I’m rather hoping you don’t intend to be so abrupt.
As you will note, I referred specifically to clones of the SAA. And then I found one. With the 7.5” barrel.
Didn't think I was being abrupt, if I was I apologize.
Simply stating the facts. By 1935 Colt was confident the steel they were using was strong enough for the pressures of the 357 Magnum cartridge.
To quote Jerry Kuhnhausen in his
Colt Single Action Revolvers, A Shop Manual, Volumes 1 & 2, "1st Generation 357 Magnum cylinders were made from fine grain, higher tensile strength ordnance gun quality steel. These cylinder blanks, identified by a 5 pointed star imprinted on the front, turn up on other caliber S.A.A.s made during, and, after 1935."
Most of the clones we are talking about here are made in Italy, and all firearms manufactured in Italy are proofed in government run proof houses to standards that are slightly stricter than American proof standards. So any Italian made SAA clone can be fired with SAAMI spec 357 Magnum ammunition.
some practical limits, .357 will push primers out much harder. That means better hardening of the firing pin area, or a bushing.
Colt has been pressing a hardened steel insert into the frame of their revolvers around the firing pin hole for as long as I am aware of.
This is the bushing pressed into the frame of a 2nd Gen Colt that was made in 1968. I will have to check my 1st Gens later to see if they also have such a bushing.
The last time I bought a clone was about 20 years ago. I bought it used, an Uberti Cattleman. It was probably only a few years old at the time. It did not have a hardened bushing pressed into the frame the way a Colt does. Yes, this did cause a problem, but not from primers being slammed back hard, the problem was the repeated slamming of the firing pin through the hole in the frame raised a burr which interfered with the cylinder being able to turn freely when loaded. No idea if current Ubertis have a bushing pressed into the frame or not.
It seems to me that most buyers of such things are either looking either for "A gun like John Wayne used"
I can tell you lots of newbie SASS shooters just have to have a 45. Lots. Until their first match when they find out how much a 45 recoils with standard ammunition. Many of them wind up selling off their 45s and replacing them with 357 Mag revolvers and shooting mouse fart 38 Special reloads for light recoil and fast follow up shots.
Personally I like 45s. I like 7 1/2" barrels and 4 3/4" barrels. To me a 5 1/2" barrel on a SAA or clone just looks boring, even though it was always the best selling barrel length with Colts. Of course I'm not trying to conceal those revolvers with 7 1/2" barrels. And I only shoot them with cartridges loaded with Black Powder, no mouse fart loads at my house.