Best authentic SAA clone

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im lost i thought it was 3 clicks. yesterday i read a colt report on the english colt and the adsvertisement of that day said 3 clicks. did colt get it wrong?
 
im lost i thought it was 3 clicks. yesterday i read a colt report on the english colt and the adsvertisement of that day said 3 clicks. did colt get it wrong?

What do you mean when you say 'english colt'?

From 1853 until 1857 Colt had a factory in London producing the 1851 Navy and 1849 Pocket Model percussion revolvers. These are usually referred to as the London Colts. This was the only time Colt was manufacturing revolvers anywhere outside of the US.

The 1851 Navy Colt was introduced at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. It drew so much attention in England that Colt established a factory in London to produce the 1851 Navy and 1849 Pocket model in addition to his Hartford Connecticut factory.

To get back to your question, ALL percussion (Cap & Ball) Colts (including the London Colts) only have three clicks. There is no 'safety cock' notch on the hammer. The first click is the half cock loading position, the second click is as the bolt pops up against the cylinder, and the third click happens as the hammer goes to full cock and the bolt pops into the locking slot on the cylinder.

The reason is the Cap & Ball Colts had pins between nipples at the rear of the cylinder. There was a recess on the hammer that fit over the pins so the hammer could be lowered between the nipples to 'safely' lower the hammer on a fully loaded cylinder. I put safely in quotes because over time the pins often wore down and could no longer be depended on to prevent the cylinder from accidentally rotating so a cap would be under the hammer. In addition, some percussion Colts had an extra six locking slots on the cylinder, so the hammer could be lowered between nipples and the bolt would rise into one of the locking slots between chambers, again, making it safe to lower the hammer on a fully loaded cylinder.

When the Single Action Army came out in 1873 is when the 'safety cock' notch was added to the hammer, creating the legendary four clicks. With cartridge rims taking up almost all the space between chambers, there was no place for pins.

As with all Colts and Colt replicas, if you put your thumb on the cylinder while cocking the hammer to restrict its motion, you will often hear separate clicks as the hammer goes to full cock and then the bolt pops into the cylinder locking slot. If the revolver is timed perfectly, these two actions will happen simultaneously and only one click will be heard. But it is quite common for the hammer to go to full cock ever so slightly before the bolt pops into the locking slot. This is usually not a problem because there is usually enough over travel in the hammer to allow it to rotate a little bit further back so the hand can rotate the cylinder a tiny bit more for the bolt to pop into the locking slot. In this case, if a 'four click' SAA is cocked slowly enough, and you prevent the cylinder from gathering enough momentum to rotate to the locking position, five clicks will actually be heard. The same with a percussion Colt or replica. Cock it slowly enough and restrict the rotation of the cylinder and you will probably hear four clicks.

However, in most cases, if the revolver is not timed perfectly, the cylinder builds up enough momentum as the hammer is being cocked that those last two clicks cannot be heard separately.

I'm playing around with this Richard's Conversion as I write this, and yup, only three clicks unless I cock the hammer very slowly and slow down the cylinder with my thumb. Then I hear four clicks.

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The only other Cap & Ball 'colts' I have these days are a pair of these Pietta 1860 Army Colt replicas. They very loudly click four times if I restrain the cylinder because the timing is not all that great.

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P.S. I forgot I have an original cap & ball Colt 1849 Pocket Model. Sorry, no photo. The action is pretty worn, but the same thing. Three clicks unless I slow down the cylinder, then it is four clicks.
 
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“…I had never heard off (sic) screws being timed/qualified.”

Timed/qualified screws have been well known for many years. While not “original” to Colt, they are original to Standard Mfg. single actions and are merely a lagniappe; a non-essential visual enhancement that speaks to the manufacturers attention to detail.

I am aware of no maker of single action repos, and the list is long, that has claimed their guns to be “exact Colt reproductions”.

Generally, people who buy SAA clones don’t care about their gun not being “original”. They just want to enjoy the single action experience without breaking their piggy bank.
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This Colt, per factory letter, was shipped with fire blue qualified screws in 2013. The carved ivory grips were added by the original owner.
Colt 44 rus spl stamp left.JPG Colt 44 rus spl stamp.JPG
 
i read in a old shooters bible that the london colt had 4 clicks. they may have made a type o. i have several old shooters bibles or books like that from the 50/3 and early 60/s and some articles are interesting in them. dont own a original colt right now and really dont care how many clicks my cattleman has.i beleive my cattleman to be superior to old colts. strong, looks good and is a shooter.
 
