Uberti Cimarron "Pistolero" and "Badlands"

[YosemiteSam357]

Hi all,

First real post on this board, though you may recognize the handle from other boards, where I've been for years. I'm hoping "The High Road" lives up to its name.

I'm in the market for a .45 Colt "plinker". Not going to do load development or hunting with it, just want to experience the platform. I already own a couple of SAs, this would just be icing on the cake.

I've been steered toward the Cimarron Model P as a good entry level Colt SAA style shootin' iron. After looking at these I actually prefer the finish on the lower priced "Pistolero" or "Badlands" models. My question is, are these models basically as strong as the "case hardened look" standard Model P? They both have brass grip frames, but again, I'm not planning on stressing this gun with hot loads.

Any experience with these models?

-- Sam

 

[ArmedBear]

I have a .357, and I love it. Beadblast brass grip frame, smooth wood grip, "millenium" finish. $265 NIB, plus springs.

It's the same gun as the pretty version, but with a different finish. You can get a polished Uberti SAA with a brass frame as well, and a couple versions in the matte finish with steel grip frames and checkered grips, either wood or hard rubber.

Mine (Uberti brand, Stoeger stamped on barrel) had a trigger with a pronounced burr feeling to it.

A set of Wolff springs solved that problem for a few bucks. I don't know why, exactly, but the trigger feels like it's been "worked" now. I guess the stock mainspring was WAY overpowered.

The mid-tension Wolff mainspring is all it really needed, though I replaced the others, too, since I had them. The ejector rod spring in the generic Wolff SAA clone kit does not fit; it seems Uberti beefed up the rod vs. the original, which is a good thing. Everything else in the Wolff kit fits.

The light trigger spring does make lockup a tad looser, but it's not a problem functionally. On the other hand, if you want a bit more trigger tension, you can just get the mainspring and get a smooth but slightly heavier pull. This might be desirable in a "working gun," anyway.

Otherwise, the gun has been perfect as-is. And I don't feel apprehensive about shoving it in a holster and taking it out in the sandy parts east of here, lending it to people, hiking with snake loads in it, etc., like I might with the really pretty charcoal blue and color-casehardened model.

Afterward, I bought an 1858 in the same finish, for the same reason. Guns are more fun if you don't cringe when you get them out in rough country and actually use them.

 

[Jim March]

Cimarron's better guns are Italian (Uberti) but tuned and in some cases re-finished here in the US. A spring kit is a common upgrade and some are at least partially hand-tuned inside.

The lower-end Cimarron's are unlikely to get such treatment. At best they'll be Ubertis with one last quality control check by Cimarron. So...figure at a minimum, upgrading the springs with US-source (Wolff most likely) is going to be a good idea. This is a cheap part (about $20) plus figure you should invest another $20 in the right hollow-ground screwdriver bits.

Overall quality will be pretty good. Uberti makes a pretty decent gun of late. And if you buy even a lower-end Cimarron model you've got a US support/warranty service rather than dealing with Italy. Cimarron is very likely the best possible way to buy an Uberti even at the lower end of the price scale.