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William Mason, chief engineer at Colt, came up with one of the grandest sixguns of all time, the 1873 Single Action Army. I’ve often maintained the SAA is so good Mason must’ve fallen asleep at the drawing board and some supernatural force drew up the plans in front of him as he slept.

Colt’s new sixgun was chambered in a new cartridge—the .45 Colt with a 255-grain bullet over 40 grains of black powder. Barrel length was 7-1/2″, it had a top strap and the grip frame was borrowed from the 1851 Navy. This was a very powerful pistol, and when I have duplicated the load with modern components in old-style brass, muzzle velocity is right at 900 fps.

The US Army did not only adopt this new revolver, but it also became a favorite among civilians. Colt would produce more than 350,000 Single Action Army revolvers from 1873 to 1940. Beginning in 1878 it was also chambered in the cartridges used by the Winchester 1873 levergun—first, the .44 Winchester Centerfire, then the .38 WCF, and the .32 WCF. During the course of production of what is now known as the 1st Generation Colts, these four cartridges were the most popular and in the order mentioned. More than 30 other chamberings were also offered.

By 1940 demand for the Colt Peacemaker had dropped and the machinery was worn out, so Colt removed it from production. Thanks to the demand produced by old Westerns on the new medium of television in the early 1950s such a demand rose the first of the 2nd Generation Colts arrived in December 1955. This time production would last a much shorter period ending in 1974 when machinery was once again worn out.

This time the shutdown period was much shorter and the 3rd Generation Colts arrived in 1976. Since then, the Colt Single Action Army has followed a somewhat strange path sometimes offered as a production gun and other times from the custom shop. The bad news is quality has also been spotty, however, the great news is current Colt Single Action Army sixguns are of excellent quality with close attention paid to fit and finish. Colt has added new machinery and adopted the attitude of wanting to produce the finest Single Action possible. I’d say they’ve succeeded.

I received three test sample SAAs in the three standard barrel lengths of 4-3/4″, 5-1/2″, and 7-1/2″ in three different chamberings. Colt is currently offering the Single Action Army in .45 Colt, .357 Magnum, .38 Special and the three WCF chamberings. The latter three are now better known as .44-40, .38-40 and .32-20. It is my understanding these latter designations came about in the 1880s when Marlin wanted to chamber their rifles in these cartridges without using the name Winchester on their barrels.

Before we look at each of the three SAAs separately, a few general remarks are appropriate. All three are excellently finished with a beautiful deep blue and the breathtaking case hardened colors Colt has long been known for. Metal to metal fit is excellent with no overhanging edges such as where the triggerguard meets the bottom of the mainframe. The grips are the standard checkered rubber black eagles, and are also fitted exceptionally well with no sharp edges hanging over, and the ears of the top of the backstrap and the curve of the back of the hammer are also fitted very well.

I was especially impressed with the lockup of the cylinder. The bolt is fitted to the notches in the cylinder, the cylinder is fitted to the base pin, and the base pin is fitted to the frame so there is very little side-to-side or front to back movement of the cylinder. All three sixguns are very well timed. An old test to check for timing is to place light thumb pressure on the cylinder producing resistance as the hammer is cocked. If the timing is off the cylinder will not lock completely into battery. All three cylinders passed the test. These guns are put together right!

The .44-40

Let’s look at them individually starting with the shortest barrel length. The 4-3/4″, known as the Civilian Model in the 1800s, is in .44-40. Trigger pull on this one was set at 4-1/8 pounds, barrel/cylinder gap is .006″, and the cylinder throats are all a uniform .429″. There is a lot of variation found in Single Actions, both domestic and replicas chambered in .44-40. I have found some as tight as .426″ and my 2nd Generation Peacemaker Centennial Commemorative and early 3rd Generation are set at .427″ and .429″, respectively. As a bullet caster, I tailor bullets to fit particular sixguns and always keep loads on hand with bullets in both diameters.

