Colt SAA vs Colt Cowboy?

Everything about it was lesser. Chemical case coloring. Substandard polishing/bluing. It was less gun for more money than the Vaquero and that's why it failed.

I'm scratching my head a bit but I think it was made in W. Germany.

Dave

Dave

Never heard that only that it came up short in the fit and finish department.

Howdy

I only handled a Colt Cowboy once, a whole bunch of years ago at a CAS match.

They were not as bad as most shooters think. There were problems at first, but they got straightened out with later production.

Investment cast frame (like a Ruger) instead of a forged and machined frame. Three clicks instead of four because no 'safety cock' notch on the hammer because of the transfer bar. Finish not as fancy and highly polished as a SAA.

I'm pretty sure they were made by Colt in Connecticut.

Anyway, the early problems gave them a bad reputation, even though most of the problems were cleaned up later. I was favorably impressed with the pair I handled. Don't actually remember if I shot them or not, probably did, the guy who owned them probably would have insisted.

They were introduced in 1999, discontinued in 2003. Don't remember how much they cost, compared to a Ruger Vaquero. The Cowboy was competing with the larger 'original model' Vaquero which was produced from 1993 until 2005. The smaller New Vaquero replaced the larger version in 2005.

Those I handled were fairly awful. At a time when Vaqueros were under $400, the Cowboy was something like $599 or $699.

Weren't they also competing with the USFA Rodeo at the time too? I remember when you could find those for $400 around here.

I bought one new back in the day and paid just under $600. Considering that the SAA was going for $1200 at the time it seemed like a bargain. I figured I wouldn’t loose money. I test fired it and it performed fine. Fit and finish is very nice on mine.

Sorry no pics, it’s in a safe that is buried by a ton of junk right now.