Single action revolvers- Any fans?

[GTBL]

Got this one from my Dad. Haven't shot it yet, but one day I will.

 

[Watchdog]

Single actions are what got me started with handguns and I use one for hunting when I can. Even tend to shoot my Smiths single action a good part of the time! I wouldn't feel under armed in most situations if that was all I had. Guess I still got a little kid playing cowboy left in me.

I'd venture to say that everyone who bought single actions in their younger days had visions of facing down a bad guy out in a dusty street in some cow town, or in a smoke filled saloon that grew suddenly silent as you and the bad guy stepped away from the bar or stood up from the poker table.

 

[Qc Pistolero]

My first handgun ever,in 1977 was a Ruger SuperBlackhawk(couldn't come up with the $700 the pokerface guy was asking me for a model 29;was only making $165 a week then).I still got it and numerous other Rugers.My last one I spent 3 years looking for is a 5 1/2'' 45Colt/.45ACP convertible.When the dealer told me he had one,I didn't even wait for him to tell me the price;told him''I take it''.Probably cost me a 100$more because of that slip of the tongue but what the heck.I still got it and like it.
Now,if I could only come across a 5 1/2'' in .41 Mag...my tongue would probably slip again!

 

[squidsix]

I foolishly walk into Kittery Trading Post several times each week. They get hundreds of trade-ins a month. Their used gun selection and price is exceptionally good. (Their new prices are terrible)
They have about 40 single actions in there. On a bad day they have ten that I like. I bought three in one day when they had two convertibles and a Colt Navy for great prices.

 

[Valmet]

I have two Ruger single-actions...a Single-Six LW "Tri-color" and a Blackhawk.

 

[Xfuzz]

I reckon being born in Texas and with many of the old timers still favoring and packin SA's along with the old TV westerns had an big influence...

 

[ParadiseRoad]

...I remember a family vacation we took back before 1968...and the Gun Control Act of that year...

...we stopped at the General Store in Stonewall Colorado...that place was the ATF convenience store everyone jokes about now...

...you could put your money on the counter and walk out with a fifth of Whiskey...a pack of cigarettes...and a Ruger Blackhawk...no 4473...no background check...just cash on the counter...

...wasn't freedom nice?...

 

[Dieseltech56]

I'm due for another single action. I just recently traded away a 7.5" stainless super Blackhawk.

For now this is all I have. A 10.5" .357 Maximum

 

[Goldstar225]

I've owned probably a half dozen Ruger SA's. I like the looks of single actions and the way they feel in my hand. Unfortunately I suck when shooting them. Right now I don't own one but knowing myself, I'll eventually buy another in hopes that I'll do better........

 

[model3sw]

Smith & Wesson New Model 3 Targets are my favorite single action revolvers in any calibers but my 2, 8" 44 Russians are at the top of my list with a New Model 3 Target in .45 S&W Schofield as the king of the hill. I even have one that was converted to .22LR from either a .32-44 or .38-44 to .22LR and it is a blast. Functions perfectly and I could let my boys and grandson shoot it as a learning tool so they can get a "feel" for the New Model 3, before graduating up to larger calibers.

I have a cowboy shooter friend who I gifted a .32-44 Target just so he loads the .32-44s for me. The .32-44 is a PAIN because it is a .323, .32 caliber. I had the dies, loading tools and about 250 cases I collected over the yearsa. The .38-44s are easy to load for as are the .44 Russians and the .45 S&W Schofield.

You could have guess that Model 3s were my favorites by my screen name. "MODEL3SW"

But not, at all, ashamed to say I like the SA Rugers, too, especially an old Blackhawk in .357 and 2 old 22 SAA styles as well as one long barrel in .30 carbine.

I also have 2 Sauer SAA (early imports appx 1960s I think) in .22 and in .357 that I purchased many years back. While they are heavier than the Colts and not quite as balanced as the Rugers (I think) they are good, strong durable, accurate single actions. Of the few times I fired them they functioned flawlessly. I don't think I paid more than $250 for either one of the Sauers. I felt the manufacturer's name alone allowed it a modicum of respectablity and has not disappointed me.

I do also like (but not as much as the Rugers) my one and only Colt SAA ... a late 2nd Gen Colt .45 with a 7+1/2" barrel (Matt Dillon type barrel) that was a commemorative model from 1961-ish, that somebody had used and fired prior to my purchase, thus the commemorative value was "shot" (pun intended). But for the pittance I paid for it 25 years ago, it was a bargain. About 1/3 the price of an equivalent SAA (at that time) that was NOT a commemorative. It sill shoots the same as any other 2nd Gen SAA that is not a commemorative,

 

[Blind Boy]

Bisley model

My favorite, although refinished except for grips.

 

[The Norseman]

Single Action Revolvers

Special 44's

 

[k22fan]

My first .44 Magnum was a New Model Super Blackhawk (SBH) that I bought used in 1974 for $150. It was to hold me over until my name came up on the waiting list for an 8 3/8" Model 29-2. The wait to pay full retail for the S&W was 2 years & 9 months. After I got my 29 I sold my SBH. I wish I hadn't. While the 29 was a good revolver it never did group quite as tight and the SBH was a lot more comfortable to fire standard 240 grain Magnum loads through. My next SA was a stainless Ruger Old Army (ROA) which, after a decade, I traded for a .22-250 varmint rifle. I should have kept it as well. I have replaced both and have other single actions. All but one are Rugers. The 7 1/2" blued SBH was a classic sporting revolver and the ROA remains the best black powder hand gun ever made.

Even though I enjoyed the spaghetti westerns they did not make me want a single action. Hollywood actors setting off blanks by fanning the hammer looked idiotic then and still look stupid. Notice in the video linked above that Clint Eastwood fans 1 blank toward the opponent in the center, then 2 toward the actor on the right then takes down the two actors on the fence with only one blank.

 

[rbrbrb6]

I have one custom Smith & Wesson double action model 58 in the safe and all the rest of the revolvers are Ruger, Colt, USFA or Texas Longhorn Arms single actions. To say I am a fan is an understatement.

 

[RobertJ.]

Yes, I like them! I grew up shooting my dad's RBH in .41 Magnum. At this moment, these are my only single actions, the BH is a .45 Colt:

 

[jag312]

Unfortunately, I have only one USFA Single Action. They stopped production before I bought a second. I also have a Colt from 1896.

 

[Rastoff]

My first .44 Magnum was a New Model Super Blackhawk (SBH)...

The first handgun I ever bought was a New Model Super Blackhawk. I used it in a slow fire, center fire, indoor pistol match a few times. Shot .44SPL rounds in it and it still hurt my hand because I didn't know how to hold it properly. I managed to win the B class with it.

Sold that gun years ago. Probably should have kept it.

 

[Watchdog]

In the early- to mid-seventies, I carried an Old Model Ruger Super Blackhawk in a Safariland rig just like this one on every hunting, hiking, and camping trip I went on. This particular Super Blackhawk shipped in May of 1964.

Click on the photo to see it larger.

 

[Marshwheeling]

I just have the one, a Single Six convertible. I really enjoy shooting it, and take it along on nearly every trip to the range. It was really nice to have a few years ago when the enforced slow pace made scarce ammo last a lot longer.

 

[eveled]

I like them a lot. My favorites are an old model flattop .357, and a Lypsey's flattop convertible .45. nothing fancy just working guns. The new model .357 was my first and only handgun for a while, I never felt under armed.