I would really like to add a Colt SAA 5.5 in .357 to my accumulation but good golly Miss Molly, the prices. I was watching a 2nd gen with a 4 3/4in barrel that had some serious holster wear on it. The cylinder was probably at 50% and there was heavy holster wear on both sides of the barrel. In addition there was some light rust damage to the case hardening on the top strap. It went for $1500.

I am also watching a 3rd gen 5.5in in 98%+ condition that has a week to go. I shudder to think what price it will end up going for. When the versions in a less popular caliber like .357 are pretty much out of reach it gets discouraging. Yes, I can buy a clone, but what I really want is a Colt. I even prefer there to be some wear on my firearms as I am not a big fan of safe queens although I have picked up a couple when the price was right. I just do not see the price being right on a Colt SAA happening any time soon.

I see the same thing happening with Colt Detective Specials. My first trigger pull was on a nice 3rd gen and while I have seen quite a few that fit the bill condition wise to assuage my nostalgia, the price has not worked. I guess pretty much anything with Winchester or Colt on it is going to bleed my bank account if I really want to do it, and that sucks.

I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening.

I feel your pain, brother!!! And I have had a couple of Colt SAAs in the past, and foolishly let them get away. I have been keeping my eye peeled for a 4 3/4" .45. Looking for blue, with case frame. Still looking. Friend called me yesterday, he had a 125 th anniversary long barreled 45 in the factory display case he was trying to sell for a guy. Asking $1200, but might be negotiated. But it had a gold plated grip frame, and had been shot, and the gold was fading...not my cup of tea. Still looking.

One of the ones that i let go: 44-40 with an extra 44 spl cylinder, blue, 4 3/4", case frame, and factory ivory stocks. Only gun I ever let go that my GF still gives me the devil about. I really wish I had that one back...sigh...

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

SAA production numbers are really low now.I think they've lost some people to retirement and haven't replaced them yet.Keep looking,I know of a guy that found a new 357 without a box for $1200.

Keep looking. I just found a like new 4 3/4", 357 for $1150. No box or papers.

Same dealer had one with a longer barrel...5.5" maybe? And I want to say it's a pinto, but can't swear to that...anyway it was in 44/40 so I wasn't really interested, but it was tagged at $1500. I'd say like new condition, but I didn't look at it close.

It seems to me, around here at least, I've seen some softening in the market.

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John 3:16 .

Every once in a while I think one in .357 would be nice to have...... but at what price.......... if I ever bite the bullet ....guess it will be a Ruger or Beretta.

I lusted after a Colt SAA for my collection for years until I traded one of my S&Ws and a considerable sum of cash for a 1980's .44 Special model in bright Nickel with box and docs. Such a beautiful revolver. I shoot all my guns, so to the range I went with a variety of handloads. The darned thing hit far right and since it was nickel plated there was no way to bend the front sight to adjust. So, I cleaned it back to spotless and sold it to a Colt collector who was much more interested in how the grip frame was fit to the main frame than ever shooting the revolver!
If I buy another SAA, it will be an Uberti replica for a lot less money as the Colt's are too rich for my pocket.

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Virtue,Liberty & Independence

In 12 days this one will be on my
hip for most of the Texas deer season.
I recommend holding out for a Colt in lieu of
a knockoff.

I think my days of getting Colt SAAs for under a grand are over. I recently paid $1200 for this 1992 .44-40 that has a .44 special cylinder only. I was looking specifically for a 4 3/4" .44 special. Is is really put together well, though the colors are faded which I didn't mind. The wood grips were on it. Prior to that I found a 1890 cut down renickeld .44-40 for $800 on consignment. But, like sambar stag grips, prices are soring out of reach. My reach, anyway.

John:

Kalif. might too far for you, unless you're retired, but a friend of mine who goes to two different auction houses in Orange County said Colts are not holding their value. If you go to an auction where there will be a plethora of SAAs, he said you can find 3rd Gens for right at or just under a grand.

Same holds true (he said) for the Las Vegas antique gun show held twice a year. Forgot which casino.

PM me for further info.

Good Luck, Hank M.

JohnRippert
Find the very best 2nd generation SAA you can afford, grit your teeth, and buy it.
I've owned most brands, and if I were looking to buy anything other than Colt, it'd be one of Doug Turnbull's.
Nothing beats the real thing, and you're wise to be looking.
Don

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OGCA Life
NRA Life

JohnRippert: I know you have your heart set on an Actual Colt SAA revolver. But have you considered a reproduction from the Uberti company?

