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Air Guns Engraved Colt Peacemaker BB pistol: Part Three

Engraved Colt Peacemaker BB pistol: Part Three

Engraved Colt SAA
Engraved Colt Single Action Army revolver.

Part 1
Part 2

This report covers:

  • The test
  • Daisy BBs
  • H&N Smart Shot
  • RWS Hobby
  • No target pistol
  • Summary

Today we look at the accuracy of the engraved Colt Peacemaker BB pistol. I shot with both BBs and pellets.

The test

To keep things on an even keel with past BB gun tests I shot from five meters/16 feet, four inches. I was seated and the barrel of the gun rested on a UTG Monopod. I shot six shots with each type of ammo.

Daisy BBs

First up were six Daisy BBs. I loaded the cartridges while they were in the cylinder and it went quick. Six Daisy BBs made a group that measures 2.183-inches between centers. There is a shot that hit out to the left but there were no called pulls.

engraved SAA Daisy BB group
The engraved Colt SAA BB revolver put five Daisy steel BBs into 2.183-inches between centers at 5 meters.

H&N Smart Shot

I tried H&N Smart Shot next. Six lead Smart Shot made a 1.52-inch group at 5 meters. These BBs stayed together more than the steel BBs and I think their slightly larger diameter is the reason why. When I show you what pellets did I’ll explain.

engraved SAA Smart Shot group
Six H&N Smart Shot lead BBs from the engraved Colt SAA BB pistol made a 1.53-inch group at 5 meters.

RWS Hobby

Up to this point I loaded the cartridges without removing them from the cylinder. But I notice that the Smart Shot lead BB did significantly better than the steel BB and I believe its slightly larger diameter is why. If I’m right then a larger lead pellet will do best in this revolver.

The RWS Hobby is one of the larger lead pellets in my collection, and yet it weighs only 7 grains which makes it ideal for this smoothbore BB revolver. But it is so large that I had to load the cartridges outside the cylinder of the BB gun.

Six Hobbys made a 1.607-inch group at 5 meters. 

engraved SAA Hobby group
Six RWS Hobby pellets went into 1.607-inches at 5 meters.

Stock up on Air Gun Ammo

No target pistol

Well, this isn’t a target pistol—that’s for sure. But it’s probably a pretty good tin can popper.

Do you notice that almost all the shots landed left of center? Regardless of what type of ammo was fired they nearly all went left. That’s something to remember when shooting this one.

If this was a double action revolver and I shot it that way I would attribute the left leaning to pulling the gun left with the trigger finger of my right hand. But I shot it single action and from a rest. The gun shoots to the left.

Summary

This isn’t the most accurate Colt SAA BB pistol I’ve ever shot. On that front it’s about average. It is the prettiest one though. I’ve owned it for over ten years and just now tried it out!

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

59 thoughts on “Engraved Colt Peacemaker BB pistol: Part Three”

  1. BB: I have a Umarex SAA Colt pellet pistol . I load the pellets directly into the cartridges without removing them from the gun. My revolver has the nickel finish with the pearl (plastic) grips. It is very difficult to fire double action. My questions revolve around the differences between these Umarex pistols, especially the differences in the pistols that shoot both pellets and bbs. What can you tell us about any differences between these revolvers? Thank you, Orv.

    • Orv,

      I don’t think there are any accuracy differences between the Umarex SAA revolvers. I think it’s just the luck of the draw whether one is accurate or not.

      I’s not just difficult to shoot them double action; it’s impossible. Hence the nickname Single Action Army.

      BB

      • Thanks, BB. I just keep mine around as “wall hanger”, reminding myself of my cowboy heritage. My grandad and his brothers ran sheep up near Wilcox Arizona when I was but a mere lad. I remember riding over those beautiful hillsides and deep canyons on one of their stock ponies. It was more of a dream for me as I don’t believe they ever made much on that dry land. Great fun for a boy on horseback wielding a Ruger 10/22 though. Is it still OK for me to play cowboy, riding on a horse with no name weilding my SAA Colt revolver? Orv.

          • Now my feelings just may be hurt. My dear Scottish sheep hearding grandfather and his brother were a proud and hard working people. I so well remember staying out in the pasture for weeks at a time in the summer as the sheep were moved from one pasture to another. Good times as a boy. Orv.

