Uberti EL PATRON

[oldbear1950]

Does anyone else have one of the Uberti EL PATRON revolvers in 45 colt?
I have one and it shoots amazingly well. I do reload for it and all is well.
It was built for COWBOY ACTION SHOOTING, set up with a trigger job, wolff springs, all at the factory.
According to some gunsmiths who work on single actions, the EL PATRON is a larger frame than the original COLT single action army, but uses the same type of lockwork. But is not as large as the RUGER blackhawks.
In other words load one, skip one, and load the other 4. Just like a COLT.
and when you cock it has 4 clicks just like a colt.

 

[reddog81]

I like mine. I was pleasantly surprised by it's accuracy and ease of shooting.
It's been neglected for a few years and even then it was only ever brought to the range a few times. .

It's the only firearm I have chambered for 45 Colt so I don't get around to reloading or shooting it much.

 

[oldbear1950]

I shoot mine regularly, and load regularly, as the price of some ammo does not drop as low as some. I have two handguns in calibers that usually run kind of high.
The 45 colt, and 38 super. Boy sometimes those seem to cost a lot, and that is why I reload. That 38 super uses the same bullets as a 9 mm, and I have been told the old 38 auto and original 9 mm loads were pretty much the same,

 

[DaleA]

Just curious,
(and I know I could go look it up but I'm getting lazy and I'd like to know what somebody actually shooting the thing is doing),
I think modern .45 Colt guns are set up to use .452 lead bullets for reloading while the original old Colts used .454.
What are you loading?
I've got an older Ruger Blackhawk and sometimes I find it fun to channel my inner cowboy.

 

[44 AMP]

Prior to WWII, the industry "standard" .45 Colt groove diameter was .454"

After production resumed following WWII, over time, most makers reduced their barrel diameters down to .452" (approx). This was to give better results with .45acp slugs which were becoming more commonly used in the .45Colt.

And the smaller bore diameter has no effect on the "classic" lead slugs in .45 Colt, they squeeze down just fine.

 

[ballardw]

Just curious,
(and I know I could go look it up but I'm getting lazy and I'd like to know what somebody actually shooting the thing is doing),
I think modern .45 Colt guns are set up to use .452 lead bullets for reloading while the original old Colts used .454.
What are you loading?
I've got an older Ruger Blackhawk and sometimes I find it fun to channel my inner cowboy.

My cast bullet sizer is .4515, so that's most of what is not jacketed/plated gets shot.

 

[RoyceP]

The .454" bullet diameter was changed around 1985 by SAAMI to .452" so you will see Colt, S&W and other manufacturers changed barrel diameters about the same time.

I know a lot of internet sites say it was post WWII but this is not the case.

 

[44 AMP]

The .454" bullet diameter was changed around 1985 by SAAMI to .452" so you will see Colt, S&W and other manufacturers changed barrel diameters about the same time.

I know a lot of internet sites say it was post WWII but this is not the case.

First off, 1985 is "post WWII"...

Second, the .45 Colt groove diameter was changed, by several makers, decades before SAAMI put their "official" stamp of approval on it.

SAAMI was quite late to that particular party, and about no one noticed when they did finally show up.

 

[rice paddy daddy]

I have two Uberti's, both are Cattleman models.
One .357, one .45 Colt.
They may not be "tuned" for Cowboy Action shooting, but then neither am I, and both are just fine shooters.

 

[Dave P]

FYI: I sold my patrone soon after I bought it. Did not fit my hand well. My first finger was always being banged by the recoiliing trigger guard - it hurt !!

 

[Hawg]

FYI: I sold my patrone soon after I bought it. Did not fit my hand well. My first finger was always being banged by the recoiliing trigger guard - it hurt !!

If you curl your pinky finger under the grip you have more control and it wont bang your knuckle.

 

[44 AMP]

My first finger was always being banged by the recoiliing trigger guard - it hurt !!