This gun company manufactures some very nice and very well made reproductions of the SAA Revolver.

Also The Cimarron firearms company has a nice selection of Reproduction Colt SAA revolvers as well.

There is nothing like a real Colt SAA. That said, you should get
it tuned by a good smith. Not just any smith, but a Colt guy.
I shoot cowboy action and shoot a pair of second gen's every
weekend. Same guns for past 15 years. Thousand of rounds.
Blue wear, but as good as when I started.

Wow those pictures---how do you do it? I'd post a picture of my .45 SAA but I embarrassed at how bad my picture is.

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Paul
Salome, AZ

Been telling myself a lot lately that I don't really need a Colt SAA 4 &3/4 .38 Special .
.
I really don't.

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LEX ET ORDO

This one here looks great with those silver medallion pearls. My 2nd choice when I got the last .44 Special was a 5 1/2" nickel like yours. But they are so expensive now. I had my pearls on my old .44-40 at first which is close to yours. The barrel is cut down to 5". I have a .44 special cylinder for this one now.

John: However you tried to PM me, it wouldn't open up. Send an email to [email protected] from your email.

Hank M.

I have to agree with the OP. The prices are ridiculous. I bought this 5.5" SAA in 357mag NIB off GB last December for $1350, which is under retail. Fitted those ebony grips myself. I opted for the 'odd' caliber as it's my favorite and dominates my line up. 45lc is obsolete in my eyes, and pure nostalgia isn't enough for me to take it on as another caliber in reloading. 357mag is a great caliber in a SAA. It's a little heavier, but you have one powerful handgun that is more versatile. If I was to get another SAA, it would probably be 44spl. However, the chances of getting another SAA are slim because I have no real use for them besides fun at the range, and one is enough for that. Any other use is best left to a DA revolver, at least for me.

Reasonably priced ones are out there. You just have to find them. Still, I don't understand why anyone wants to pay over MSRP when they are still making them. You definitely want a real Colt. Other options are cheaper, but they are not the real deal. I would suggest a very recent production one because the quality has been top notch. Mine is a 2015. If you do get one, I have a "how to" thread that is a sticky on the Colt forum that goes into great detail on an action job. A slicked up action is almost a must on these.

3.jpg

I also agree about the Detective Special. I need another one for my wife, but cannot find a decent one for about $400. There is no reason a fairly worn, but not abused, DS should be any more than that. True shooters are going for $500+ these days. I acquired both my DS and my Cobra for less than $400 just a couple years ago.

One just has to be patient, constantly watch, and have the money in hand for when one pops up at a good price. Good luck with your hunt.

Love those Colt SAA's
I had a 2nd Gen. Nickel 4 3/4" like new in the stagecoach box
in .357



Couldn't wrap my head around a SAA in .357 so i sold it
and bought a 7 1/2" New Frontier in .45

If you look around you can still find good deals on Colt SAA's
this Nickel one above cost me 1200 with auction fees.
1969 2nd



Chuck

__________________
They hold no Quarter

Like everyone else, I'd love to have ANY SAA in reasonable condition, but the price is an issue. As a shooter, I'd be just as happy with a much less expensive Uberti replica. Those I have seen appear to be very well made. I've come very close to buying one on several occasions, but never pulled the trigger. Another I would really like is one of the 1950's Great Western replicas.

This Colt was made in 1911. It was sent back to Colt in 1969 and rebuilt, changing it from a .32-20 to .45. It came with the Colt invoice of repair but no original parts. Then the lady who sold it found the 1969 Colt shipping box with all the old parts hidden in her ceiling by her later husband. The box shows the gun was shipped back to a prominent Nevada politician/businessman who was long time Sheriff of Mercury, NV., the atomic test sight town. Word of mouth is that the gun has a Pinkerton/railroad connection in Nevada. This one is getting lettered soon. Colt really built this gun tight in '69.

I bought a Colt Bisley 5 1/2" in 44WCF in the late 80's for $200. No finish left, just brown w/ a little bit of brown in protected areas.
The cylinder was from I don't know what but it wasn't a real Colt.
I fitted a 44-40 cylinder to it back then but never got around to finishing it. Action still a bit loose but fun to shoot.
My other is a SAA 5 1/2 in 32-20. It was orig a 7 1/2" bbl I'm guessing from the looks of it that was cut down. Nice job, but then someone bulged that one right behind the front sight..
Bore is horrible anyway but the gun is nice and tight, even a hint of C/C on the frame. Orig H/R grips are worn nearly smooth. MAde in 1903 IIRC.
That baby cost me $250 in the early 90's.
I shoot it with 32-20's and 32S&W;s. They both shoot patterns instead of groups. I may reline the bbl,,or re-cyl and re-bbl w/Colt parts to something like 44sp or 45Colt and just save the originals.
Another project for another day.

