What are your thoughts if you have one ? Is it worth almost twice what the clones are ?

Short answer? Yes, to me they are worth 2+ times what a clone costs.


Longer answer? Part of it is the Colt logo, part is the resale value. I paid $1200 for this 3rd gen .357 a bit before the "pandemic". Especially in this market I can get more than that for it now, if I wanted to sell. Also, when I pick up a clone and run it through its paces it just does not have the same feel to me. The case hardening is softer on my Colt than on any clone I have seen, and it just personifies the history of Colt SAA for me. Comes down to personal opinion. Handle both and see if YOU think the Colt is worth the money.

Thank You ! this is the response i was looking for . have not been able to handle a new one , yet .  gonna have to fix that  . Thank You again !  beautiful example you have there

Agree with John.

My only current SAA is a colt. They definitely have a different intangible feel compared to even the best clones ( some of which are excellent pistols )

The nice thing about colt is the retained value over time. Over the years I have had about 1/2 dozen colts, from every generation. Some were bought as “good buddy” deals from friends in the $1k price range. The majority were bough a long time ago, but in every case when it came time to thin the herd ( when I got out of cowboy shooting) the worst I did was double my investment, and for one of my 1st gens it sold for a bit over 4x my original purchase price.

My current one ( which isn’t going anywhere) is an early 3rd complete with the box and papers. It was inherited from my dad who bought it in the 1980’s for around $500. Both he and I have shot it a lot, both being into cowboy shooting and in and out of the holster quite a bit. So it has some significant holster wear, and I did need to replace a couple springs ( some of the internals are pretty fragile leaf springs) and I bet it would last about a day if put up for sale for 2 grand.

This is from the late 60s to early 70s, and nothing from ruger or the others has the same feel and sound.


Attached File

i have the same  in nickel with the wooden presentation box.  original receipt with the stag grips .a long story on that pistol .  the rimfire i am speaking of . my dad bought that for my mom while i was a newborn for protection .