Best buy in an entry-level SA .45?

[kennisondan]

I went and looked up the USFA site to price the sixguns and .. u are right they went up a lot.. LOT... UP... I got one about a year and a half ago and paid 500 for it new in box and it was worked on by a gunsmith action shooter ... it was smooth and tight and shot like a house afire.. I quickly learned that it would not handle a souped up load and rushed out and got a five shot... GAVE  that fine other weapon to my step son so we could shoot together and have somehting to share interest in ... I do not load my five shot maxed out and what I load in it could have stoked any clone and any new vaquero .... I just thought I was gonna do all that high power shooting with my 45... but the truth is if you want to load it too hot you need a bigger gun... now I know and I wanted to buy another usfa, but cannot justify it at the present pricing... do not know about used... I may just go vaquero used... I am a stickler for one thing : if it fails to function it is up for adoption... first time every time... so I have stayed off the clones, but am hearing some good reports.. I cannot get away from my first opinion for myself and for you... the used ruger as rough as you can find the finish, and grips will be a longer lasting better return dollar for dollar than any other gun;
good luck with your quest... nobody can get and use just one so do not torture yourself too much..just jump on in and shoot... then throw your good sense to the wind and get more and more.. that is what I suggest and predict.lol
dk

[azmark]

I can't believe people are still reading this post...I figured it'd be long gone by now.  My window of opportunity is finally getting closer.  Still haven't decided for sure (of course).  I still love the idea of a Blackhawk, but two days ago I went into a gun shop in Bisbee and he had a Heritage Big Bore in .45 Colt.  I checked it out and was amazed at how well fitted it was.  It also had the best cylinder lockup I've felt on anything.  Zero play, like it was a solid piece of steel.  At $409 on the sticker, I was motivated to look into it again.  Gun Tests rated it a best buy and Gunblast.com had a very positive write-up on it.  I'm still trying to find someone who has shot one a lot, to see how they actually hold up, and how Heritage handles warranty work if needed.  around here, Blackhawks are $550 so I can't reasonably discount them simply on price. 

Yeah, I know, "you get what you pay for"...etc, but probably the best car I ever had was a no-frills Honda Civic and it was less trouble than any Ford, Chevy, Lincoln, Mercury, Pontiac, Dodge or Jeep that I've owned.  Never should have sold that car.  Never knock something just because it's inexpensive.

[44 Man]

Azmark, I too have looked very hard at the Big Bore revolvers.  I don't think they have been around long enough to get much feedback yet but they are made for Heritage by Pietta in Italy with final fit and assembly done here.  Pietta has been in business forever and they and Uberti are the big revolver producers there.  I would expect it to hold up and be as fine a gun as all the others they have produced.  I am still very tempted to buy one from Jay's but I just diverted my funds to a pair of Gauchos.  They are being blown out by the distributors very cheap right now.  44 Man.

[SHOOTALL]

entry level ? once you have entered ya got to get better often times in steps , you end up paying more than if you got a Colt or Freedom Arms in the first place ! you may have shot 3 or more guns mastering each to no end as you switch .
Don't ask how i know or how many times i did it !
save up get a Colt if ya want a colt like SA or Freedom arms if you want the best !
save $$$$$$$ learn to shoot and master same gun for life !

[Argonaut]

Just a word about Ruger Warranty,   I bought a used Blackhawk about 6 or 7 years ago, the first time I took it to the range I had about 15 rounds of Full throttle .41 Mag ammo, at Round number 13 the ejector assembly  came of the barrel.  I mean the silver solder holding the little stud in the barrel that the ejector rod screw goes into  let go.  I sent the it back to Ruger,  they reattached it and refinished the  entire gun and had it back to me in about 2 and a half or 3 weeks AT NO CHARGE, and no problems since,  Though I will say since then I  have only shot  cast bullets at about 950 fps out of it do to wrist problems.   I never worry about warranty when buying a Ruger, new or used.  Plus guess were they are made?  Good 'ol  U.S.A. by Americans.  An an American citizen who wasn't born one but through the grace of the Almighty is one now,  that makes a big difference to me anyway.

[blhof]

I also have had excellent results with Ruger's customer service and their guns both long and pistols.  I have both Dan Wesson and Ruger pistols; the DW is the most accurate, but the Ruger was a lot cheaper and just as dependable and after having to send it back and it came back looking like a new gun, my future purchases will be Ruger.

[Argonaut]

You can find other ways to help finance a new model Vaquero.  I collected aluminum cans and some other scrap aluminum for 120 bucks. That was a nice bit of "found" money just for selling srap aluminum (not stolen!) . That how I did it.