Colt SAA's are like Lugers,,seems like a person should have at least one for shooting at stuff..

I have two Ubertis and like them. Cost was far below what I'd have paid for a Colt. Accuracy is excellent.
The main difference that I find between Ubertis and Colts is the design of the hand spring. The Colt has the original cantilevered spring, which is prone to breakage (I had to replace it twice on my USFA gun). The Ubertis use a coil hand spring which will not break.

I have had several of the 1st & 2nd generation Colts but the only Colt left in the safe is a New Frontier that has been rebuilt by Jim Stroh with additional work by Alan Harton. I have been just as pleased with a couple of the USFA single action guns as I have been with the Colts.

Took this .44 Special out of the safe; been several years since I shot it. Groups well and to POA at 25 yds with 246 grain WW factory. I guess I'll keep it.
Bob

Man, if the Nickel one I had owned shot like yours it would still be in my collection! Beautiful Colt and a great shooter! Mine printed a least 10 inches to the right!

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Virtue,Liberty & Independence

Bulged barrels were very common in the .32-20s. I got this Bisley .32 for $500 around 2010 in a local consignment gun shop because the barrel has a bulge right behind the front sight. But I have two pre war Colt cylinders in .44 Special and matching Colt barrels with correct threads in my parts box. I see this gun as a long barreled .44 some day if I have the guts to have it changed over. Skeeter Skelton once mentioned opening beer bottles with a Bisley. It works. Oh. That bottom gun is a Great Western .44 Special. It was my dad's.

Wow, I remember that mention of using the Bisley as a bottle opener in a story by Skeeter. Used to read his little stories in one of the gun magazines every month. He was a pretty good writer, and seemed like a pretty good guy, too.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I was lucky and bought my first Colt SAA's when they were relatively cheaper than now and were on sale. A 7-1/2" blue/CCH .44 Special and a nickel .45 Colt also 7-1/2", for $315.95 each in 1981. Added a new 4-3/4" blue/CCH .45 in 1996 during a good trade.

My favorite is a New Frontier I got in 2002. Blue/CCH, 4-3/4", .44-40, to which I had Colt fit a .44 Special cylinder. I swallowed hard at the $1,000 price tag for it even though it was a great price.

There are few handguns that are as enjoyable to just handle as the SAA. You can get that happy/gunny feeling without having any ammunition. And they were usually beautifully made and finished.

Well, I might have let those two Colt SAAs get away, but here's an original from right around the turn of the twentieth century (1901, if Proofhouse is correct) that I'm hanging onto (not to hijack the thread):



Still has a lot of that old time colt finish left also, and believe it or not the bore is clean, and the rifling sharp, and everything works just like it came from the factory:



I'm still looking for a nice Colt 4 3/4" Blued Color Case frame .45 though!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I too would like to add a genuine Colt SAA to my menagerie, but the prices are steep. Just finding one for sale around here is also a challenge. I haven't seen a new SAA for sale in years, and none of the local shops can get one. My preference is for a blued/color case 4.75 barrel in .45 Colt or .357 in decent shape. I'm sure I'll run one down eventually, and I'm sure it won't be cheap.

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Wheel guns are real guns.

Whenever Colt SAAs come up here I have to post my "Patton pair". And it's a good excuse to sneak a S&W in, too.

Look around for commemoratives that have been used. You used to find the NRA ones every now and again pretty cheap because 1. They had been shot and 2. They were 357.

That's a thought but the only commemorative I really have any interest in is the Texas Ranger Model 19. I'll keep looking and find something, eventually.

Here's my New Frontier in .45 Colt
It's also one of 60 made with all blued frame according to Wilkerson.
Previous owner rubbed some gold crayon in the lettering
and I have just left it so far. I'm contemplating taking this
out to the Deer woods with me next month when gun
season opens. It's unfired as of yet.





Chuck

__________________
They hold no Quarter

I do own ONE Colt single action, the little brother of the New Frontier, the New Frontier Scout .22LR/22 Mag. A 1975 piece which shoots very well and looks good too.

