by Matthew Fulton

Created on: May 17, 2010

Besides spaghetti, pizza, and art, this is Italy's greatest export. First, it's a Single Action Army pistol priced under 400 dollars. Granted, that's the matte black with walnut grip model and not the nickel plated one with fake ivory grips, but walnut is wonderful. It is a value-priced weapon that has simply beautiful looks and a classic western styling. The best part about this pistol is the absolute ease with which it can be operated. Load it, pull the hammer, aim, pull the trigger. It has no moving parts that have any impact on the firing accuracy. No wonder why this design was so popular among lawmen and outlaws, and now you can own one and relive the experience.

The grip has an wonderful curve that fits the hand brilliantly and also puts the gun's center of weight forward of the shooting hand. This allows for a comfortable grip and making sure that the gun's weight provides a stabilizing factor that aids with accuracy for the shooter.

Not only is it easy to operate, but it is the most accurate pistol I have ever had the privilege of shooting. The lack of a slide, recoil system, or double action trigger that plague most pistols make hitting exactly what you want a piece of cake. I would feel confident about my ability to hit an Eisenhower dollar at 15 feet with it. And that is of course with the very heavy .45 Colt round. The "cowboy loads" it takes are solid lead and the bullets weigh in at 250 grains. (That's much larger than a .45 ACP round, mind you.) At 750 feet per second, that's bound to inflict enough damage on most game animals in Texas (or most of the lower 48) to get a clean kill. The lack of any sort of jacket for these rounds and the flat-nosed design of the bullets would certainly also lead to massive expansion of the bullet upon impact, making it a good self-defense round for someone who feels confident using a single action pistol in a sticky situation.

The only negatives about this pistol is the time it takes to reload after firing, and the fact that it is only truly safe to carry it with 5 rounds in the cylinder. Because each round must be ejected and reloaded one at the time, it would take considerable practice to do the job quickly. But then again, if you need more than 5 rounds with this pistol, you're either really outnumbered or you just need a LOT more practice. You may ask, why is it only safe to use 5 when it is known as the prime "six gun" of the old west? Well, the one design flaw is the safety latch. If put in the safe position (the hammer is barely pulled back) it theoretically can fall on a loaded round and fire unexpectedly. But then again, almost all revolvers can have the same problem, so it's really a non-issue.

Overall, this is an absolutely spectacular gun. It's a joy to shoot, try it, you'll probably say the same thing.

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