COBRA
Cobra Firearms of Utah manufactures some small and reliable two-shot single action derringers. These compact derringers are made in .22 Long Rifle, .22 Magnum, .38 Special, 9mm Luger, .25 Auto, .32 Auto, .380 Auto, and .32 H&R Magnum. Their Titan model is built of stainless steel, and is offered in 9mm Luger and .45 Colt/.410 shotshell. These derringers are available in a variety of colors, and each sells at an affordable price. Brand new from Cobra this year is their Shadow +P-rated fi ve-shot .38 Special revolver. This one has a concealed hammer and looks very much like a Smith & Wesson Model 642. It has a stainless cylinder and barrel with an aluminum frame for an overall a weight of fi fteen ounces. I have not yet had the opportunity to fire one of these, but I have handled a couple of them, and they appear to be well-made from quality materials. I look forward to trying one out soon.
COLT
Colt has been producing revolvers for almost 175 years now. In fact, if it were not for Sam Colt, we might not have revolvers. His first successful revolver, the Paterson, set the stage for all revolvers that have followed. That design, while it worked pretty well, was delicate and underpowered, but it led to the big Colt Walker, which packed a lot of punch and set the Colt company on its way to success. Through the years, Colt has produced some very good revolver designs, but today has only one Colt revolver in its stable, that being the Single Action Army. The SAA is probably the most recognized handgun in the world, and is certainly the most copied revolver design ever produced. Colt still produces the SAA, and the latest sixguns that they have been shipping for the past few years are as good as any that Colt has ever produced. Available in three barrel lengths (4.75, 5.5, and 7.5 inches), the Single Action Army is chambered in a choice of .357 Magnum, .44 WCF, .45 Colt, .38 Special, .32 WCF (.32-20) and .38 WCF (.38-40). The SAA is available in blued/case-hardened or nickel finishes. Through the Colt Custom Shop, many options are available such as non-standard barrel lengths and hand engraving.
Ruger LCR polymer-framed .38 Special, one of the hottest revolvers on the market.
Blackhawk Ruger eight-shot .327 Federal Magnum Blackhawk with Barranti Leather rig. The term “six-shooter” is obviously inadequate to describe it.
EUROPEAN AMERICAN ARMORY
EAA Corp. has a line of Single Action Army replica revolvers called the Bounty Hunter. These sixguns are available chambered for the .22 Long Rifle and .22 Magnum cartridges, with an alloy frame and a choice of six or eight-shot cylinders. The available centerfire chamberings are the .357 and .44 Magnums and the .45 Colt. These sixguns are built with all-steel frames in a choice of nickeled, blued, or case-hardened finishes and have the traditional half-cock loading feature but include a modern transfer bar safety action that permits carrying them fully loaded, with a live round under the hammer without fear of firing if accidentally dropped.
The double-action Windicator revolvers are chambered for the .38 Special cartridge with an alloy frame, or the all-steel .357 Magnum version. Both revolvers have a synthetic rubber grip and a businesslike matte blue finish, with a choice of two- or four-inch barrel.
FREEDOM ARMS
Freedom Arms of Freedom, Wyoming, is best known for its fi ne, sturdy, and super-accurate revolvers. It is often said that a Freedom Arms revolver is built like a fi ne Swiss watch. I disagree. A Swiss watch has a lot of tiny, delicate parts, and can get screwed up beyond repair if dropped hard. The Freedom Arms revolver is tough. It is built to very close tolerances but can also take a lot of abuse. Chambered for such powerful cartridges as the .454 Casull and the .475 Linebaugh, the Freedom revolvers will withstand a lot more punishment than most shooters can endure. The Freedom Arms revolvers are meticulously fitted and finished to perfection. The chambers in the cylinder are precisely aligned with the bore, and every detail of these revolvers follows the same precise standard of quality.
