Opinions on the Uberti 45 Colt

[C-grunt]

Im looking at the Uberti copy of the Peacemaker in 45 Colt. Does anyone have any good/bad experience with these pistols? It uses a firing pin on the hammer so it will definitly be loaded with an empty chamber.

Also, do you guys think a lead flat nosed round at about 900 FPS would be a good woods gun incase I run into a mountain lion. I have had two close incounters with the large cats and would like to have a decent round for protection against them.

 

[Jack2427]

I cannot speak to the Uberti SAA, but I have one of their S&W Schofield repros with a 3.5" barrel. It is an excellent weapon in every way, shots straight, quality build, smartly ejects all 45 Colt cases at once when broken open AND will take the speedloaders for a S&W 25. I do not do cowboy stuff, but if I did, guess what I would use?
If their SAA is anywhere near as good it is a quality arm.

 

[rodinal220]

I have two Uberti Cattleman 5.5" blue steel SAAs in .45 Colt.The fit and finish is very good in my opinion,especially for their price range.The accuracy has been very good with my CAS loads using a 255 LFP at approximately 750fps(these are smokeless loads).From a bench my loads norm 1.75"-2.00",which again is pretty good for guns in their price range.

I tuned the actions myself and they are very smooth.From the factory the trigger pulls had a bit of creep and a little on the heavy side,they did improve a little after shooting them before my tune up.From the factory the action is "usable" but can be improved.

I find these Italian made clones to be excellent guns and offer tremendous value.While a Colt Custom Shop SAA starts at around $1200 for a plain vanilla model;I paid less than $300 each for my cattlemans,I cant imagine what Uberti could give me for $600?

I think a 255 LFP at 900fps would be fine for large cats.

 

[Savage.250]

C-grunt- I purchased a Uberti 1873 Cattlman, 4 3/4" barrel, .45 Colt, in the "Old West" finish a few months ago. Of all my guns, (handguns and long guns) this is quickly becoming my favorite. I do not to any competitive shooting, (SASS etc.), so I can not speak from that standpoint.

With the Old West finish I don't have to worry about ruining the finish. After hundreds of rounds it looks exactly the same as when I bought it. IMO the Old West finish is beautiful. Saw a pic of a $3,000 original Colt in a magazine and the Uberti is identicle (finish and all) other than the importer stamping on the top of the barrel.

I will agree with rodinal220. The trigger on my hogleg is crisp and very nice. Maybe just a touch on the heavy side. What I like most about this gun is what many do not. There is no safety transfer bar. The firing pin is on the hammer just as the old Colts so if it is to be carried, it should be done so with 5 rounds and hammer down on an empty cylinder.

I highly recommend a Uberti Cattleman. I handload and bullet cast for mine and it has been very reliable and accurate!

 

[SaxonPig]

I've been happy with mine. Fit and finish not as good as the genuine Colt but they cost 1/3 as much.

 

[Smokin Gator]

The Uberti's are good guns as long as the timing and trigger are as they should be. There is also the United States Firearm Rodeo model that has a plain finish but are very high quality guns. If you want to run more stout loads the old model Ruger Vaqueros are a slightly beefier single action that handles hotter ammo than the Colt or Colt/clones. They aren't currently being made but if you look around you can find them. good luck.

 

[Old Fuff]

I used to know a government hunter that was employed to reduce the number of big cats if the local ranchers started taking losses. He would hunt them with a dog pack, and shoot the cats down after they were treed.

Well anyway, his weapon of choice was an old Marlin lever action carbine, chambered in .32 Rimfire. Yup... that's right - .32 Rimfire

If you can shoot straight I think the .45 Colt will do.

My personal Uberti single action came from Cimarron Arms, and is excellent in all rspects.

 

[cane]

If you ask this question at WWW.SASSNET.COM, you will get lots of answers/opinions,

 

[shooting on a shoestring]

250 gr .45s at 900.....Deadly!!!!!!

The .45 Colt came out in 1873 as a blackpowder cartridge. It has quite a history of killing bad guys, horses, hogs, dogs and all manner of cats. It "Won the West" mostly with 225 to 250 gr round nose with little bitty flat points moving at about 800 fps. Use a modern 250 gr SWC at 800 to 900 fps and you should expect .45 inch holes about 2 feet deep in anything made out of flesh and bone.

My .45Colt is in a 7.5" Blackhawk. I can shoot the super stomper loads of 250 or even 300 gr over 1200 fps (I've shot some 300 gr over 1300!!!!). However, the recoil is ....ummm....whats the manly term?......uuhhh......bad. Most of my shooting is w/250 SWC at 950 fps. I believe a Uberti should do that just fine. That's more than ample to deflate a bad cat.

 

[Old Fuff]

Ya, but don't use any of those "stomper loads." in an Uberti or any other conventional sized Single Action if you want to keep it intact.

 

[Jim March]

I am somewhat concerned that too many newbie shooters are getting ahold of these "zero safety guns" from Italy just because they're $150 or so cheaper than a Ruger New Vaquero, Taurus Gaucho or Beretta Stampede. Although the Taurus is rapidly dropping in street price to where it's about on par with an Uberti.

And that's a good thing. Because those three I named have transfer bar safeties where the Ubertis don't.

Now. I'm not saying you HAVE to have the safety. Yes, you can carry the Uberti "five up" and lower the hammer on the empty chamber.

But. It's easy to screw up. And some of the buyers are NOT going to be aware of the "no safety" issue...we've had one recent report of an accidental discharge of this type right here on the revolver forum. Ruger went down this road with their pre-1973 guns.

If what you WANT is a no-safety true Colt SAA clone and you understand the issues and extra practice and care needed with such a piece, cool.

But if what you want is a "cheap Western style gun"...think twice, think three times about getting a gun you can't safely carry full-up.

On that note: in my opinion the Ruger New Vaquero is the best of the transfer bar "Colt SAA near-clones". But the Gaucho is a good gun too and checking gunsamerica it seems that street prices new are falling below $400 in many cases. New Vaqs are generally holding at $450 absolute minimum, often higher. Beretta Stampedes are running even with Ruger or even a more (esp. Deluxe or Stainless/INOX).

And the Ubertis...like I thought, basic "Cattleman" and other direct SAA clones run $350 or below in a lot of cases. (And yeah, I realize the Beretta Stampede is an Uberti BUT the Stampede is made to a higher standard and has a transfer bar safety.)

So. That explains why we're seeing so many Uberti questions of late. The pressure from the new batch of transfer bar SAs (esp. the Ruger New Vaq's sales levels) is driving the price down on Ubertis.

MOST people on these forums would be better served with a transfer bar gun. That includes myself, a very satisfied Ruger New Vaq owner.