              • Well Tom, we always played cowboys and Indians. . . I even had the bow & arrows along with a feather in my cap. At times we yelled “woo-woo” and at others we sang “don’t fence me in”. Didn’t know what any of it meant . . . just kids being kids. My Grandad was born in 1872 and worked his pastures until the early ’60’s. I remember how unhappy he was when he had to retire from the land and move into a small bungalow near us. It was my privilege/responsibility to go read Scriptures to him after church on Sundays as he had cataracts and could no longer read.He passed in 1964. It’s my heritage. I know you’re just teasing, but some waters run deep. Thank, Orv.

                • Hoppalong Doc,

                  Orv don’t listen to B.B. on this one!

                  “What is a sheep herder called?

                  AI Overview
                  Sheepherders: Lifestyles of Rural Residents …
                  A person who herds sheep is called a shepherd. Shepherding is the act of caring for and tending to sheep.
                  Responsibilities Protect sheep from predators, Keep sheep from wandering, Feed sheep, Guard sheep, and Lead sheep to grazing areas.
                  History
                  Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations in the world. It’s been practiced in many cultures and religions, which have often used shepherds as symbols.

                  For example, Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd.

                  More Synonym:
                  shepherds, herdsmen, herders, drovers, stockmen, and depending on the context, even “cowboys” or “vaqueros”.

                  STAND TALL.

                  shootski

        • Hoppalong Doc,

          Orv i hope i never shook you out of bed on one of our “Sand Blower” runs!

          We flew at and below 500′ just a shade below Supersonic speeds near Wilcox and the Electronic Proving Ground in the Playa area often. Sometimes we would get the varying atmospheric conditions wrong and make LOUD BOOMS.

          shootski

          • You know, it’s been more than 60 years since I’ve been out there. . . just driven through those cowboy memorial’s I think BB was referring to since. The sand dunes are down in the desert, near town and today’s freeway. Heading north and east, there are beautiful green hillsides and valleys and red rock canyons. We used to sleep where the stars seemed so near that you could reach out and touch them. I think my last summer at Grandads was the summer of ’62, between 9th and 10th grades. Orv.

            • Hoppalong Doc,

              “We used to sleep where the stars seemed so near that you could reach out and touch them.” I experienced back then and still try to as often as possible of what you speak of.

              Orv that is an experience in the dry high desert that every person should have on their Bucket List!

              I remember the night sky in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Wyoming and slivers of some of surrounding states in the 1960’s, where the air was extremely dry and clean, watching the Milky Way turn through the sky in both Winter and Summer and having a really hard time getting any sleep because it was so stunningly beautiful. Before Lake POWELL was filled we hiked into the Kodachrome Basin; before it became a State Park in Utah. It is now one of the premier Dark Sky locations on Earth: https://darksky.org

              Simply WOW!

              shootski

  2. B.B.

    You have owned this for over 10 years and just now you are shooting it?
    Wow, do you not open Christmas presents until the tape turns yellow?
    Have a nice weekend everybody!

    -Yogi

      • You just reminded FM he needs to shoot the Umarex P08 that’s been hanging around for over a year. Guess there’s been too much fun going on with the “sproingers” and the PCPs.

        This revolver reminds FM of his “Cowboys-and-Indians” days. Happy Trails to you and everyone!

  3. BB,
    I remember looking into the barrel setup on these revolvers.
    The small straw like inner barrel is practically floating in space and not exactly designed for accuracy but more to function as a replica.
    It simply slides into the back of the spring loaded ‘Forcing cone’ that slides in end out of the cylinder detents and floats through a hole in the outer barrel out front to center it. It needs to be loose enough there to slide in and out as the forcing cone pops in and out of each cylinder bore as it rotates. I actually shimmed one up with aluminum tape to tighten it up some.
    On top of that the cylinder never really locks up tight. Always a little play there taking the forcing cone with it. So that’s 4 places that introduce barrel play and then air pressure behind the BB may move it around some as well when shot.
    Replicas simply need bigger targets to solve the problem.

    It would be interesting to compare the accuracy of a longer 6 3/4″ barrels and the shorter Ace in the hole model barrels. Probably no change except for FPS.

  4. Thanks for the report BB. It’s good to know these things.

    By the way, the FX pocket chronograph did not pick up the ricochet pellets (at least not in the confines of my basement range). I may try again when I have more space available. But I did manage to get a rough idea of the velocity/energy loss by using my Crosman 362 multi-pump rifle and some duct seal material in a pellet trap. I compared the depth of the pellet penetrations in the duct seal at some known different velocities (number of pumps). And then compared the ricocheted pellet’s depth of penetration to the known velocities pellets’ penetrations. It seems that a five pumps ricocheted pellet’s depth of penetration is about equal to 4-pump non-ricocheted pellet’s pellet penetration. About a 15% loss by my calculations. But I think there are too many variables that can be different to generalize about ricochets.

