Your favorite SAA barrel length
- Thread starter Mn Fats
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bannockburn
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I like them all but my favorite is the 4.75" length barrel. Great balance and handling along with being aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I have two Ruger Blackhawks with that barrel length, three with a 5.5" barrel, a Ruger Vaquero, a Ruger Single Six, and a Beretta Stampede, and one EMF Hartford U.S. Cavalry Model SAA with the 7.5" barrel.
MacAR
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4 3/4" for me, always. Just fine for all around use, not too long but long enough to sight. Oh, and make mine a 357!
Mac
Mac
doubleh
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I chose the 5.5 for the stuck with only one question. Since I am not stuck with just one I have them from 4.75 to 7.5 and like them all.
fastbolt
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I've always liked 4 5/8", which would be 4.62" in today's models. Handy. Balanced. Enough heft.
AlexanderA
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7 1/2", simply because I'm a historical authenticity freak. Here are mine.
Top: Colt 2nd Generation. Shown with the original hard rubber "eagle" grips. I replaced them with one-piece grips.
Bottom: Armi San Marco / EMF Hartford Model with cavalry markings.
Top: Colt 2nd Generation. Shown with the original hard rubber "eagle" grips. I replaced them with one-piece grips.
Bottom: Armi San Marco / EMF Hartford Model with cavalry markings.
Armybrat
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Driftwood Johnson
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Howdy Again
The bit about a SXS shotgun without ejectors is pretty much the way they would have been in the late 1800s. Extractors are fine, but no ejectors. I found this little Stevens hammer gun years ago in a local shop. Probably made around 1908 or so. Somebody had cut the barrels down to 24" and cut the chokes off, so it has cylinder bores at this point. It is my usual Main Match shotgun. Without ejectors, we have a technique where we open the shotgun and jerk it backwards, to send the empties flying out.
Of course I only shoot it with Black Powder.
The only pump shotgun allowed is the Winchester Model 1897. There was a liability issue with an early Marlin pump a number of years ago, so they are not allowed. I bought this Winchester Model 1897, a bunch of years ago. It shipped in 1909.
You ask about the Browning Auto 5. Simply no semi-automatic firearms allowed in CAS. Period.
Getting back to my favorite barrel length in the Single Action Army, the first photo I posted is of the first real Colt SAA I owned. A 4 3/4" 2nd Gen that left the factory in 1968. I got it for a very good price because the dealer was honest. Not all the parts are original, and somebody removed almost all the finish to make it look antique. It is the Colt at the bottom of this photo, and it happens to be my favorite revolver of all the many, many revolvers I own. The Colt at the top of this photo is another 2nd Gen that left the factory in 1973 with a 12" barrel, but within a year it had been refitted with a 7 1/2" barrel. Both are chambered for 45 Colt, and I am unusual in that I use two revolvers with different barrel lengths as my main match pistols.
Of course I only shoot them with cartridges loaded with Black Powder.
ontarget
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How exactly do you see your targets for follow up shots through all that smoke?
It's a beautiful thing, and I love it, but in all of the smokey pics you post I have always wondered.
RealGun
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It's not what I would call a target pistol, so my 5.5"ers are long enough IMO, and I like that look. I had a 4 and something Blackhawk 41 Mag and though that was a good carry length, assuming I would ever be doing walkabouts, not CCW.
RealGun
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You don't appear to have a 4.75 "SAA", but we should let you play. Good pics.
OP
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Mn Fats
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Dang, those are all esthetically pleasing to the eye.
Isn't that just Ruger? I thought the Colts and thier proper clones were 4.75" in this context. The 5/8" came from Ruger. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Well, for the balance and heft: 5.5”, which contributes to the all-important “shoot-ability.” It also looks really nice, and is nicely portable, being just short enough to carry IWB. So, 5.5” it is. Yes, I will, indeed, pack an SAA.
4.75” can be just a bit more portable, but not enough to truly matter. 7.5” may win, for its aesthetic appearance, and for being the original configuration, but it is less convenient to carry, which is significant if I am selecting “the one” SAA.
