Anyone carry a SA in lieu of a Mountain Gun?

[feralmerril]

Thanks alpo, I see what you mean. I had this old colt built up with a short christy barrel and ejector houseing many years ago. The ejector was so short it didnt even start a fired case out. I reversed the project and had the old barrel and ejecter put back on. Still have that barrel and ejector. Its in .44 special.

 

[mc5aw]

Thank you, gents. I mentioned five rounds vs. six merely as a courtesy to the generally held belief about carrying an empty chamber. I'm really liking the idea of finding a solid single action in .44 Special or .45 LC to holster up and hike around with. The Cimarron/Uberti Wells Fargo edition Schofield looks purdy. I remember though that Cimarron was notorious for extended wait times on their stock. Better start working on my list to Santa ...

 

[BearBio]

Thanks alpo, I see what you mean. I had this old colt built up with a short christy barrel and ejector houseing many years ago. The ejector was so short it didnt even start a fired case out. I reversed the project and had the old barrel and ejecter put back on. Still have that barrel and ejector. Its in .44 special.

I did something similar. This is a 3.5 Birdshead Ruger (OM Vaquero) that I put a plowhandle on. It's aa 45 Colt and will handle hot loads.

 

[feralmerril]

For the money, all things considered you cant beat a ruger in whatever configeration or caliber that turns you on. This one is a flat top lipsey special in .44 special. They are strong, overbuilt and reliable.
Sure, I have colts that are too exspendsive to dirty etc. Now if money wasnt a object I would get another colt new frontier. I would get the 4 3/4" in .44 special or .45 colt IF the chambers and barrel matched. Carved ivory or stag grips, floaral tooled hoalster and belt, maybe a bisley style hammer spur. When the wife is out, stand in front of the mirror and snarl!

 

[Alpo]

I want the Webely that's in that pile!

Keep wanting. It's liable to happen, one day. First one of them I saw was at a pawn shop in 1971. Dear Old Dad said a 16-year-old boy don't need that. Next one I saw was at a gun shop in 2003. It's in that picture. It only took 32 years, but I got one. Keep thinking good thoughts.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have 6 Ruger Vaquaros (2-44/40,4-45 colt)and a bunch of Colt clones in 45 including a Thunderer. I've made a shot shell out of 460 S&W cutdown to 45 Colt OAL, Taper the mouth about 3/16ths inch with a 44-40 sizer die. I use a SASS type of powder charge, cork over powder charge, 1/2 oz. of #7.5 shot, second cork card over shot, and seal case mouth. Seal with anything you like, but I use gutter seam sealer and let cure 2-3 weeks (glue,parifine,waterglass all crack out and the shot falls out). This load holds up to recoil. In my 5.5 inch Rugers it had a 12" patern at 12'. It is a chore making these shot shells but I didn't need to buy a Judge for a half ounce shell that fits the needs on the trail. This load shreaded a W Va copperhead at 10 feet in the fall of 2011. When I'm afternoon walking in the woods this load followed by my 230 LFN at 750 fps is in the single actions. On long backpacking trips it is an airweight 38 on the hip belt(as I got old I've tuned into some sort of wimp). Ivan

 

[Springfeildkid585]

I have seen my Grandfather tuck a Colt SAA in his waist band as his primary carry. I do not recommend this method, but I know better than to give him any hell over it. My point is that I know a seventy-year-old man who feels quit comfortable armed with a single action for a primary (yes, he has secondary on him when he does that some would call more practical)

 

[Maximumbob54]

This .45 Colt NMB followed me in the woods of GA last time I was out hunting. We didn't get a darn thing but it wasn't for lack of effort.

I load up my own cast 255gr SWCHP's for it with a "Ruger Only" load but as much as I dislike Trail Boss that stuff makes some fun shooting plinking loads for range fun in the same gun.

 

[29aholic]

I carry an SA almost exclusively these days. Most of the time it's an OM Flattop Ruger 357 with some warm cast handloads. I also have a NM Flattop 44spl that goes with me a lot. If I need bigger I have a Freedom Arms FA-83 with 454, 45 Colt, and 45acp cylinders.

 

[rburg]

Ok all you gun heathens, I'm not invoking the name of Randolph Scott, I'm doin' you one better. There was this old Texan who carried a gun or two in his time. Many of us worship him almost as much as the Duke. I believe his name was Skeeter Skelton. Maybe y'all have heard of him a time or two. And he addressed this exact problem in one of his columns.