__________________
Virtue,Liberty & Independence

Here's my other SAA the companion piece to my
.45 Colt
It has the .22 mag and .22 LR cylinders



Chuck

__________________
They hold no Quarter

Well, the 3rd gen I was watching I thought would easily outpace the finish worn 2nd gen that started me talking went out tonight, and I actually won it. I find it interesting that a like new 3rd gen did not equal or surpass the price of the worn 2nd gen. Either the difference between the two generations when it comes to being collectible is bigger than I thought or the market has gotten soft. Maybe both, who knows. For those that would like a look at the finished auction here is the GB Item # 593029893. I will be getting a Postal MO tomorrow and hopefully in a week or so I can post in hand pics. Now I will have to find a gunbelt for it that does not break the bank but still looks good enough to do the six-gun justice.

That is a great looking Colt you got there!

I just recently picked up my "Grail gun", a 5-1/2" New Frontier in .44 special from a gun shop in Arizona. With shipping it ran $1240.00. Needless to say I am one happy camper……

John:

Congratulations on winning that auction. That is a seriously beautiful Colt. If it had been .45 and 4 3/4", I would have probably been bidding against you!!! I am happy that you were able to find exactly what you were looking for in the first post!!

By the way, I hope you don't mind, but my understanding of the forum rules is that it is OK to post links to completed auctions. This one is to yours:

Colt SAA Single Action Army 357mag LIKE NEW Gen 3 : Revolvers at GunBroker.com

I think that there is no way you could have improved on this gun and at a very competitive price. I know it says that it is unfired, but I hope that that soon changes!

Waiting for a range report!!

Best Regards, Les

__________________
SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

From the pics of the throat with the cylinder out it has been fired, but that is okay. It is going to be fired by me as well.

It is funny how things work out. I really did not expect to have a chance at this one. I put in a $1300 bid and walked away. Nice surprise when I came back in and saw the result. I had a fallback though. I have a bookmark on a Springfield Armory 9mm LW Range Officer Champion that would have been mine if things had not gone my way. Would have been a nice consolation prize.

The fit of the grip frame to the main frame is often quite bad on the 3rd generation Colt SAA's which I learned when I sold mine. The pistol you won looks very well fitted and finished. Should be a great shooter. Congratulations.

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Virtue,Liberty & Independence

Nice looking Colt SAA.
Your Colt is a 1979 vintage.

Thanks for the date info.



I have my eye on a El Paso Saddlery Rio Grande rig to ride my hip.

Congratulations! Do you plan to shoot .38s or .357s with it?
I have a Uberti and after having shot some full power .357 loads through it, I have decided to shoot only .38s with it from now on.

That's very cool, a Colt and a Randall! That looks like a Randall model #12-9" with a #14 grind and a #25 style handle. Here's my 4-3/4" .45 SAA, Remington .41 and my Randall Gambler.

Right on the money……Colts and Randall's do seem to go together nicely……

I will have to at least try some .357's through it. I will probably have my 19-2 along when I get to shoot it and I plan to try some .357's in that as well. I expect that .38's will be the majority diet.

I mentioned that I had purchased this one earlier in the thread, but thought I'd add pictures. It was originally tagged at $1200.00, but I was somewhat surprised when they agreed to knock a little off and dropped it to $1150.00.





Actually, these might be better.





It's a third generation, with a 4 3/4" barrel, in .357 Magnum. I think it was made in 1980, and appears to me to be unfired since leaving the factory. IF I shoot it, and I haven't made up my mind either way, it will be with 38 Specials, mostly because that's what I reload for. I very seldom shoot .357's in anything to tell the truth.

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John 3:16 .

I just showed this thread to my wife. She said "We can do that!" So out comes some red velvet a deck of cards----give me a day or so and I'll post my SAA here. :-)

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Paul
Salome, AZ

A SAA in 357mag can handle a steady diet of magnum rounds. I would not be scared one bit to run it hard. I love shooting 357mag out of a SAA.

Congrats to the OP for finally scoring a SAA. You might have been surprised at the end price, but that is actually about right. Here are the reasons: it is an early 3rd gen so it doesn't have the removable cylinder bushing, being an early 3rd gen it has the more matte polish/blue job, and it isn't a complete package. Add the oddball caliber and you got a $1200 firearm.

Hey, that is the model you wanted, so it is a win win for you. Like with mine, I wanted a magnum, and found one for $150 under retail. Made me a happy camper. Thanks to all of you who are 45lc purists.