The backstory...

A little while ago I had the opportunity to pick up a second generation Colt SAA in .357 with a 4 3/4" barrel.  Other than some discoloration and the former owner's name on the cylinder (he was a good friend who passed away recently) the gun is in perfect working order.  When I took her to the range I put a mix of .357 and .38 through it.  Shooting .357 through that gun was the most fun I've had at a range in a year or so.  The flames were huge, the BOOM was fantastic, and the recoil was a was very light.  

Now, given that Colt no longer services second generation SAAs am I going to have issues putting .357 through this gun?  I have heard pythons had this issue which is why I'm asking.  

Second is should I decide carry it while out in the woods what is the proper manner?  Load five and carry hammer down on the empty chamber or load six and keep hammer at half cock?


Obligitory pics...

That's a beauty! If it were mine, I would stick with .38's.....The safest way to carry it is with only five rounds, hammer down on an empty chamber.....

Load one, skip one, load four to play it safe.


...and beautiful gun

Yea, I think I'm going to get a Ruger Vaquero I can beat up so this colt stays nice. Thanks for the advice!

How I do it.

"Now, given that Colt no longer services second generation SAAs am I going to have issues putting .357 through this gun? I have heard pythons had this issue which is why I'm asking."

I'm not sure what "issues" with shooting .357 in either the SAA or the Python you've heard.
The only issues with this is that after firing .38 Special ammo in a .357 revolver you need to use a bronze chamber cleaning brush to clean the fouling of the .38 Special out of the chambers before using .357.
The shorter .38 ammo will leave fouling build up in the chambers and the .357 may not chamber easily.

Other than that, there are no issues with using .357 in a revolver chambered in .357.

The only safe way to carry a SAA is with an empty chamber under the hammer.  The "safety" notch is not that strong and if you drop the gun or manage to hit the hammer, the trigger or hammer notch can be broken and the gun will fire.
This has been known since 1873, and it's still valid today with original type design single action revolvers.

S&W K-frame cannot take a steady diet of .357 (Model 19). Maybe the SAA are in the same boat?

Those are the wrong stocks, the receiver has been refinished, and obviously the cylinder.  I'd wonder if its the correct caliber as well.  

You should get a Colt Letter on it.

If you pull the stocks off you can find the number on the back of the receiver which should match up most of the pieces as original or not.

that gun should have no problem shooting normal 357 loads. There are so many gunsmiths involved through the SASS community I wouldn't worry about getting a peacemaker fixed. Every gun will eventually break if you shoot it enough - Alway's try to break a gun using this method..

To properly load:

1.Put gun on half-cock.

2. Open loading gate.

3.  Load first chamber.

4.Advance cylinder one click, to 2nd chamber.  Do not load.

5. Advance to next chamber and load it.  Repeat three more times.

6. After loading the last chamber above, draw hammer to full cock.  2nd chamber (empty) from step 4 should be under the hammer.  

7. Lower hammer to rest on empty chamber.