For me, it was my middle finger that got banged by the triggerguard in recoil, with my Ruger Blackhawk, .45 Colt, but only when loads got up to or over 1,000fps. Pachmayr grips solved the issue perfectly.

Curling your pinky under the butt works fine, until recoil gets heavy, and then (for me) it uncomfortably bends my pinky finger with the butt. Again, Pachmayr grips solved that, as would any other "oversize" grip.

The original .45 Colt loading and the original SAA grip size and shape is about a perfect match of the most power and most convenient one handed handling on horseback possible. Since I don't travel by horse or shoot from one, and I'm not a slave to "old west authentic" style, I prefer grips that allow me to shoot the best, and for me and my Rugers, that's Pachmayr.

 

[Green Frog]

I went to Taylor Arms and bought their "Smoke Wagon" version of Uberti's SAA. I opted for "Taylor Tuned" which meant that all of that tuning was done in house by Taylor's gunsmith. This was bought to be used pretty much exclusively for Cowboy Fast Draw with wax bullets, so recoil is not a factor of course, but as far as the slickness of the action, it just cannot be beat. The Uberti SAA in its many iterations may well need the tune, but all the potential is definitely there.

Froggie

 

[rclark]

I have a Taylor Arms .44 Special SAA and a Cimarron .45 Colt Model P. Both perform well other than the loose screw(s) problem. Having a screw driver handy every 50 shots or so is helpful.... Also have a little Cimarron (I think) .32 H&R Magnum/.32-20 Lightning that I get out once in awhile.

As for knuckle busting the middle finger ... only with warm loads ... which I don't bother with anyway for the most part. Normal 250gr moving 900fps is no problem with my hands and wood grips.

 

[44 AMP]

In the old days it was well known that checking revolver screws before and during use was just SOP. Both SA and DA revolvers can "vibrate" screws loose during use. Some are worse about that than others.

And I learned the hard way that you need to check EVERY screw. I had a Ruger Vaquero .44 Mag put out of action during a range session, because the base pin latch (which is spring loaded and screws together) unscrewed and the parts took off for realms unknown, leaving the base pin free to move forward under recoil, tying up the gun. Replacement parts returned the gun to service and made me a firm believer in checking ALL the screw fittings, and also using the RIGHT loctite product on screws that tended to loosen up.

I recommend "Guntite" it is specifically made for gun screws, holds well and screws come out normally with a screwdriver. Don't go using a loctite product just by its color code (red, blue, green, etc) on someone's advice that "its the right stuff". Loctite makes a wide range of products in each of its coloir groups, some are made to be PERMANENT, others are made to be removable with heat, some are made to be removable with the proper tool. Get the right one for what you need.

 

[oldbear1950]

I would agree with that, and yes anything held together with screws will eventually come loose, after a lot of use

 

[jackmoser65]

The El Patron is the same frame as every other Uberti SAA replica.

 

[Jim Watson]

I thought of the El Patron as being a SAA with an 1860 grip but the catalog shows it with both Army and Navy grip frames.

 

[oldbear1950]

Is funny, was watching a video on Uberti built guns, and for some reason the proof load were astronomical. In the 45000 psi loads. I do not load mine anywhere near that.
the cast bullets I load are 452 size bullets. I also heard the frame on the El Patron is larger than the colt frame, but not as large as the old Blackhawk frames from Ruger. I had a gunsmith that works on COLTS, Uberti, and il pietra guns and the pietra guns are ths same size as the colts, and the Uberti El Patron is larger frame. Is still loaded like the colt though, load one, skip a chamber, load 4, and let the hammer down on an empty cylinder hole. Just like a colt.

 

[jackmoser65]

There is no way any 45 colt 1873 clone is proofed at 45kpsi.

The Uberti is not a larger frame. The cylinder is ever so slightly larger in diameter but it is not enough to affect the gun's strength.

Pietta, not Pietra.