Howdy
My first post here. Thought I would post a few photos of my SAAs.
This one is a 2nd Gen, made in 1968, 45 Colt caliber. It looks much older than it is because a previous owner stripped all the finish off of it, including most of the Case Hardening colors on the frame. I came across it at my lgs about ten years ago. I got it for a good price because it is a parts gun; the trigger guard and backstrap came from another gun. Lucky for me the dealer is an honest guy. Another interesting feature on this gun is the little bit of metal that has been welded onto the front sight. It is quite visible in this photo. Probably added after somebody took too much off the sight. This is probably my favorite gun in my entire collection. I love the feel of the short barrel, and it has a lot of character.
This one is a late 2nd Gen, it was made in 1973. 45 Colt caliber. This one came with an extra cylinder, also chambered for 45 Colt, but having 'long flutes'. You can see the flutes are slightly longer on the extra cylinder, and it has the Black Powder bevel on it. It is a little bit more accurate with the 'regular' cylinder. I lettered this one a bunch of years ago and found out that it originally left the factory with a 12" barrel, but was returned shortly and fitted with the 7 1/2" barrel.
This is the pair of them. They are my usual Main Match revolvers in CAS. They only get fired with Black Powder, I never put Smokeless through them anymore. You can see there is a bit of 'browning' happening to the ejector housing and the barrel on the short gun from all that BP over the years. I usually shoot them with a case full of FFg under a 250 grain bullet. Recoil is stout, particularly with the short one. Sometimes I throttle back a bit and fire them with Schofield rounds and only about 28 grains of FFg under a 200 grain bullet. Recoil is a bit milder.
I have always had a soft spot for the Bisley model. I found this one last year. It is my only 1st Gen so far, made in 1906. It has been re-barreled and has a new cylinder chambered for 44 Special, clearly it did not leave the factory that way. The grips are clearly not original either, but they are very cool. I usually shoot 44 Russians out of it, loaded with Black Powder of course. It has not been tricked out inside at all, the hammer and trigger pull are a bit stiff, but I will probably leave it just as it is. Recoil with only about 20 grains of FFg under a 200 grain bullet with 44 Russian is very mild.
Just for fun, here are the 7 1/2" 2nd Gen and the Bisley together for comparison.
