You have to remember that these SAA revolvers are single action. Meaning the trigger only releases the hammer, but does not cock it (you do that manually). There is nothing "long and heavy" about a single action revolver trigger.

People who have not shot one, and are expecting a trigger like on a Glock or something, are usually rudely awakened by a premature discharge. Hopefully they practice good muzzle control and have the gun pointed in a safe direction, and the person who handed them the gun told them in advance. Some may call these "hair triggers" (they aren't really, but compared to a semi-auto typical trigger, they are much lighter). They are light, positive, with no takeup or stacking, and no grit (they trigger doesn't travel far enough for you to get a chance to feel any grit). At least that is the way my trigger is. And it's stock.

If you do not have specific goals for reloading, that´s probably a wise decision.
I have a fine hunting rifle that produces 8" groups at 100m with both remaining factory loads. My hand loads cut that down to 1/2" groups.
For my handguns I use bullets that don´t foul my barrels. Factory loads are not available with those bullets.
.45 Colt ammo is often sold out around here. Reloading makes it possible to have a reliable ammo source.


The Cattleman revolvers I shot had a smooth consistent pull with a little creep. The actual trigger pull varies between samples. The El Patron has a smooth pull and breaks without noticable creep. There is very little variation in the trigger pull between samples. It´s as good as good target pistol.



The El Patron comes factory tuned. It is match ready out of the box and has a really nice checkered walnut grip for about 50€ more. There is no extra waiting time either.
The choice is not about the best gun for self defense. CAS is a shooting sport with gun technology from the late 19th century. There are even categories for muzzle loading revolvers. The rules do not allow semi-autos. It´s a bit about nostalgia and mastering those guns. I do not claim that the choice to participate in that sport was a rational one.

Hahaha! Reloading never saved me any money, it lets me shoot five to ten times more for the same money!

Thanks, Max. Cowboy action looks like a lot of fun to me, actually. I just don't have all the time in the world...

Sounds like you have it figured out all the way around!

I enjoy the reloading as much as the shooting. Sometimes I have to go shoot so I can try out the reloads or even so i have something to load.

8 inches down to 1/2" is what it is all about.

reloading helps support re-cycling 164# of 9mm brass

+1 Reloading is in itself a great pastime!

My experience exactly. Modern semi-auto handguns can be shot much faster and have a superior magazine capacity... But in terms of sheer pleasure they just don't compare to a good old SAA. Also, the light, crisp trigger helps enormously with accuracy. The best groups I've ever obtained with a fullbore hand gun were shot with a single-action S&W.

A single action S&W or a S&W DA shooting SA? One of the best target pistols I have is a S&W Mod 19 which has an very light (but safe) SA trigger and full target sights on a 6" bbl. It's a .357 Mag revolver and only ever shoots .38 Spl target loads.

It was the S&W Model 3 "Russian", a repro by Uberti in fact. It was actually the only time I shot that gun (borrowed it at the range) but it just "clicked" with me I guess. The ergonomics are great, In general I find those big old-school six shooters much easier to shoot with accuracy than modern off-the-shelf semi-autos.

However, now that you mention it, I've also done some great shooting with various DA S&W models on SA. And one particular Taurus in .357. Can't remember the model though - it had a heavy 6" barrel and a custom trigger job. That thing was sweet to shoot. And I absolutely agree about .38 Special target loads. Much more pleasant than .357 and dead accurate.