H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619

If you collect Single Action Army revolvers, not for the investment potential, but more for the ability to shoot an otherwise enjoy them, then sometimes guns that have little to no, "collector value," can make for a great way to build your collection. Such guns tend to be relatively inexpensive compared to their more nice looking contemporaries, and they are at times very easy to find. For example... This is a First Generation gun made in 1885. It's a .44-40. It's mechanically perfect. But it is as ugly as sin. It was described by the dealer who sold it as having a "bad chrome refinish," and that is an insult to bad finishes everywhere. Pretty much all of the markings have been scrubbed away, the trigger hammer and ejector housing have been gold plated, and the original grips, as you can see, are badly worn with age. But it shoots like a dream. It letters as being blued at the factory. I briefly considered having it restored, but you know, I actually like how it looks, especially the parts covered in gold. It gives it some curious character. I did replace the grips (but kept the originals) with reproduction first gen ones. I got it about five years ago, for five hundred bucks., which is dirt cheap for a shootable 1st Gen antique. Another interesting thing I got more recently is this one... This 1910 vintage pistol is very strange. I got it late in 2025 for $1200, and if you look at it closely, you can see that it's a Bisley frame that has been modified to be more of a standard SAA. That in and of itself is unusual, but not unheard of. John Wayne had at least one such pistol in his collection and used it on one of his movies. But what's really odd is how via a new barrel of unknown origin and some sleeves, this is now a .22 Hornet. That makes this quite probably unique. Not "valuable" but highly unusual. I am waiting on a letter to tell me its original configuration. Another modified from its original configuration is another antique... This one letters to 1881 as a .44-40. It letters as nickeled. But as you can see, the ejector housing is blued, and the as you can't see, it's been converted to .32-20. Colt has no record of the change, so who know who/when it was done, or why. I understand this was a common change in the 1920's, and a person I knew who was familiar with these things is of the unverified opinion that this is when it was done. He felt that if it was not done at the factory, whoever did it, did a great job. I got this for $1700 in 2007. And finally, I'll share this one... This Second Generation .45 cost me $700 in 2010. Colt's website dates it to 1971, and I am waiting on a letter. For such a newer gun, it is strange to me that is has no original finish left, but that's what allowed me to get it so inexpensively. In fact, I can see this gun making a trip to Turnbull someday, if funds would ever allow. Time will tell. Now, I think all of these guns, if they looked better and were more original, would have likely been way out of my price range. But because their so called, "collector value" was gone, or at least greatly diminished, I could afford them, and that's a good thing. I can't be the only collector who is actually interested in so called, non collectable guns. Or am I?

I will echo that sentiment. Small revolvers, are a lot of fun. When I was deciding on what my "Small Iron" would be that I paired with my "Big Iron" I worked though a lot of possibilities. See this thread for more details...

Oh, well... Pietta replica of .31 C&B with .32 S&W conversion cylinder S&W 1-1/2 in the same caliber.

Yeah, but that's an autoloader. Not SASS legal!

Hmm... I can not dispute anything you said. But, using the exact same reasoning, the Ruger Vaquero would not be legal either. It's not a documented replica, it only sort of resembles the Colt. The more I ponder this question, the more additional conditions it raises.

.22 Magnum is nothing to sneeze at. It's actually got a pretty good bite. That being said, yeah, if you want something bigger, that's perfectly understandable. That being said, I think it was Jeff Cooper, of all people, who said that the man with a .22 in his pocket is better armed than the man with a .45 in his bedstand at home. All of that being said, since, they'd probably fit, I'd love to see a version of these in .32 S&W. I've seen it argued that .22 Magnum is actually more potent, but the .32 would be SASS legal!

My father bought my mother one of those for her birthday many years ago. Although, hers is a .22 Short. It came in a nice small presentation case. Mom was all excited, thought it might be a fancy necklace or something. Then she opened it and saw the pistol. They laughed about it for years.

Nothing on their website or Facebook page suggest this.

I think pictures will help. This is the gunbelt and holster I use for my Buntline. You can see how it's centered to the "dip," and how it is angled forward a bit. And this is with the gun mostly drawn. By pulling it closer to horizonal as it is drawn, it clears the holster more easily. I do have another belt somewhere with a dip on each side for when I use 2 Buntlines. But what is even more fun is when I use both Buntline holsters, and after the Buntline comes out of the first holster, a Sheriff's Model comes out of the second. Everyone who didn't see me getting ready at the loading table is usually shocked.

I have some very generic holsters that I use for everything from 4-3/4 to 7-1/2 inches. They hang straight down, and for me, they work just fine. But if I am shooting guns with LONG barrels, I use something a bit different. When I am shooting my Big Iron with the 10" barrel, or my 12" Buntlines, I use a holster that was designed to be a crossdraw holster, but I wear it strong side. The holster then hangs pointed inward/pointed forward, and allows for pulling the pistol out without having to pull it "all the way up" like you'd have to if it was hanging straight down. I don't know if I'm describing this well, but it does help. Also, I tend to hang the holster on a belt that has a kind of a "dip" where they holster sits instead of being a perfectly straight belt, so the holster hangs a little lower. I suppose that these features that make it easier to draw a 12" barrel would offer even more help with a 7.5" one.

