HELP! With choosing a six shooter!

[thehairlessone]

I am getting a six shooter in the next couple days.

They have a nice ruger superblackhawk .44 that I can afford and they also have a brand new pistol that is a little more but it isnt a really good brand name. I think it is an EEA or something like that.

I cant decide what to do. I know the ruger is a great name and probly a better gun all around but it has a 7 1/2" barrel. The other one has a 4 1/2" barrel i think.

I like the ruger alot but I wonder if that extra long barrel will cause me problems in other ways? Will it be harder to use for cas? And will I have problems finding a holster for it?

Seems like all the holsters you see out there used are for 4 1/2" barrels.

I would appreciate any advice. The other pistol is about $75 more than the ruger. I hate to spend any more but I dont want to buy something that I will regret later on.

thanks!

rick

[thehairlessone]

anyone?

rick

[Four-Eyed Buck]

The other one is probably an EAA Big Bore Bounty Hunter. Pretty good pistolas, but heavily sprung. They can be tuned though. I've got one in .45 with a 7 1/2" barrel and one in .357 with the 4 1/2" barrel. The rear sights are generous, which is good for older eyes like mine. My .45 has eight seasons on it now and hasn't given me any problems that weren't my own fault. It and the Ruger are both transfer bar guns. Picking a revolver is kinda a personal thing. It's what fits you and feels right to you. Since the prices are close, I'm assuming the Ruger is a BlackHawk, which is an adjustable sight gun. That will put you in the Modern category. The EAA is fixed sight, which will allow you to shoot Traditional, Duelist, frontier cartridge( Black Powder), or Classic Cowboy. Handle them both and see which one feels right to you. A 7 1/2 will be fine for CAS, only draw back will be on drawing if you've got shorter arms. Hope this helps some.........Buck

[thehairlessone]

Thanks buck.

The ruger does have adjustable sights.

What would be the difference between me doing the modern class and the others?

rick

[The Arapaho Kid]

Navy Arms makes some pretty good sixshooters and they don't cost an arm and a leg to purchase.  I have two of them in my gear.  They are .32-20 caliber (please no salty comments about that!) and I've found them very reliable and accurate.  Ruger is a good gun, but they can be a little pricey.  Before you make up your mind....check out Navy Arms and see what they have to offer.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

They still shoot the same stages. Just you have more choices with the fixed sight guns. Like I said before, it's what feels right to you. Generally we advise new pards to go to a match and check with the pards there and see what they have. Usualy they'll let you try their irons to give you an idea of what suits you......Buck

[The Arapaho Kid]

My sixshooters are Navy Arms .32-20's and I have gotten a moderate amount of flack about my "wimpy caliber".  But...there is less recoil with those so you can stay on target better.  Big caliber doesn't win matches.  Accuracy and non misses do.  I have yet to miss a pistol target in the matches I've been in.  The only thing that makes this a little bad is....there's a lot of places that don't sell .32-20 ammo.  At the gun shop by my place you have to order it and it's 29 bucks for a box of 50, but I've found a place on the net where I can get a box of 50 for $12.45.

I would suggest going to a match and getting with the folks and shoot several different sixshooters and see which one you like the best and go with that.  Sixshooters are an individual thing.  If you like big bore....go for it.  If not...go with what you are comfortable with.

[Silver Creek Slim]

One different between the Ruger and the EAA is the EAA has the half-cock notch in the hammer like the Colt clones. You put the hammer at half-cock to load the cylinder. I had a pair of .44 Mag EAA's in 4 1/2" for a little while but sold them after I switched to .45 Colt. It I got EAA's again, I would get 7 1/2" barrels because I hit more targets with longer barrels.

Slim

[Doc Neeley]

The EAA is made on the Sauer and Son's tooling in Germany and sold to and built by Weirauch (sic) these days. They licensed the right to use the transfer bar from Ruger, but they also have the half cock notch. A bargain I think. CDNN has them for $249 in blue. ($10 more for nickle or CC I think). Good German quality but I do like my Vaqueros. The EAA would be my choice for a bargain gun though.

[RIO DEL RIO]

I have a twin pair of vaquero's with 7 1/2" barrel and I had no problem with getting a holster.  Go to CAS' Venders Alley, Circle KB Leatherworks and they will fix you up with whatever you need.  Good Folks. 

[Lou Graham]

The Blackhawk will "lock" you in Modern, while the others will let you move around until you find what catagory you like best.  That said, I shoot 7 1/2 in barrel HA Remmies and I'm on the small side.  My leather is from El Paso Saddlery. I had the holster dropped down a little and there's a cut out to help with clearing it when I draw.  It's not way low like a B Western rig, but enough to give me a little more room so I'm not pulling the gun out of my armpit.   You can get an idea of the relative size of me and my guns from my picture.

Some folks do shoot mis-matched guns for fun or necessity of budget, but if you can, I'd try to get two that match.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Miz Lou has iron in her words and smoke out her barrels!.......Buck

[Ozark Iron John]

Hey Pard:

I ain't no gun dealer and I don't have a hound in this chase, but for my $$$, you cain't go wrong with an
Uberti 1873 Colt .45LC.



I think Cabela's has a pretty good'n too.  I bought four before the price shot up.

[thehairlessone]

WOW! That is pretty good. I will keep those in mind.

thanks!

rick

[Prof. A. Wickwire]

I have two Uberti's with 5.5" barrels.  I can't see moving to anything else.

Sincerely,

Prof. A. Wickwire

[thehairlessone]

I dont think I am going to get either of them now.

I just looked at what the cowboy ammo for them would cost being a .44 it is an incredible difference from a .357 from national bullet.

I think I will just keep looking for a .357 since I dont know how to reload.

rick

[Book Miser]

Lou. LOU!!!

You can shoot a Blackhawk in any SASS age-related class, like 49er, Senior, Elder Statesman. The only place you can't use adjustable sights is Classic Cowboy.

Hairless, I got all my guns in .357, for a couple of reasons. Center fire ammo doesn't get much cheaper than .38, and if you start reloading, the extra "meat" in the .357 cylinder provides peace of mind, as far as excess pressure problems go. Those .44s do take a lot of gunpowder, and the boolits cost more too. Sooner or later if you get hooked into this sport, you'll end up handloading. 

[thehairlessone]

I would probly start reloading eventually but for now I would just buy the ammo somewhere and get the special cowboy loads.

I couldnt believe how much cheaper the .38's are than the .44's

I am glad I looked at that before I went in and picked it up.

rick

[thehairlessone]

Now I am even more confused!

I went and found me a shotgun. Got a stoeger 12 double barrel for $250. I thought that was pretty good and I plan on using it for turkey hunting too.

I went to another shop in town and they have one of the uberti's in stock. Brand new and they want $ 289 for it I think.

Really nice gun and I like it but it is a .44 too. I am going to go watch my first cas match tomorrow and I thought maybe that would help me decide. There are some pawn shops in that town also so i plan on looking there.

rick

[thehairlessone]

WHOOO!

I think I got one guys!

I got on gunbroker.com and found a really nice ruger blackhawk .357 stainless. It looks like it has a 4 1/2" barrel or so in the pictures.

Got it for $250! Not sure what the shipping will be but that is still better than any deal I could anywhere else I have tried.



rick