Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Current MFG Colt Peacemakers

In movie parlance, that is what is called "literary license."

L.W.

One of those new Tri-Star Shotguns ! 😜

Perhaps.

Drilling..........

There was a video about the guns used in the movie and, yes, to my shock they actually did have a triple barrel shotgun that was used. It was set up like a drilling IIRC and looked normal until they broke the action. Wish I could remember where I saw it but it did exist.

Triple barrel shotguns did exist back in the day, but they were EXTREMELY uncommon...To the point to where even today there's only a handful in the US. John Dickson famously made a 3 barrel gun, and an aquantance of mine actually made a second one for the John Dickson company some 130 years later; so we know there are at least 2 that wear the Dickson name, but those are three barrels all side by side.

As for other 3 barrel guns, most were made on the Continent; and most were made in Germany. Based on a Drilling frame, they were special order guns and it was a VERY RARE special order at that. Interestingly, what you'll find with those guns is...The top two barrels typically have NO CHOKE, and the barrels are regulated for round ball, making them a "Ball & Shot" gun. The bottom barrel is almost always choked Full, but in rare cases can even be a different gauge.

So while not wholly impossible to have a 3 barrel gun, its unlikely in the extreme.

SAA's and Python's are typically going for over MSRP, so finding a new one for MSRP would be a real find. I paid $1,600 for mine and it was one year old, but appeared to NIB unfired. If you shop for new SAA's you tend to find them right around the $2,200 range for brand new in the box...It sucks, but that's just the way it is.

Of course, if you're patient and shop around you can certainly beat the hell out of that price, as I certainly did.

Is it worth it?

Considering the SAA is basically a semi-custom pistol... Meaning, they're made in very small batches, hand assembled and finished by the most senior assemblers, and the overall general fit and finish is considerably higher than most out of the box revolver; I'd say $1,700- $1,800 is a pretty fair price. My revolver is perfect in every way except for the trigger which did have a little creep. I quickly fixed that.

While I have only owned a few Colt SAA's, I have to say I'm VERY impressed with the workmanship on mine; it's unusually good. Perhaps all are made just as well, probably so; I just have a sample of one. What I can say is... Over the entire span of production, this is the most accurate SAA I have ever picked up. What's more, sight regulation on my particular Colt is perfect, and that's RARE in my personal experience. Most don't really shoot to point of aim, but most do shoot pretty darned accurate. This one is wicked accurate (best group so far is 1.7" at 25 yards) and sight regulation is perfect...Yee-haw!!!

My "guess" is, my experience is probably typical for newly manufactured SAA's; and why shouldn't it be? The tools available for manufacture and quality maintenance are beyond the wildest dreams of Samuel Colt. It's not the accuracy that surprises me...yeah mine is a bit more accurate than average. It's the sight regulation...I'd love to know how they're doing it these days because this one is DEAD ON!!

I have also noticed the newly produced Uberti's and Ruger Vaquero's almost always shoot either dead on point of aim, or so close that few bother to mess with it. I'd love to know how they're getting it so perfectly right these days. I mean, it sounds so easy, but it's not.

Kevin, this Cimarron of mine shoots point of aim, too.

My only complaint with the Cimarrons (made by Uberti of Italy) is that they go the cheap route with the hammer spur checkering. It's not hand checkered. Some kind of machined process that just doesn't look right compared to a real Colt. Otherwise, they are amazingly nice SAA clones.

For the past 10 years or so Uberti has switched to laser for cutting the hammer checkering; I agree, it looks like crap. Considering the cost, they give you a LOT of value for the money, but they do cut some corners to bring you that cost. Regardless, I personally think very highly of Uberti and I'm V E R Y happy with the one I bought my son (I may have to tempt him with a trade some day:)

I would love to understand their CCH process. It's not a bone charcoal process, it's a chemical process. But of the chemical processes, Uberti's look WAY better than everyone elses. Compare newer Uberti's to the faux CCH on a Ruger. Look at the CCH on Uberti's 1873 Wincheters; it's really nice. I'd love to know how they do that with a chemical process. Probably involves Eye of Newt, and a Virgin Sacrafice.

I’ve seen a video of the Uberti color case hardening process. It involves super heating and dipping. They are actually red hot when dipped. I don’t recall what they are dipped in. Of course it’s not the traditional process.

Here’s the video.

I recently acquired a 4 1/2" Standard Manufacturing "SAA" in 45 Colt. It is easily the equivalent of my USFA Flattop Target 44 Special/Russian and I would actually place it better. I have just put together loads using the 270 SAA over 4227 but have yet to get it out. Hopefully next week.

Yeah, I've seen that video too, and that's what's peaking my interested. The "normal" way the faux CCH is done is to heat the metal and dab it with different types of bluing solutions (this gives you blues, blacks, and rust colors...but mostly blues and blacks). I've done that a couple of times and I can clearly see if I practiced it enough, it would start to look downright decent. But Uberti's dipping chemical process is next level slick.

When it comes to gunsmithing & gunmaking, I'm always dying to "look behind the curtain" to understand how its done... Just fascinating to a guy with my particular sickness.

Oh that's just gorgeous!!!

Hey correct my memory here... Did I hear Standard has stopped making their SAA clones? If so that's really sad; they are SUPER nice! So any chance I can talk you into posting a photo of your flattop target? I have a thing for those.

Very nice. Great color case hardening job. Yeah, Standard Manufacturing SAAs are at least the equivalent to the USFA SAAs, and might even edge out the Colts in quality.

But are they four times better than my 4.25" SAA clone? Perhaps more like 25% better.

What you’re seeing in the video is simply liquid carburizing. It’s a method of case hardening that consists of soaking the parts (usually a fairly low carbon steel like 1018 or 1020) in a cyanide salt bath at critical temperature until the desired depth of case is obtained, then quenching in a brine solution. The colors obtained are just a byproduct of the process. This is a process that’s been common for more years than any of us have been around. The other, coloring, processes you reference are not really case hardening processes. They’re just ways to fake the appearance of case hardening on pieces that have (probably) obtained their hardness via the investment casting process.

OMG you’re right!!! It’s the same process that Stevens used over 100 years ago...how did I not recognize that?

Dude, you da man!!!

Hard for me to have missed it, Kevin, what with having done quite a bit of it myself. I've also done a bit of pack carburizing and individual small parts with an acetylene torch adjusted to a carburizing flame. It's all good!