I feel they are better finished than the period you are looking at. The case hardening and the action is much better quality in the more resent SAAs. The problem is they are going up in resent days, from around 1299.00 average to 1599.00 at Gander Mountain in their last shipment. I would get the later models rather than the earlier 80s Colt SAA. I have two 1st generation Colt SAA. They are of excellent quality. 2nd generation Colt Saa or pretty good too.

jd45 · Post by **jd45** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:46 pm

I just don't think I'd allow myself to be seduced by the Colt mystique, at that much of a sacrifice.....2/3rds of your collection seems unreasonable. Just my 2 cents, jd45

PPpastordon · Post by **PPpastordon** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 3:31 am

OPINIONS- Everybody has one!
I haven't owned a Colt SAA since in the mid 1960's; and have yet to feel any sense of loss. FWIW

Pastordon
pastordon.wordpress.com

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 4:06 pm

There is a lot of truth on the Colt. First, If someone was going to drop me in Alaska with one handgun and I had to live on it, it would be a Ruger NM. Colts 3rd gens. are expensive but when it comes time to sell, you get your money back if the time frame is several years or so. Won't do that with a NEW Ruger or a NEW 'Smith. 1st. gen Colts, along with FT Rugers or big bore pre-war Smiths are better than any savings account.

Colts are just a graduation for a guy who has been playing with other single actions for a long time. You know--been there, done that. Time to try something different and by the time your 50 or so, most people are usually better off financially so its "Colt Time"!!--------Sixgun

John in MS · Post by **John in MS** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 4:22 pm

One thing I would say is, if you decide to go for a Colt, I'd look very hard at the ones they're making now, that have the removable cylinder insert like 1/2nd Generation guns. (3rd Gen was fixed in place, not readily replaceable, makes it harder to tune for wear, etc.) The current guns appear to be much,much better fitted than some 70's/80's guns I've seen.
Carefully study the fit/finish in photos of the US Firearms better-grade SAA's -- how the grip frame is polished as a unit to the frame so it fits exactly -- no overhang, no gaps, etc.; how the grips fit the grip frame, polishing of the metal, with special emphasis on perfectly flat screw holes in the frame -- not dished out or rounded by polishing, whether the hammer is well-centered in its channel in the frame or if it's rubbing as it's cycled, timing and how tightly the cylinder locks up, end-shake (fore/aft play in the cylinder when the hammer is down, fit of the loading gate to the frame, etc. USFA is building some wonderful, high quality SAA's, but of course, they aren't Colts. By knowing the nuances of fit/finish, you can select among several Colts at a shop and pick a real winner -- one that's very well made indeed. Unfortunately, the best educational tool I know of that's readily available is detailed photos of good USFA SAA's!

I understand the lust for a Colt SAA -- they are a timeless design, steeped in much of America's critical history, and are a bridge to the past. Rugers are stronger, have adjustable sights, etc., etc., but they simply aren't SAA's.

I personally solved my lust for a Colt SAA that shoots well by getting a 4 & 3/4" New Frontier that's been tuned and re-worked by a top pistolsmith. It's not the classic, fixed-sight SAA, but it fills the Colt niche for me!

Besides, Skeeter Skelton had one in .44 Special with ivory grips... that makes it legit in my book!

4&3/4" NF's are rare enough that I settled for .45 LC and was glad to get it, but would have loved a .44 Special.

Think hard on how much enjoyment and use you'd get out of the Colt over your lifetime, vs. the guns you'd give up (which you may gradually replace over time...) and if it's what you really want, I'd say GO for it, but I would take time to really learn about them so you can pick a really good one.

Hope this helps,
John

jd45 · Post by **jd45** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 7:21 pm

I HOPE your top pistolsmith focused on throat diameter in the chambers, relative to groove diameter in the rifling, one of the things, but not the only thing, to make it shoot as good as it can. Good luck, jd45

John in MS · Post by **John in MS** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 11:56 pm

Yes, he did. It was Hamilton Bowen, and he rechambered a new .38-40 cylinder to minimum .45LC specs, to get rid of the oversize chamber problem.

John

ceb · Post by **ceb** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:10 am

Thanks for the replys Gentlemen, I've had a few days to think about it. Sixgun, you pose some good questions, answers to which I need to find out. First, I feel the asking price a bit to high, I was thinking about 1100 or maybe $1150ea. I know about the fixed bushing, but doubt I'd ever wear one out. Again I'm not a cowboy shooter. I really just need one, not the pair. If they were not consecutive, I could pick the best and sell the other. And 2/3 might be a little off, I do have a early 03 Springfield and a couple of nice Enfields that are safe queens to me that I'd part with to finance these. I really would like to have a Colt, though my original .44 Flattop Ruger would probably do anything the Colt would.

Bogie35 · Post by **Bogie35** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 2:01 pm

I've always wanted a Colt. There are so many replicas to choose from that I have to wonder if the current Colts are "that much better" if, of course, they are "any better". To me, Taylors and Ubertis are a little more pleasing to the eyes.

Humbly,
bogie

Kansas Ed · Post by **Kansas Ed** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 3:07 pm

I've had numerous handguns in my life, but only 3 were Colt.

I've owned a total of 4 1911's of different makes...the only one I would never get rid of is the Colt.

I've owned several double Action revolvers, and the only one I wish I still had was the Colt King Cobra that I traded for my wifes 25-35. None of the other DA's even come close.

I've shot more SA handguns than I can count, and none...absolutely none of them handle like my SAA.

The difference is like picking up a Craftsman Box End Wrench, and then grabbing the SnapOn. Both will do the job, but the SnapOn just feels right.

Ed

jazman · Post by **jazman** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 5:19 pm

Ceb, sounds like you really want a Colt and can swing it...I say buy one! You only go around once, that's for certain.

otteray · Post by **otteray** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:00 pm

I'm sure glad my dad left me his, made in 1906.
He found it in the Mohave Desert, sometime in the early 40's before WWII.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:17 pm

otteray wrote:I'm sure glad my dad left me his, made in 1906.
He found it in the Mohave Desert, sometime in the early 40's before WWII.

Makes you just wonder what stories could be told....

bogus bill · Post by **bogus bill** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:49 pm

I have 4 colt saa,s. My last one is a 3rd gen .45 colt. It also came with the unremoveable bushing. I bought the gun used but looked unfired quite awhile ago. Last year I sent it back to colt complaining about sloppy chambers. They sent me back the gun with a new clyinder with the removeable bushing, also numbered it to the gun along with the older original clinder. FOR FREE!!

jd45 · Post by **jd45** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:58 pm

I have a USFA Premium Grade SA now, & I've owned a 2nd Gen. Colt SAA in the past. I know time plays tricks on your impression of things, but I have to say, USFA has provided me with a real work of top-shelf craftsmanship, that is, design, fit, finish, AND accuracy. That's my 2 cents, but I do also own a 1981 mfg'd Colt 1911 Combat Elite, which , while not perfect, is very accurate, & I'm keepin 'er, darn it! jd45

OT-Colt SAA Advice

OT-Colt SAA Advice

Re: OT-Colt SAA Advice

Yep...