The Ruger Old Army is a modernized version of the Remington New Army, commonly referred to as the Model 1858. 58's did have SAA style sights. Its not a Rogers and Spencer.

I plan to get several more from them. Basically, pistols for which I do not have the original box so I have something to keep them in. I will get these "fitted" cases that they already for real Colts, S&W's and Remingtons in the collection. Replica guns or guns for other brands will likely get their generic cases that are REALLY inexpensive for what they are. Plan it is to get Red for real or replica Colts, Blue for S&W, Green for Remington and Black felt for anything else. I may get a "custom" dual case for a pair of Colt Bisley's I have, but don't think I'll do much else in the way of custom made cases. But I will splurge for locking latches and carry handles.

If tuning the gun makes it work better for you, do it. If you think it works just fine as is, don't do it. Most of my guns are stock, or pretty close to it. The only guns I have had tuned were ones that were so rough from the factory as to be almost unusable. Those have included an Armi San Marco Model 92, rifle, and a Colt NRA Centennial revolver. In the opposite extreme, I have an Uberti 66 that was so slicked up and the springs so lightened that the hammer didn't fall fast enough to set off the primers. I asked Happy Trails if he could return it to "more or less stock," so that it would work. He did. It's still probably the "slickest" rifle I have, some things can't be undone, but I had it taken back to a functional level, so to speak. I did get an action job for a Uberti/Taylor's 86 that was overly stiff out of the box. More recently, I got a replica of the Remington 1863 .31 Cap and Ball made by Pietta. Horribly made gun. Had the gunsmith tune it up nice. Other guns only get needed repairs. So in the end, do what you think it needed for your guns according to your preferences.

Well, I have a great update on status of my Big Iron, and Small Iron revolvers. I had a custom case made for them by the good folks at Hampel's Woodland Products, https://www.hampelswoodlandproducts.com/ and I have to say that I am very pleased with the results. The carry handle and locking latches did add to the cost, but not a lot, I think they were worth it. They make this a travel case, as well as a storage one. Well, maybe not AIRLINE travel, but it is good for in the back of the van with the rest of the luggae. And you can put a lotta nice stuff in it. The Big Iron, the Small Iron (with ,32 Colt cylinder installed, the second cylinder in .32 S&W Long, and a box of ammo in all three calibers along with my Arizona Ranger badge $175, shipped. I don't know if I'll get any more custom cases, but some of their pre-made specific and generic ones for sure. So the only thing left to do, I suppose, is send the pistols off to Turnbull to have them done up nice. At the very least, The Small Iron needs to have those ugly PVC grips replaced, probably with wooden ones to match the Big Iron, but seeing them both engraved with really nice finish is something very tempting. Sure, I'm investing a lot more into these things than they are "worth" but I'm having fun with them. '

I can understand returning a gun to factory original specs for various reason. But I don't understand why they will change a gun from factory specs to add something to it it did not originally have. Seems to me to be unneeded tampering.

Do you have a pic of what the old bore looks like?

I have CCW permits from 4 states. They cover most of the country. I avoid the places where none of them are valid. If I must travel though such a place, I make sure everything is stowed according to FOPA, and do not stop except for gas, or the bathroom.

Don't know where I got it, but I have 1 case with a small pistol primer amongst my thousands of .45 ACP cases. Every time it pops up in my to be used ammo, I always seem to recover it, and thus reload it. It's weird, but I don't really worry about it.

So nothing worked right. Fascinating! I hope the stages were designed by a Super Genius.

I noticed the TNT. Is it ACME brand?

These small .32 and .38 revolvers are fascinating to me on so many levels. Here's another thread about them if you'd like to see some pics of some of mine...

Fair enough. The single actions are harder to find than the contemporary DA's. So when I saw you had one, I thought I'd take a shot. Good luck with it being a beloved friend on the wall. Those are good things to have.

Got pics?

I've been looking for one of those. If you really think it's a POS and are willing to part with it, PM me. (Assuming that in spite of its S-yness that it still shoots okay...)

That's a good point. I do have some WWII British surplus .38/200, and it has no headstamps of any kind. I understand that an ammo maker in India is still making factory new .38/200 as the cartridge and the guns that shoot it are still in wide use there. I'd be curious to know what, if any, headstamps that ammo has. Interesting trivia: In the 25th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, instead of the Browning Hi Power he carried back when he was a regular on the show 15 years earlier, was carrying a Webley Mark IV .38 that was implied to be his personal property. At once point, when he was being told about all the special weapons and ammunition that UNIT had to fight various monsters and aliens, he asks if they have any silver bullets. When he is told no, he orders them to get some. Later in the episode, someone hands him a box of silver bullet cartridges for his Webley. The box is clearly marked... .38 S&W. (And yes, he uses them dispatch the monster villain later in the show.) So it seems that even in the UK, getting .38/200 ammo is problematic.