The shorter Sheriff and Storekeeper configurations can be desirable variants, but my hands have reached the age at which recoil is a factor, so, I’d rather not select a weapon with too little heft, at the forward end, to be my “one” SAA.
4.75” can be just a bit more portable, but not enough to truly matter. 7.5” may win, for its aesthetic appearance, and for being the original configuration, but it is less convenient to carry, which is significant if I am selecting “the one” SAA.
The shorter Sheriff and Storekeeper configurations can be desirable variants, but my hands have reached the age at which recoil is a factor, so, I’d rather not select a weapon with too little heft, at the forward end, to be my “one” SAA.
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RetiredUSNChief
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Given only one, it's no difficult choice for me.
5 1/2 inches.
It's the most balanced, esthetically looking barrel length on the most esthetically gorgeous looking revolver ever built in human history to me.
5 1/2 inches.
It's the most balanced, esthetically looking barrel length on the most esthetically gorgeous looking revolver ever built in human history to me.
wcwhitey
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I am a fan of 5 1/2 as it seems natural. I do not like barrels longer than 6” on a handgun as a rule, nothing wrong with it and no real justification it’s jus a personal preference. For a packing gun though the 4 3/4-5/8 is a great option. Good pointers and still long enough to get decent performance out of most cartridges. It really does depend on the intended application.
onegunred
Member
As much as I like the 4.62" the 5.5" balances the best and is also my better shooter.
RealGun
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I think of the 7.5 as carried cross draw from the saddle, perhaps the original cavalry application. Historians?
Driftwood Johnson
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A number of years ago some CAS competitors in the Black Powder categories were using minimal charges in their cartridges, so they could see through the smoke for quick follow up shots. This became an issue, and the powers that be at SASS came up with the Black Powder Standard:
Blackpowder category contestants are expected to understand they will contend with smoke obscured targets. To ensure this, all shotgun, revolver, and rifle powder charges must produce smoke at least equivalent to a baseline load of 15 grains by volume (1 cc) of blackpowder (see Blackpowder – Testing section for additional requirements).
I was instrumental in adopting the Black Powder Standard, I wrote the first sentence. I have never witnessed anybody's rounds being tested, it is a subjective thing anyway.
My thought was, when shooting Black Powder in our cartridges, we do it not because it is easy, but because it is hard, paraphrasing President Kennedy's speech about going to th4ee moon.
Anyway, yes, seeing the target can be very difficult, particularly if the shooter is shooting into the sun. Unlike many shooting sports, in CAS we are not allowed to move when shooting. We follow the basketball example, we can move one foot as long as the other foot is planted on the ground. Those of us shooting Black Powder in our cartridges get very good at pivoting and ducking so we can see the targets. Sometimes on a dump target I will just blast into the center of the cloud without seeing the target at all.
Driftwood Johnson
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Yes.
Colts have always come in three standard barrel lengths: 7 1/2", 5 1/2", and 4 3/4". Rugers have 4 5/8" barrels as one of their standard barrel lengths.
The original Colts bought by the Army in the late 1800s all had 7 1/2" barrels. They were issued to cavalry units, so that length became unofficially known as the Cavalry Model. Later, many of the 7 1/2" Colts were sent back to Colt or to the armory to be refurbished. Many of them had their barrels cut to 5 1/2" at that time. These were often issued to artillery units, so the 5 1/2" barrel length became informally referred to as the Artillery Models. The other standard length, 4 3/4" has never had an informal name associated with it. I have always liked the 4 3/4" long barrel for its brutish appearance.
AlexanderA
Member
The cavalry carried the 7 1/2" SAA on the right side of the belt, butt forward. The standard holster was a half-flap, which could also be used for the Schofield.
I said earlier that the 7 1/2" was my favorite barrel length. That's not to say that I don't appreciate the others. These are all Ubertis. The 4 3/4" birdshead has the "old style" frame.
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RealGun
Member
What would be the logic of carrying "right side, butt forward", if not left handed?
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