Italian Single Action Revolvers

Jim Watson said:
Not unless the action has been "modernized" with transfer bar or MAYBE the retractile firing pin gimmick.
Ruger did not go over to a transfer bar action for the fun of it, they got tired of being sued by people who broke, overrode, or missed the "safety notch."
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well back to load one skip one for me then. No arguments here! I’ve only been into SAA for 2 years now
 
Durango_Dave said:
We are very safety conscious today but I heard from the Youtuber hosting InRangeTV that the Colt SAA was not intended to be loaded with only 5 rounds. They originally told owners to load up all six rounds and trust the half cock safety.
Anyone else hear that? Anyone have a copy of an original owners manual?
Click to expand...
This has been addressed at some length here, beta testing has proven that loading six is a bad idea. It may well be that the sixth chamber got a cartridge when the balloon was about to go up, but otherwise remained empty.
If your six-shooter absolutely, positively has to hold six, get a Ruger (or a Beretta/Uberti Stampede).
I remain skeptical of the retreating firing pin systems; only the transfer bar is 100% IMHO.
Moon
 
halfmoonclip said:
This has been addressed at some length here, beta testing has proven that loading six is a bad idea. It may well be that the sixth chamber got a cartridge when the balloon was about to go up, but otherwise remained empty.
If your six-shooter absolutely, positively has to hold six, get a Ruger (or a Beretta/Uberti Stampede).
I remain skeptical of the retreating firing pin systems; only the transfer bar is 100% IMHO.
Moon
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I"m not talking about anyone cambering 6 rounds today. I'm talking about 150 years ago. I hear that people in the late 1870's routinely carried 6 rounds. I heard that even Colt never told people to keep an empty chamber under the hammer.
 
Durango_Dave said:
I"m not talking about anyone cambering 6 rounds today. I'm talking about 150 years ago. I hear that people in the late 1870's routinely carried 6 rounds. I heard that even Colt never told people to keep an empty chamber under the hammer.
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I believe you are correct, based on conversations here. As I said, beta testing over the years proved this a bad idea, but it wasn't clear in 1873. BTW, I have a really nice replica of a Colt Open-top 71-72, and it doesn't even have a 'safety notch'. I'm guessing the originals did. Uberti wasn't taking any chances of someone using the notch.
Moon
 
Uberti, Pietta, Chiappa, Pedersoli are famous for replicas.
Even Beretta had a Colt 1873 replica that as far as I know was made by Uberti but had a transfer bar to carry six in the cylinder.
 
People back then weren't as safety conscious as people today. If you told somebody from that time to only load five they would have probably laughed at you. I expect to get some flack for saying this but I've been carrying single actions without transfer bars fully loaded for over 50 years. I have handled a lot of original Colt's and a few clones and have never seen a broken quarter cock notch.
 
Just a novel, but in the print version of 'The Searchers', Amos Edwards (Why did they change his name to Ethan for John Wayne to portray?) routinely carried five but loaded the sixth chamber if he anticipated trouble.
 
There was also the company Jager founded by Mr. Armando Piscetta that had a line of SAA revolvers replicas.
Now the company is called Nuova Jager but doesn't have SAA revolvers in their line anymore.
 
UncleEd said:
This should be fun. It's basically Pietta vs. Uberti.

Some say Uberti is superior or at least better.

Some say Pietta is superior or at least better.

I say get a Ruger New Vaquero. Which of course
isn't what was asked. But it's going to be said
sooner or later.

Uh oh, 1KPerDay was faster on the draw than me. :(
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Uberti is closer to originality when it comes to black powder. The Uberti 1858 Remington New Army is more in spec to legit guns than Pietta. I have both... both are great shooters. But Uberti is better.
 
When I was still young the accepted way to carry a SA was load 6 and put the hammer on the safety notch. I had a friend with a large scar on the back of his right leg from riding in an old army jeep with his single six in a holster chasing rabbits in an alfalfa field at night. Hit a bump, the hammer hit the jeep door frame, and bang resulting in a trip to a doctor to get the bullet removed and the cut sewn up.