Shooters, especially those not familiar with the traditional fixed sights found on Single Actions often ask, “Why can’t they sight in these guns for me at the factory?” They are asking the impossible, as there are so many variables. We all see and hold differently, point of impact will vary according to the load used, and even the lighting conditions will affect where the bullet strikes the target. Because of the latter, I never try to sight in a sixgun under indoor lighting. I have also noticed if you spend a lot of time shooting during the day, the point of impact will change slightly as the angle of the sun changes. If you’re really lucky a Single Action will shoot right to point of aim with the selected load right out of the box. Anyone this lucky should be buying lottery tickets.

Having said all this, the .44-40, in my hands using my eyes and my loads, shoots approximately 1″ to the right and 3/4″ low at 20 yards. Both of these are an easy fix thanks to my friend Denis Fletcher, a retired engineer, who is now a pretty good machinist. He made a barrel vise for me, which fits the trailer hitch on my Silverado. We have become experts at twisting barrels and it won’t take much to bring this one right into line and, once the load is selected, file just enough off the top of the front sight to bring point of aim in perfect alignment with point of impact.

I have pretty much standardized on 200- to 225-grain bullets for the .44-40 using 8.0 grains of either Unique or Universal or 8.5 grains of Power Pistol. In the relatively short-barreled .44-40 these loads are in the 850 to 900 fps category, making them adequately powerful while still very pleasant shooting.

The .38-40

Finally we come to the 7-1/2″ .38-40. My first Colt, my first centerfire sixgun, was a .38-40 and it has been a favorite cartridge ever since. (OK, so I have many favorite cartridges.) This SAA has a trigger pull of 4-1/2 pounds, barrel/cylinder gap of .007″, and cylinder chamber throats are a uniform .399″. This one will definitely need a barrel tweaking as it shoots 2″ to the right for me and 3/4″ low.

In a properly set up sixgun, the .38-40 is a very accurate cartridge. It got a bad rap in the early days simply because chamber throats and barrel diameters did not always match up very well. This is no longer the case. My standard load for the .38-40 is 8.0 grains of Universal or Unique under a 180-grain cast bullet. Muzzle velocities are in the 1,000 to 1,100 fps, again, resulting in a powerful but pleasant shooting load. All test results are in the accompanying chart and reveal what an excellent performer this Colt Single Action really is.

All three of these are test guns on loan, however, all three of them are not going back. I will definitely purchase one of them (there is no way the .38-40 will ever leave my hands), possibly two, and if finances are in line, all three. I can’t give them any finer recommendation than that.

Single Action Army
Maker: Colt Mfg. Co.
545 New Park Ave.
West Hartford, CT 06110
(860) 236-6311, www.coltsmfg.com
Action Type: Single Action
Caliber: .32-20, .38-40, .44-40 (tested) .45 Colt, .357 Magnum, .38 Special
Capacity: 6*
Barrel Length: 4-3/4″, 5-1/2″, 7-1/2″
Overall Length: 10-1/4″, 11″, 13″
Weight: 39 ounces (varies)
Finish: Blue/Case Hardened Frame, full nickel
Sights: Fixed
Grips: Checkered black eagle
Price: $1,290, $1,490 (nickel)
*For safety, this revolver must be carried with the hammer down on an empty chamber, reducing capacity to five.

Black Hills Ammunition
P.O. Box 3090, Rapid City, SD 57709
(605) 348-5150, www.black-hills.com

Walt Ostin of Custom Gun Leather
39-1260 Fisher Rd. RR 2
Cobble Hill, BC, VOR ILO Canada
(250) 743-9015

For those who regularly pray to the silver stream from the melting pot, there’s a fairly new technique that is either loved by some or hated like the plague by others. There appears to be no in-between. Of course, we’re talking about powder coating cast lead alloy bullets. Powder-coated lead bullets have been in the United States for approximately 10 years, with many believing it originated in Australia. I’m not sure but I am just grateful it came about.

There’s nothing mystical about powder coating. It involves applying polymer, in powder form, to cast bullets through static electricity. The bullets are then baked, melting the powder, encapsulating the lead projectile in a polymer coating. This coating acts as the lube as your bullet travels down the barrel of your gun.

Why?

I first heard about powder coating from longtime friend and cast bullet shooter Dick Thompson. He heard about it while wintering in Arizona around 7-8 years ago. I’ll admit, like many, I was skeptical at first.

