New (to me) Single Action

[Tinker Pearce]

Spotted this at Pinto's- a Hawes Firearms Co. Western Marshal in .45 Colt with a .45 ACP cylinder, made by J.P.Sauer and Sohn in 'Western Germany.' Good condition, sweet action, excellent trigger. Price? $225. Shut up and Take My Money!

These guns were made in the 1950s through the 1970s and brought into the US by a variety of importers. These were the first 1873 SAA clones, but they are not an exact copy. The cylinder and frame are a bit larger and stouter- these were offered in calibers up to .44 Magnum- and the front of the frame below the barrel has a different shape. The handle and trigger-guard are also a slightly different shape than the original. Despite this these were commonly used in TV westerns of the period because they cost a lot less than a Colt.

The major assemblies were cast and some of the cost savings are obvious in the finish. For example the sides of the frame aren't flat and the edges aren't squared off. The blueing has an odd look to it, almost like the paint used on Zamac zinc-alloy frames, but the frame is steel. The grip-frame and trigger-guard appear to be aluminum, but they are made in two pieces in the style of a Colt. The two-piece grips are well-made and appear to be Cocobolo wood.

The gun is an excellent shooter, and the trigger is the best I've ever felt on a stock gun. I decided to reshape the front of the frame to more closely resemble a Colt and to flatten the sides of the frame to improve it's appearance. With that done I went to re-blue it and discovered why some of the original finish looked like paint- it was paint. The steel will not take blueing. I tried to induce rust in a couple places it would not be visible. Nope. If the gun isn't stainless it's the next best thing. I suppose this is not too surprising- many stainless and near-stainless alloys are much better for casting than carbon steels. Nothing for it- I stripped the gun, refined the finish and polished it. The appearance and working qualities are very similar to some stainless steels that were commonly used for table cutlery. I don't know what this alloy is or if it is a true 'stainless,' but it is highly rust resistant, possibly more so than blued steel. Good enough for me, anyway.

So, here's the reshaped and refinished gun- pretty nice for $225 and an afternoon of labor!

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[Gaazoak]

Nice find
Thanks for all the cool info
I think anyone of us would have bought it as well... something else to keep an eye out for

 

[GOG]

You've got the touch Tinker.

 

[Mistman]

A friend had one of those in 44 mag he picked up at a gun show. It didn't stick around long, timing was horrible, you had to jiggle the cylinder to get to to lock up. It felt like it wasn't going to be holding together a whole lot longer. The detente that held the cylinder pin in kept letting go and the pin would fall out along w/the cylinder if you weren't careful. He paid $300, I think he included it on a trade for something else within a couple months. Seemed like a cool gun, I was bummed it didn't turn out to be.

Apparently some examples do work well

 

[Alexx1401]

View attachment 419586
Spotted this at Pinto's- a Hawes Firearms Co. Western Marshal in .45 Colt with a .45 ACP cylinder, made by J.P.Sauer and Sohn in 'Western Germany.' Good condition, sweet action, excellent trigger. Price? $225. Shut up and Take My Money!

These guns were made in the 1950s through the 1970s and brought into the US by a variety of importers. These were the first 1873 SAA clones, but they are not an exact copy. The cylinder and frame are a bit larger and stouter- these were offered in calibers up to .44 Magnum- and the front of the frame below the barrel has a different shape. The handle and trigger-guard are also a slightly different shape than the original. Despite this these were commonly used in TV westerns of the period because they cost a lot less than a Colt.

The major assemblies were cast and some of the cost savings are obvious in the finish. For example the sides of the frame aren't flat and the edges aren't squared off. The blueing has an odd look to it, almost like the paint used on Zamac zinc-alloy frames, but the frame is steel. The grip-frame and trigger-guard appear to be aluminum, but they are made in two pieces in the style of a Colt. The two-piece grips are well-made and appear to be Cocobolo wood.

The gun is an excellent shooter, and the trigger is the best I've ever felt on a stock gun. I decided to reshape the front of the frame to more closely resemble a Colt and to flatten the sides of the frame to improve it's appearance. With that done I went to re-blue it and discovered why some of the original finish looked like paint- it was paint. The steel will not take blueing. I tried to induce rust in a couple places it would not be visible. Nope. If the gun isn't stainless it's the next best thing. I suppose this is not too surprising- many stainless and near-stainless alloys are much better for casting than carbon steels. Nothing for it- I stripped the gun, refined the finish and polished it. The appearance and working qualities are very similar to some stainless steels that were commonly used for table cutlery. I don't know what this alloy is or if it is a true 'stainless,' but it is highly rust resistant, possibly more so than blued steel. Good enough for me, anyway.

So, here's the reshaped and refinished gun- pretty nice for $225 and an afternoon of labor!
View attachment 419587

You made that thing look VERY damn nice!! Enjoy!!

 

[Tinker Pearce]

A friend had one of those in 44 mag he picked up at a gun show. It didn't stick around long, timing was horrible, you had to jiggle the cylinder to get to to lock up. It felt like it wasn't going to be holding together a whole lot longer. The detente that held the cylinder pin in kept letting go and the pin would fall out along w/the cylinder if you weren't careful. He paid $300, I think he included it on a trade for something else within a couple months. Seemed like a cool gun, I was bummed it didn't turn out to be.

Apparently some examples do work well

I think .44 Magnum might be a bit much for these guns; I think the problems you are referring to likely came from a steady diet of full-house or hot magnum loads.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

Nice revolver. For $225.00 I couldn't have got my wallet out fast enough.

 

[PaulB47]

I bought one of the .44 Mag Bounty Hunters, a gun with a similar "pedigree". Not exactly a favorite, but I don't have enough in it to be motivated to sell it. I contacted the proprietor of Belt Mountain, the guy who makes cylinder base pins for Rugers, asking if he would modify one of his Ruger pins for my gun, which he did (I guess I have the only Bounty Hunter with such a pin). Probably tightened up things a bit. I wouldn't be shooting full house loads in this gun because I'm not a masochist. The trigger has a strange angle to it, I think it's not very Colt-ish in that department.

Nice work by the way...