The large-frame Model 83 is the fl agship of the Freedom Arms line and is chambered for the aforementioned .454 Casull and .475 Linebaugh cartridges, in addition to the .357 Magnum and .500 Wyoming Express cartridges and the .41 and .44 Magnums. It’s available with fixed sights or rugged adjustable sights. The adjustable-sight guns also accept a variety of scope mounts.
The Model 97 is Freedom’s compact frame single action revolver. Built to the same tight tolerances as the Model 83 revolvers, the Model 97 is a bit handier to carry all day and is chambered for the .17 HMR and .22 Long Rifle/Magnum rimfire cartridges, as well as the .327 Federal, .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Special, and .45 Colt centerfire cartridges. In addition to these standard handgun cartridges, the Model 97 is also available in Freedom Arms’ own .224-32 cartridge, which is a fast-stepping .22 centerfire based on the .327 Federal cartridge case.
First introduced to the public last year, the Freedom Arms Model 2008 Single Shot pistol is the first single shot handgun that ever stirred any interest in me. There have been several very good single shot pistols on the market for years, but the Freedom Arms is the only one that is built like a Freedom Arms revolver. I have fired a couple of these chambered in the 6.5x55 and 6.5 JDJ cartridges, as well as one chambered for the .375 Winchester cartridge. Current chamberings offered are the .223 Remington, 6.5 Swede, 7mm BR, 7mm-08, .308 Winchester, .357 Magnum, .357 Maximum, .338 Federal and .375 Winchester. Standard barrel lengths are 10,15, and 16 inches, depending on caliber, but non-standard lengths are available as well for a nominal cost.
What makes this single shot so comfortable to shoot is the single action revolver grip style. Shooting the pistol allows the gun to recoil comfortably, with no pain at all to the hands as is encountered with some single shot pistols. The barrels are interchangeable, with extra fitted barrels available from Freedom Arms, allowing the shooter to switch among any of the available barrel and caliber options all on one frame. The Model 2008 weighs in around four pounds, depending on barrel length and caliber. The barrel is drilled for a Freedom Arms scope mount, and the scope stays with the barrel, allowing the interchange of the barrels without affecting the sight adjustment. These new single shot pistols have handsome impregnated wood grips and forends and are shipping now.
LEGACY SPORTS
Legacy Sports is best known for their Howa and Puma rifles, but they also have made a big splash in the market last year with their Bounty Hunter Model 92 lever action pistol. The Bounty Hunter resembles a sawed-off Model 92 lever action rifle, but is built from the start as a pistol, so it needs no special NFA tax stamp for approval. It can be purchased just like any other pistol, and has become quite popular for its nostalgic appeal, as well as its reliable function and accuracy. Legacy also markets a couple of good holster rigs for this “mare’s leg” pistol, made by Bob Mernickle exclusively for Legacy Sports. The holster and belt combo is a beautiful rig and makes a necessary addition to the Bounty Hunter, completing the nostalgic package.
Legacy also has their 1873 Colt replica sixgun called the Puma Westerner. These are reliable and well-built sixguns, chambered for the .357 Magnum, .44 WCF, and .45 Colt cartridges, with 4.75, 5.5-, or 7.5- inch barrels. They are very high-quality Colt SAA replicas. These sixguns are offered with a blued and case-hardened finish with walnut grips, nickel finish with walnut grips, or with a stainless finish and white synthetic ivory grips. The Puma line also includes a very affordable single action replica chambered for the .22 Long Rifle or .22 Magnum cartridge that would make a good trainer for the larger bores, but will be a lot less costly to shoot.
MAGNUM RESEARCH
Magnum Research of Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been producing their quality BFR revolver for many years now. These robust single action revolvers are built for hunting the largest, most dangerous game on the planet. In addition to their venerable .454 Casull revolvers, the BFR is available in other high-performance calibers like the .460 and .500 Smith & Wesson Magnums, the .475 Linebaugh and .480 Ruger revolver cartridges, as well as the .30-30 Winchester, .444 Marlin, and .45-70