Why would I want to sway away from traditional lube/sizing? Hadn’t it worked totally satisfactorily the past 20+ years? I already had my RCBS Lub-A-Matic and all the sizing dies I needed, along with plenty of bullet lube.

Being recently retired from the police department, I had plenty of time on my hands and decided to experiment with powder coating. I did a simple test by casting a batch of RCBS .32 98 rain SWC bullets. I powder coated half and lube/sized half, both to .314 inches in diameter. I loaded both bullets with the same dies, powder weight and set-up during the same session.

The results were interesting. The powder-coated bullets were slightly faster, more accurate and left my barrel immaculate of any lead residue. There was no sign of it anywhere. The lube/sized loads shot well, just not as accurately, and were slightly slower. My barrel after shooting the lubed bullets showed a slight lead wash. I knew from experience the lead wash would get worse as I continued shooting.

I was starting to rethink lube/sized bullets. If I could figure out a way to speed up powder coating my bullets, I’d be a true convert.

Lazy Man Ways

If you want to know the easy way of doing something, ask a lazy man. I started tumbling my bullets in my brass tumbler. I’d add 500 bullets with a couple teaspoons of powder coat and tumble them for 20 minutes. If more powder was needed, I’d add it. If the bullets were totally coated, I’d stop and dump them in a wire fry basket. Then, I’d shake the excess powder off, collecting it on a newspaper to be reused again.

Then, I baked the bullets at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. I didn’t stack my bullets; I dumped them on the tray lined with parchment paper. The bullets broke apart freely from shaking off excess powder. I then sized my bullets with Lee push-through sizing dies. I now use the Lee Automatic Processing Press for sizing, feeling it is the fastest, most economical way of sizing powder-coated bullets.

I can cast, powder coat and size 500 bullets in about an hour. This is much easier and faster than using traditional lube/size equipment.

The “Real” Bonuses of Powder Coating

Clean Hands/Dies: Powder-coated bullets are very clean handling. There’s no more gunky fingernails, hands and fingers from handling lubed bullets. This also applies to your dies with no lube contamination. There’s no need to re-adjust your seating stem as bullets get seated deeper and deeper from residual lube build-up inside the seating die.

Clean Barrels: I have guns I’ve shot several thousand rounds of powder-coated slugs through without a hint of leading showing. Although lubed bullets weren’t too bad, after shooting that many rounds a lead wash would surely ensue. Not so with powder-coated bullets.

Nix the Oxidation: If you like casting bullets well in advance like I do, storing them over a long period of time can lead to oxidation — the white crusty stuff that accumulates on lead. When your cast bullets are powder coated, oxidation is a thing of the past.

Color Coding: Ever wonder what load is in your hand when you pluck it from your pocket? It can be the handloaders curse for sure. Fear no more with powder coating. Now you have the option of using different colored coded loads to know at a glance what load is in your hands. Maybe use blue for a cool, light load or red for something hotter? You get the idea.

Smoke Free: Powder-coated bullets are smoke free when shooting them. If you use alox-based lubes, this is especially nice as your sinuses won’t burn from the residual alox smoke. Dare I say powder-coated bullets are a healthier version to shoot? If your sniffer isn’t sucking up noxious vapor, I’d say yes. All I know is my sinuses don’t burn when shooting them.

Cheaper: Most handloaders are frugal by nature. It’s one of the reasons we started handloading to begin with. A pound of powder coat is enough for several thousand cast bullets. You get a lot more mileage from powder coat than traditional lubes.

Seat Deeper: With traditional lubed bullets you must keep seated bullets contained within the neck of the cartridge brass to prevent powder contamination of lube. During hot weather bullet lube melts, contaminating powder. Not so with powder-coated bullets. Seating your bullets as deep as you want makes them more versatile for different loads.

As you can see there are many reasons to powder coat your cast bullets. I love the advantages and haven’t sized/lubed cast bullets in years. I’m not trying to convince anyone to convert to powder-coated bullets, but rather sharing why I chose to do so. I’m sure there’s other reasons, but this covers the gist of them.