USFA Questions

[JLH]

With what appears to be the apparent demise of US Firearms, I am dubious about the purchase of a LNIB Rodeo which I can purchase for under $500, but seek your opinions and advice, to that end. Are all the parts 100% interchangeable with Colts/Italian clones, or are there manufacturing differences, making certain parts un-obtainable? I know USFA are reputed to be some of the best single-actions ever produced, but I do not want to buy something that will present replacement-parts-issues in the future and end-up with a paper-weight.


Thanks for your advice and time.

 

[CraigC]

I have four USFA's and this doesn't concern me in the least. There are a hell of a lot of guns that are no longer made and the manufacturer no longer makes parts for. Put a Wolff spring kit in it and go shooting. At the very worst, you may, after tens upon tens of thousands of rounds, need to replace a broken bolt and that is easily accomplished. If you found one for under $500, jump on it. I know of another for sale that is double what they cost new.

 

[rcmodel]

+1

What he said.

Well over 3/4 the handguns in my collection are old Colts & S&W's that are long out of production.

I would be surprised if you live or shoot long enough to ever need parts for a USFA anyway.

rc

 

[PRM]

I would be surprised if you live or shoot long enough to ever need parts for a USFA anyway.

I've been shooting SAAs since the 70s. Both Colts and their clones. It doesn't matter who makes it - sooner or later springs and other small parts occasionally have to be replaced. The upside is that Colt or Uberti parts can be obtained easily and will either drop in or require minimal fitting.

The sear-bolt spring is one of the more common parts to fail on these guns. The design of the original flat springs are just prone to it. Wolff makes a wire type sear-bolt spring that has excellent longevity. On my Colt SAA and Uberti SAA Clone, this has been a drop in part.

I would not worry about anything you would have to replace being a problem to get.

 

[DPris]

Parts are not 100% interchangeable between USFA SAs and other brands.
I had to have a base pin fabricated from scratch on my Rodeo to replace the out-of-spec one that came in it.
A Colt pin did not match up.

You can't automatically assume you can just drop in either Colt or Uberti replacement parts.
Denis

 

[rcmodel]

+1

On the otherhand, like PRM, I have been shooting Colt SAA's since 1968.
I have broke a sum total of one bolt & trigger spring in a 3rd. Gen Colt SAA before I got it apart to tune it, and no bolts, hand springs, or mainsprings in that time.

Or put a modern music-wire bolt spring in it once, and Fogadaboutit the rest of your life.

Properly fitted, SAA's don't have to break all the time.
And USFA's are probably closer to "properly fitted" then any Uberti or modern Colt could dream about.

The bolt cam on the hammer, if not properly tapered & polished right to interact with the bolt, or improperly handled by lowering the hammer from half cock instead of full cock is what breaks bolts.

rc

 

[ArchAngelCD]

With what appears to be the apparent demise of US Firearms, I am dubious about the purchase of a LNIB Rodeo which I can purchase for under $500, but seek your opinions and advice, to that end. Are all the parts 100% interchangeable with Colts/Italian clones, or are there manufacturing differences, making certain parts un-obtainable? I know USFA are reputed to be some of the best single-actions ever produced, but I do not want to buy something that will present replacement-parts-issues in the future and end-up with a paper-weight.


Thanks for your advice and time.

If you don't want it please send me a PM and tell me where I can get that revolver for only $500... I'm serious...

 

[MCMXI]

but I do not want to buy something that will present replacement-parts-issues in the future and end-up with a paper-weight.

$500 for LNIB ... SOLD!!

I have a pair of USFA Rodeos and they are exceptional revolvers, not very fancy, but they're incredibly well made and the accuracy is just amazing. USFA has a life time warranty on their revolvers for the original owner, but if you buy LNIB at least you know you can send it back to them if anything needs attention. Another option would be to contact Jim Finch of Long Hunter Shooting Supply. I bought my Rodeos from him and he knows USFA revolvers as well as anyone. For $40 he can replace the flat hand spring with a Ruger style coil spring which are less prone to breaking.

http://www.lightningrifle.com/pages/warranty.asp

"USFA products carry a life time warranty to the original owner as long as the firearm remains in proof. All fire arms returned to USFA for warranty repair will incur a $35 shipping and handling fee for return to the owner
but if something does break you can always send it back to USFA."

Here are mine.

 

[PRM]

DPris, I was not saying all parts were 100% interchangeable. Yes, some do require fitting even when ordered for a specific gun. I have also found a lot of parts over the years that most say require fitting, dropped in and worked fine. Whether they will or not is a matter of trying first and seeing where you need to go from there.

Most of my experience has been with either Colt or Uberti products. Most of the time, fitting has been minor. Springs have not been an issue.

Agree with you rcmodel, the modern wire sear-bolt spring is pretty much a permanent fix. I have been happy enough with them, that I replaced all of my SAAs with them.

 

[Pilot]

The USFA SAA's are great pistols. I had my 4 3/4" barreled Rodeo tuned by Jim Finch, (Longhunter) and had him install the Ruger style replacement spring to avoid future spring issues. It is just a wonderful shooter and heck of an example of the SAA. It may not have the fancy, case hardened finish, but it is one quality revolver.

 

[DPris]

PRM,
I was answering the original poster, not responding to your post.

My Rodeo is well-made other'n the basepin problem, I just don't expect it to be easy to find parts for if they go.
Since I don't do much with it anyway (stick to my Colts), I doubt it'll ever be much of an issue for me.

Unfortunate that USFA has dropped the SAs & gone in another direction, though.
Denis