His quote was "funny, I never felt under gunned with a SAA". Enough for me.

And no one is even suggesting they aren't available in serious calibers. They're pretty much the definition of serious. Time tested. And they seem to have proven themselves on the job.

So all we're really discussing is the action and gun itself. In recent years some folks have managed to fire their double action handguns as fast. But how fast and accurate do you really need? Back to the old rule, don't make more than 5 drug dealers mad at you at the same time. Or carry two SAAs. Then you'll be OK.

 

[Alpo]

Skeeter told a story once. He was out hog-hunting, and had just got home when he was called to work, to help arrest some miscreant. Didn't take time to change - just went.

Bad guy was in the back seat of a car, and they had the car stopped. One cop opened the back door and leaned in with his 38, and Skeeter opened the other one, leaned in and his Super Blackhawk goes click-click-click-click. Bad guy did not move.

When the took him out of the car, he was found to have a 380 pistol tucked down between his legs, and he had made his brag about how he would shoot it out with the cops. Naturally the cops were ragging him about that. "Why didn't you shoot?"

He said, "I was going to, but that man with the cowboy hat had the biggest gun I'd ever seen".

 

[BearBio]

Bring up Skeeter's name and I always think about this line from an article he wrote about Tom Threepersons, who favored a SA.:

“Some time later, Juan and I fought a battle with smugglers down on the riverbank. It was a nice fight, and when it ended and the smoke blew away, there were three dead men beside the river, and I had a bullet in my chest."

 

[Clean Break]

For serious trail use, stainless is the way to go. Single actions also have better balance than double actions. They are slightly muzzle heavy (5+" bbl) as is, whereas a double action needs a cantankerous underlug to shift the balance, but at the cost of more weight and bulk to pack. Every hunter I know still thinks lighter is better when out walking in the mountains. They draw and point shoot more naturally too. My Bisley Vaquero weighed 39 oz. (same as a 1911) but in a .44 mag that had much less felt recoil with stout rounds than my 629. Here's a piebald blacktail I shot with it (240 gr. XTP handload) at 55 yds. CB

 

[Brian41]

I have carried my Ruger Bisley .41 mag in a cowboy rig in the field as they are quite handy. I've also carried my Ruger Super Blackhawk in a Bianchi shoulder holster and othe Ruger .41 Blackhawks in a Bianchi Cyclone cross draw holster. I've never felt under armed with them and have taken deer with them.
That said I also carry S&W DA revolvers when out in the woods mostly .41 or .44 mag flavors.

 

[M29since14]

Over the years this gun heathen has tried to develop an affinity for the SAA (still have one) but have never been able to hit the broad side of a barn with one, so I stick with S&Ws. If I shot one well, I wouldn't have had a moment's hesitation to take one along. I have a friend who shoots his Rugers better than anything else. In fact, I can think of two of those guys. You're in the woods to enjoy yourself. I think it just depends on which kind of gun heathen you are.

 

[Frank237]

I'm with M29since14.....I simply do NOT shoot any SA as well as I shoot a Smith revolver. I DO however carry this FA M-97 in an EPS Tom Threepersons rig. Carrying a SA in bear or cat country out west here just seems so appropriate.

FN in MT

 

[Wyo]

I sometimes carry a USFA Rodeo II in .45 Colt in an El Paso carved Tortilla holster. It rides high and tight and very much out of the way.

Another one I've sometimes carried, especially in big bear country in the NW part of the state, is a modified 3 screw Super Blackhawk. Yeah, it only carries 5 rounds, but I figure that's gonna have to do. Not much chance of getting a reload anyway if a big ol' griz is chewin' on ya, and I like the idea of a hard 300 gr. bullet over a big charge of 2400 or 296.

I love my Smiths, but it's hard to beat the Ruger for sheer power and reasonable portability.

 

[deanodog]

I like to take these for a walk now and then. 44 mag on top and two 45s 45LC/45ACP.

 

[cmort666]

I'm not a fan of single action revolvers for anything besides hunting or pure amusement.

As a general utility gun, I'd go with a Ruger Blackhawk, since it's got decent sights and can safely be carried with a full cylinder.

 

[A10]

I'm really liking that Bisley, deanodog! Been looking for one of those for a while now. Kinda hard to find with both cylinders!