By Jim Dickson | Contributing Writer
Upon picking up the single-action revolver loaned for this review at Reeves Ace hardware in Clayton, Georgia, I was delighted to see such precise fit and finish far exceeding what one might expect even from a premium priced $2,199 handgun.
It is worth remembering that the Standard Mfg. Co. is part of the Connecticut Shotgun Company, which is known for making modern versions of the finest American double barreled shotguns to the original standards. All these guns are precision machined and then hand fitted.
Unlike other single actions made today, there are no investment cast or powder metallurgy parts in the Standard single action. The result is as perfect a gun as the factory can make regardless of the cost. This pistol was no exception and even had a strikingly beautiful color case hardening on the frame that contained both blue and brown colors that complimented the smooth wooden grips. Standard manufacturing company does all their own case hardening in house and also makes and rifles their own barrels unlike many companies that subcontract this work.
This is a high quality single action that actually costs more than the Colt SAA which has an MSRP of $1,799 and the Standard Manufacturing company is determined that you get your money’s worth for the higher price. This is not a gun that is going to quickly fail under firing like some cheaper single actions that I have tested. The factory makes handguns to their own standards so they are not intended to have parts interchangeability with Colts. For example, the cylinder is .025-inch bigger than the Colt cylinder so that there is more steel under the bolt locking notch.
It is worth remembering that the Model 1873 Colt Single Action Army was originally designed as a .44 like the previous cap and ball Colt Model 1860 Army revolver. A last minute change in the Ordnance requirements mandating a .45 caliber resulted in the gun being quickly rechambered for what became the .45 Colt cartridge. In the balloon head cases of the time, 40 grains of black powder propelled a 255-grain bullet out of the 7 ½-inch barrel Army issue Colts at 1,000 FPS. This is quite a bit more powerful than current factory 255-grain loads, which usually are around 750 FPS with the Armscor load going 850 FPS.
Hand springs can be a weak part prone to breakage in some copies of the Colt that did not copy the Colt handspring properly but Standard Mfg. Co. gun makes a good one. They come with a lifetime warranty and since their parent company, Connecticut Shotgun, has been around for over 50 years there is no reason to think that they won’t be there if you need them.
Trigger pull was 4 pounds as measured by a mechanical trigger pull gauge from Brownells Gunsmithing Supplies. It broke clean and crisp just as it should.
About the only criticism I have is that the hammer spur is as sharp as every other factory single action. When the upper and lower surfaces are polished the sharp edge where they meet at the back of the hammer spur gets a knife edge which cuts into your hand when you take a high grip on the gun. Since the Single Action Army design requires a high grip for best pointing characteristics, I take this off on my own guns before shooting but I can’t do this with someone else’s gun loaned for review.
Why should you pay more for the best you can get? A pistol is a lifetime purchase and perhaps the only one that your life and the lives of your family may one day depend on. Saving money on the thing that you may have to depend on to save your life one day makes no sense and is a fool’s bargain.
Why would you want a handgun normally loaded with only 5 shots so the hammer is down on an empty chamber and is as slow to reload as a cap and ball revolver in 2025? Simple. Accuracy and the most reliable stopping power that any handgun can deliver.
The Single Action Army revolver is second only to the Luger pistol in ease of accurate pointing and its .45 Colt cartridge is the best balanced manstopper pistol cartridge ever made. The Army specified that they required a cartridge that would kill a cavalry horse with one shot at 100 yards and they got it. When the Army was engaged in destroying the Native Americans’ larder to force them onto the reservations by killing the buffalo herds, the cavalry thought it great sport to ride alongside the shaggy beasts and kill them with their powerful new Colt revolvers. As a pistol for defense against grizzly bears it has never been found lacking. All this power in a gun with virtually no felt recoil. It just seems too good to be true but it is true none the less.
What about carrying only a 5-shot revolver in an age of high capacity 9MM magazine automatic pistols? Frank Hamer, the Texas Ranger who gunned down Bonnie and Clyde in the 1930’s said it best when asked why he didn’t carry a reload for his single action he named Old Lucky. Hamer’s response was “If I can’t handle it with 5 shots then I’m not much of a lawman.”
Some people teach doing a “Double tap” placing two shots in each attacker. A lot of cops have died trying to do this as time ran out and a second or third attacker shot them before they could get to them. With a .45 Colt cartridge the rule is “One to a customer” and that way you do have time to deal with multiple opponents. This round does not depend on trick projectiles working perfectly for its performance. It’s big enough to do the job just the way it is.
There is a common saying that you can fire a double action revolver or an automatic pistol faster than a single action revolver. There is a very small advantage here if you are fighting a timer but if you are moving from target to target placing one round in each one that advantage does not exist.
For the casual user who just wants a burglar pistol and will only fire a box or two through it in his lifetime, the only gun I can recommend is a double-action revolver such as the 4 inch barrel Ruger Redhawk in .45 Colt because they may panic and forget to cock a single action or take the safety off an automatic. With a double action all they have to do is aim and pull the trigger and that may be all some folks can handle in an emergency. The Redhawk has a very soft recoil and even the weakest person can easily handle it with two hands. My 5 foot two 105 pound wife could shoot it one handed all day long.
Still, for the man who is willing to practice with his sidearm the single action delivers the goods for both handgun hunting and self-defense and it just makes good sense to get the best one you can.
I had 620 rounds of ammunition for test firing through this single action consisting of:
- 500 rounds of Black Hills RNFP Cowboy Action 250 grains @ 725 FPS
- 60 rounds of Hornady 225 grain Leverevolution with ballistic tip for better aerodynamic shape @ 950 FPS. This is definitely the flattest shooting .45 Colt load for long range work.
- 60 rounds of Hornady 255 grain Cowboy Action @ 725 FPS
After firing, the now-filthy gun was cleaned with Shooter’s Choice bore cleaner and patches then lubricated with Ballistol oil before returning it to Standard Mfg. Co. Ballistol forms an emulsion with water if the gun gets wet and as long as it is 5% Ballistol the water will evaporate off without rusting the gun. For someone like me who lives in the Appalachian Rain Forest and has to be out rain or shine this is the only oil to use.
The Standard single action has virtually no felt recoil. The smooth wooden grips do tend to let the gun ride up higher in recoil than the checkered grips I am used too. I hold a pistol rather tightly being both a blacksmith and a weight lifter and the checkered grips on my Colt enable me to control the Colt single action without it rolling back in my hand. The Standard’s smooth grips roll back some but that movement also stops most felt recoil. Most people would say that is a plus.
The pistol pointed well, like all single action army revolvers, and was easy to hit with. After shooting a couple of good targets for this article I shot the rest of the ammunition at targets of convenience, fragments of fall leaves, small pebbles, etc. instinct shooting without sights. This is the classic traditional way to use a pistol and the single action army design excels at this.
There are many situations where you need to use a pistol where there is not light enough or time to use sights. Having a handgun that lends itself to this can be a literal lifesaver at these times.
The late, great instinct shooting instructor Lucky McDaniel’s favorite pistol was a Colt Single Action Army revolver. He called it his magic pistol because he never missed with it. That’s all the reason anyone needs to use this gun. Only hits matter.