I have gone to loading all my SA guns with 5 only. It's more to keep the rounds in the boxes I use because they carry 5 across even when shooting transfer bar guns. I loaded 6 for years as it was the accepted way but quit. I have tempted fate with bad results and am not going to do it again.
 
Last edited:
UncleEd said:
This should be fun. It's basically Pietta vs. Uberti.

Some say Uberti is superior or at least better.

Some say Pietta is superior or at least better.

I say get a Ruger New Vaquero. Which of course
isn't what was asked. But it's going to be said
sooner or later.

Uh oh, 1KPerDay was faster on the draw than me. :(
Click to expand...
Excellent summary. I think we’re done here.
 
Miami_JBT said:
Uberti is closer to originality when it comes to black powder. The Uberti 1858 Remington New Army is more in spec to legit guns than Pietta. I have both... both are great shooters. But Uberti is better.
Click to expand...
I think the 1858 Remington is a beautiful revolver. I've thought about getting the 1858 Conversion, that is set up for cartridges. .45 Colt, of course.

As for loading only 5, I load 6 at the range, it don't stay loaded very long. :p
 
I've had Uberti SAA style pistols for many years, and a number of them. They make great revolvers. I got a Pietta SAA in .32-20 in a trade with a friend about 6 years ago, and it's also as nice as the Ubertis, but action cycling/feel seemed not quite as smooth when I got it. I went through and polished things up, and lightened the mainspring, and now it's a very nice feeling gun.
My all time favorite SAA clone isn't an Italian, it's my American Western Arms .45 Colt that I've owned for a couple decades. They're nicer than most real Colt SAA sixguns, and as buttery smooth action as I've ever handled. I love that gun!
 
The Italians make some fine guns, they've only been at it for 500yrs. :p

There are really only two major manufacturers now, Uberti and Pietta. Uberti has been building cartridge guns FAR longer than Pietta. Both have incrementally improved their products over the years and greatly over the last decade. The new guns, including those produced during COVID, are fantastic. The only thing I avoid is Uberti's retractable firing pin but there's a fix for that too, which I have been slowly accumulating hammer/trigger sets for future posterity.

I shoot and carry these guns all the time. Learn to leave the hammer down on an empty chamber. Do it every time, whether you're at the range or going to the woods. Do it until it's second nature and anything else feels weird. You'll have a more harmonious outcome. Do it enough and you'll find you've gotten pretty good at it without even realizing it.

IMG_9583b.jpg


IMG_3067b.jpg
 
doubleh said:
When I was still young the accepted way to carry a SA wad load 6 and put the hammer on the safety notch. I had a friend with a large scar on the back of his right leg from riding in an ols army jeep with his single six in a holster chasing rabbits in an alfalfa field at night. Hit a bump, the hammer hit the jeep door frame, and bang resulting in a trip to a doctor to get the bullet removed and the cut sewn up.

I have gone to loading all my SA guns with 5 only. It's more to keep the rounds in the boxes I use because they carry 5 across even when shooting transfer bar guns. I loaded 6 for years as it was the accepted way but quit. I have tempted fate with bad results and am not going to do it again.
Click to expand...
Colt 1873s and their clones don't have a "safety notch." The 1851 and 1860 did as did the Remington 1858. But not the Colt 1873.
 
5-SHOTS said:
Even Beretta had a Colt 1873 replica that as far as I know was made by Uberti but had a transfer bar to carry six in the cylinder.
Click to expand...
Yep, the Beretta/Uberti Stampede. It's a really great gun; sold mine to a buddy. The transfer bar bugged me for some reason.
It's the way to go if you want something period, but without the period correct issues. Much safer than the 'retreating firing pin' which seems less than failsafe.
Moon
 
Durango_Dave said:
C-O-L-T
The four clicks of the SAA. Doesn't that first click hold the hammer off the primer?
Click to expand...

That is what I always thought. It been so long since I owned a Colt 1873 I can't really remember. The number of clicks a SA has means nothing to me now as I can no longer hear them. Transfer bars no longer bother me either although I still prefer Rugers without them. Time marches on and with it come changes. I certainly wouldn't want to have to travel by 1873 methods or be subjected to the medical practices of those years. I can be some what nostalgic about firearms but appreciate what science has brought us in the intervening years.
 
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