On the Colt Single Action Army what is

WB
[subject]
Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 20:19 (2069 days ago)

the favored barrel length? The three classic length choices; 4-3/4", 5-1/2", or 7-1/2"? Which one are you, pick only one?

5.5

Derek
[subject]
Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 20:33 (2069 days ago) @ WB

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4-3/4

Woody
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Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 21:28 (2069 days ago) @ Derek

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Ditto on 4 3/4"

Amede
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Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 07:27 (2069 days ago) @ Woody

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I've had the others but never a 4-3/4"

WB
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 07:32 (2069 days ago) @ Amede

I was looking hard at .32-20 but since my .44-40 carbine came in I have been lured by the old charm of cartridge commonality. And the .44 would afford some greater use past just fun shooting.

I've had single actions with various barrel lengths ..

Jim Taylor
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 08:52 (2069 days ago) @ WB

3 1/2" to 8" barrels. All are fun. All work well. When I was younger I could draw a 7 1/2" single action as fast as a 4 3/4" ... though those days are long gone. There are some videos in someone's closet of me doing quick-draw work with a 7 1/2" Ruger .45 and full power 300 gr. loads. Also throwing bowling pins up in the air and shattering them with the same loads. Also of Mike Venturino and me doing quick-draw on bowling pins on a table.

For the longest time I had only 7 1/2" SA

Amede
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 09:36 (2069 days ago) @ Jim Taylor

then I procured some 5.5 and 4.75 guns. I find the 4.75" shoot just as well as the others and are easier packing. For heavy hunting loads I use a 6-7.5 length but any more I find that a 255-280 gr 45 colt bullet at 1000-1100 fps will kill anything I need to kill, recoil is snappy but not heavy.

Yessir. I packed a 4 3/4" a lot on horseback.

Jim Taylor
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 09:55 (2069 days ago) @ Amede

It was up out of the way and worked well. I found the 850 - 950 fps loads worked just fine with the Keith SWC in .45 Colt.

I sorta hate to admit it but other than in

Gary Reeder
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 17:57 (2069 days ago) @ Jim Taylor

an estate where it was sold real quick, I never owned a Colt SAA nor really had the urge to own one. I was overseas for several years when all the cowboy TV series were out so I missed all them. Most of the John Wayne movies I saw for the first time in the last couple of years after we got the Western Movie channel. Hunting was always my thing so I wanted an adjustable sighted magnum, preferably in a caliber that started with a 4.

Nothing wrong with that.

Jim Taylor
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 18:34 (2068 days ago) @ Gary Reeder

I grew up with Elmer Keith stories and a Dad who shot long range with Colt Single Actions and Smith & Wesson 1917's. I didn't know it couldn't be done until I got older and met other shooters.

got a royal blue 4 3/4 45 long colt

dewayne rayner
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 16:43 (2069 days ago) @ Jim Taylor

over the weekend made in 1989 black powder style frame
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That is NICE!

Jim Taylor
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 18:34 (2068 days ago) @ dewayne rayner

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YES it is nice!

WB
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Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 19:59 (2068 days ago) @ dewayne rayner

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7 1/2" for me.

JPL
[subject]
Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 20:38 (2069 days ago) @ WB

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The 5 1/2 for me.

Jeff Spencer
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Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 21:07 (2069 days ago) @ WB

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I pick One ............. of Each.

Jim Taylor
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Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 21:09 (2069 days ago) @ WB

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It's like choosing your favorite child.

WB
[subject]
Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 21:18 (2069 days ago) @ Jim Taylor

The long one is nice, and the short one is handy. Is the middle one be best or is it playing it safe, an easy compromise?

Matt Dillon sported a 7.5 (actually a Great Western nickel), John Wayne a 4-3/4?! I know I saw bunches of 5.5 but can't remember them.

where did you see that it was a nickle SAA?

gary reeder
[subject]
Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 23:19 (2069 days ago) @ WB

His SAA and holster was supposedly auctioned off a while back with a starting bid of $50,000. And it was blue, a faded blue but still blue, not nickel. In the article I read it was a Colt SAA.
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That's great! I did read in an old magazine

WB
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 06:15 (2069 days ago) @ gary reeder

it was a Great Western, so hard to tell at a glance. Those look like Great Western grips for sure. The hammer is the big tell but with it down...

I sure thought I remembered it distinctly nickel from the show, different than everyone else's. Plus it was a big 7-1/2".

Where is Newly when you need him?! There is so much speculation and misinformation it's hard to tell for sure.

One source:
"The production company rented several Colt revolvers for Arness during his 20-year run, and this particular one was noted in the Stembridge records as being rented to the show in 1961.

Gunsmoke and firearms aficionados may also remember Dillon using a Great Western revolver. That was true, in the early part of the series. After contacting Colt and finding out the company had no plans to resurrect the single action Army, Bill Wilson and partners formed the Great Western Arms Company in 1954 and reproduced an almost-exact clone to be used in Western movies and TV shows, including Gunsmoke. Two years after the Great Western was introduced, Colt brought back the single action Army, and the company, unable to beat the real deal, finally folded in 1962. Even so, John Wayne brought Great Western back to the big screen, when he used the single action Army as his main handgun in 1976’s The Shootist. His saddle from that film sold at High Noon as well."

5&1/2. I believe it was either most popular or most common

steve todd
[subject]
Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 23:41 (2069 days ago) @ Jim Taylor

If your going to hunt with it 7&1/2.
If you quick draw 4&3/4
For me the 5&1/2 is handy enough, the 4&3/4 looks best, my $.02

I don’t have a dog in this fight but I. Wish

Sid R
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 10:54 (2069 days ago) @ WB

I had 44/40 in 4.75.

Here’s one for ya...

Curt
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 11:39 (2069 days ago) @ Sid R

I like the 4 3/4” length HOWEVER...

Curt
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 11:46 (2069 days ago) @ WB

My favorite Colt is this 5 1/2”... that barrel band and new 44 spl barrel/cylinder was added by a little company called King Gunsight in their heyday... the original gun was shipped in 1907 before the 44spl barrels were available.

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Delicious! Those modifications represent

WB
[subject]
Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 13:57 (2069 days ago) @ Curt

the evolution of hand gunning in it's early stages beginning to transition into what it is today. A truly pivotal, beautiful, example. Should be in JT's book!

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