Gun Digest – August 2019

T

here’s something that lies deep

in the heart of every true, red-

blooded American that can hear

the call of the Old West. This is

not something that everyone

can sense in our modern age, but

it draws the listener in—not just

in mind, but in body. Reliving

the tales and exploits of our heroes is

only possible when you hold the same

talismans they carried.

Cimarron Firearms has just what

you need to feel right at home on a

dusty street on your way to some dim,

dirtysaloon: theCimarronThunder-

storm Thunderer 3½-inch stainless

.45Colt andthe NewSheriff Model

3½-inch.45Colt.

Thetwogunsfeaturedinthisarticle

area blendofmodernandclassic.The

not be exactly the

s ofyesteryear;how-

on and handling are

er.

thinkoftheOldWest,

thatcomestomind

theduelinthestreet,

o men—sometimes

ualinjustcauseand

imes,goodandevil—

achotherdown.

ese two Cimarron

s are perfect for the

nslinger: short, fast

d deadlyaccurate.

STONTHEDRAW

heclassictalehasbeen

eatedsomanytimes

there are countless

iesandsongswritten

it. Holsteringoneof

Cimarron revolvers

u thinkoftheRanger

rtyRobbinssong,Big

braveArizonaRanger

erribleoutlawnamed

ed.Thesongnarrates

y American story in

justiceis servedand

anquished.

howdidthat Ranger

hedraw?

MYREVOLVER

s loadedwithcustom

uintessential firearm

all of them in fame

-Action (SAA) Army

revolver. The original SAAs were

designed for military service in

the era immediately following the

Civil War. They saw combat across

the West—most notably when

they failed to avail George Custer

at the Little Bighorn.

As is true of most innovative

and successful designs adopted

for military service (such as the

1911, M16/AR-15 and, most re-

cently, the newly selected Sig

Sauer M17), civilians grab on and

make it their own thing. The arms

issued by the military are often

designed around some rather ar-

bitrarygoalpoststhatdon’tconcerncivilianendusers.

The original SAA in military service had a 7½-

inchbarrelthat wasmuchtoolongforthediscern-

ing quick-drawartist orsomeone lookingtodefend

themselvesonthestreet.Therevolvercameinat 13

inchesinoveralllengthbutwascapableoflaunching

a 250-grainbulletat justshyof1,000fpswithoriginal

.45Coltblack-powderloads.

While themilitary performance was excellent for

thedayandthetypeoffightingthatwasexperienced,

thebenefits ofthemilitarySAAdidn’ttranslatemuch

forthecivilian,whohadneedfora morecompact,fastergunforclosequarters

andeaseofcarry,justasciviliansdotoday.It couldeasilybearguedthatmany

a formercavalrymancarriedhis7½-inchgun,buttheartandstyleofclose-

quartersgunfightingdemandedsomethingeffectiveacrossthepokertable,not

acrossa battlefield.

THE‘SHOPKEEPER’

Theearliestmodelsthatfeaturedsuchshortbarrelswerenicknamedthe“shop-

keeper”andlackedanejectorrod.Whileit is certainlypossiblethatshort-barreled

revolverswereavailablewithejectorrodsatthetime,thefactorygunsfromColt

didn’thaveone.Today’sshooterswouldshyawayfroma revolverwithnomeans

of quickejection,sotheCimarronrevolversdiscussedinthisarticlehaveanejector

rodthatallowsthecasetobepokedout—butit won’texpelthemcompletelyfrom

thechamberas woulda longerrod.

I foundthatsimplytiltingtherevolversat a slightlydownwardangleandthen

quickly tapping the ejector

reliably kicks thefiredbrass

allthewayout...atleastin

mostcases.

THESTILL-RELEVANT

.45COLTCARTRIDGE

Bothrevolversarechambered

in.45 Colt.However, there’s

a variety of other calibers

available, including .44-

40 and .38 Special/.357

Magnum.The choice of .45

Colt is both time-honored

andpracticalinthatwhileit

was probably not the most

commonSAAchamberingof

m

a hh

e

tt s

lll

r

ss

www

v

f

h

ggg

Th

rep

t

mo

t

e

i

AA

kill

xa

t l

c

v s

u just

ggege

G E CTT

T OOlddWW w

gug ns, b he

pa

wawawas the Si l

gundigest.com GunDigest the magazine AUGUST 2019| 47

Left to right: Armscor

255-grain SWC, Sig Sauer

230-grain V-Crown JHP

and Black Hills RNFP.

These days, .45 Colt am-

munition varies a great

deal. Modern options,

such as the Sig Sauer V-

Crown, allow exceptional

performance for your

classically styled six-gun.

A fi xed fi ring pin is present on both revolvers in this

article. Note that it’s best to carry hammer-down on

an empty chamber due to the risk of an accidental

discharge.