I really missed out on the USFA boat. I had plenty of money at the time, but assumed they'd be around forever, so always ended up buying that "one gun I have to get before it's too late!" gun instead. I kick myself over it every time I see a nice SAA.
 
I'm pretty sure, you bought them before Taurus acquisition of the Co.
 
How the HELL does a company that can make this,
index.php

ends up making this? :(:( :mad::mad: :fire::fire:
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I'm pretty sure, you bought them before Taurus acquisition of the Co.

One was purchased in 1993. Still ticking along.
3 we're purchased in 2019. Also still ticking along.
Oh and I love all of my Taurus revolvers too. I have about 8 of those. Also purchased between 1990 and two weeks ago.
 
ontarget
I meant no offense. but sometime Taurus get consumers hanging on firearms parts or services.
 
If a Colt or Standard Mfg is outside the budget I’d get a Pietta without a transfer bar. Either an EMF Great Western 2 or a Cimarron Frontier.
 
You won’t find that on the Colt.

I don't know what to say. You won't find a Case Hardened hammer on a Colt simply because Colt does not Case Harden their hammers.

Colt polishes the sides of the hammer, the rear of the hammer is blued.

The Case Hardening on this 2nd Gen Colt ain't too bad either.

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If you have to have a Case Hardened hammer, and don't want to spend the money on the Standard Manufacturing revolver, this Uberti Cattleman has a case hardened hammer. I bought it a long time ago, but I just checked the Uberti website and I can see they are still case hardening their hammers. Oh my goodness, horror of horrors, the screws are not qualified. By the way, if you want authenticity, check out the bevel on the front of the cylinder on this Uberti.

pofVAZYYj.jpg




This 1st Gen Bisley has what is called the Black Powder bevel on the front of the cylinder. Notice it is not a bevel of constant depth, the depth of the bevel varies between the flutes.

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The Uberti cylinder on the right has a Black Powder bevel. The 2nd Gen Colt cylinder on the left has a bevel of constant depth. Colt pretty much stopped putting the Black Powder bevel on their cylinders with the 2nd Gen. It takes a little bit more work than beveling the edge while it is on the lathe. That's a Ruger New Vaquero cylinder in the center. Yes, I just checked the website and it appears Uberti is still putting the Black Powder bevel on the front of their cylinders. Actually, the Black Powder bevel has nothing to do with Black Powder, that's just the name it has, probably because it was on the 1st Gen cylinders. From what I have seen in photos, it looks like the Standard Manufacturing revolver has a 2nd Gen style bevel on the front of the cylinder.

pnfxyANuj.jpg




While we're talking about authenticity, let's talk about rear sights for a moment. The 2nd Gen Colt on the left has a rear sight with a square notch. The V groove on the right is the rear sight of the Uberti Cattleman. I have not checked out current Ubertis, but I in the past Uberti has usually had the traditional V notch rear sight. Which can be troublesome for older eyes. That's why Colt went to the square notch with the 2nd Generation. Easier to line up the front sight in it.

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Compare those rear sights to the tiny V notch on a 1st Generation Bisley. Yes, I can see it, but it takes a bit of extra concentration.

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I have not had a chance to handle the Standard Manufacturing revolver myself, but in one of Hickok 45's videos I can plainly see the rear sight is a square notch like a 2nd Gen Colt.
 
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The Standard Mfg single action has a "cone shaped firing pin" rigidly pinned to the hammer, the early "black powder" pattern.
A well known reviewer got ostracized by the company for daring to suggest that the Colt "smokeless" firing pin with smaller point and a little wiggle in its attachment would work better.
 
Used to be late model domestic USFA's. Now it's Standard Mfg. I don't know if STD is using charcoal blue on theirs like USFA was the Pre-war model. I would still rank USFA higher and both over Colt but the Colt's of the last 10yrs or so have been the best ever.

You can get a case colored hammer from Colt if you special order it that way.

Regulated screws are more of a mark of British gunmaking. I don't know how Standard does it but traditionally, the screws are fitted individually, not chosen from a parts bin. Either way it looks great on a Purdey but on a Colt replica it would tweak my OCD.

IMG_2980b.jpg
 
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