    • Elmer,

      Using radar chronographs in small areas can result in signal reflections that washout/overwhelm the echo off the pellet and confuse the unit.

      Think of it like shining a bright light into a room filled with dozens of mirrors – you won’t be able to see a thing.

      Hank

      • Thanks Hank, that makes sense. I also think that more distance from the ricochet point to the target/pellet trap would help. I just haven’t yet figured out a safe way to have more distance in our finished basement.

        • Elmer Fudd,

          Even without all the “mirrors” Hank refers to…
          Directional RADARs emit a Main Beam BUT also emit Lobes to the side and rear which can result in Clutter, False Targets as well as a host of other Gremlins that bedevil the computational/display accuracy ESPECIALLY at short range.

          shootski

  5. Because the Donald is a personal friend of mine, I was given advanced exclusive access to the JFK, Robert and MLK files prior to their upcoming release.

    JFK was not shot by LHO. A Carcano? From how far away? Really? He was shot by his brother Robert and MLK, from the South Lawn. Why do you think they were killed? They knew too much. JEH had organized it for Aristotal who wanted Jackie for himself.

    You do not have to believe me. Ask Elvis. He was there on the South Lawn also. That is why he faked his death.

    I would stay and tell you folks more, but I have to go to the grocery store and get more bananas and peanut butter.

  6. BB,
    This was an interesting discussion on this Colt SAA. Bob M’s response, reminding us about the floating barrel and the forcing cone, something you told us about previously. Bob taped the barrel to tighten it up a smidge, hoping to shrink his groups a bit.
    Now here is here is a crazy idea: if you applied some aluminum tape to the inside of the frame where the barrel moves, in half-pipe fashion like shimming a scope, on opposite sides at both ends, that would give that straw a horizontal tilt to the right, that might correct its left shooting-ness. Can anyone you know get in there fairly easily to do that? One would need to find exactly the right round tuit for that job. Or use a larger target…
    Have a fine weekend all!
    Regards,
    Will

  7. Very Much enjoyed the reveals from RR and Spyski, er, Shootski. Everyone have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

    Fred formerly of the Demokratik Peeples Republik of NJ now happily in GA

  8. Fred DORoNJ,

    Glad you were lucky enough to see my tongue-in-cheek post!
    Sadly my post has gone to the electronic equivalent of the Gulag in the Eastern part of Ukraine.
    Bohdan Khmelnytsky strikes again…COSSACKS! ;^)

    shootski

    PS: check out who the current organization Svoboda is and what it is in Ukraine.

  9. Now I hear JFK was accidently shot in the back of the head by one of the secret service agents in a car following behind him. He evidently was standing and forced backwards as the vehicles accelerated, probably after the first shot, and accidently pulled the trigger trying to hold on to the rifle. That would not go over well.

  10. Now the question is, did I wrap aluminum tape around the inner barrel where it passes through the outer barrel or where it slides into the back of the forcing cone. Or both! And did I ever check for the results?
    And which of the twenty or so pistols did I do it to?

    Probably one of the Refurbished ones I got to shoot that had a bad CO2 leak. I took it apart to replace a seal inside that looked like a rubber band. Found it outside it’s intended depression and crushed when assembled after overhaul, I assume. Part was sent to me free after I provided photographic evidence. Thank you P/A & Umarex.

  11. Shootski,
    Talk about stargazing. Not sure if I mentioned this before. Camping out in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and it got too hot at night, so we moved to the top of Pinion Moutain. It’ about 4000ft high and much cooler.
    We were trying not to bump our heads on the stars when we walked around. They looked that close. OK we had a few beers.
    Anyway, I was laying fat on my reclining beach chair staring at all the stars in amazement when all of a sudden three ‘stars’ one at a time moved behind or joined a fourth star. After a short time, they reappeared at about the same pace to their original position. Only the third ‘star’ continued moving on then sped up and really took off and disappeared out of sight.

    My immediate thought was, Oh God, I wasn’t supposed to see that and my stomach turned in fear.
    Needless to say, I’m a believer now! I don’t believe we have anything that can do that. Nothing in the news.

  12. B.B. and Readership,

    For those of you that read Bob M’s stargazing reply and his sighting of four ‘stars’ conundrum. There are a number of things he may have seen; other than the usual suspects UFO (UAP*) :
    1. A tethered Satellite Constellation and perhaps a resupply visit or an attack simulation or an actual engagement.
    2. A number of aircraft (AC) joining up at high altitude illuminated by the Sun, Moon, or Earthshine. Changing altitude or clouds blanketing the natural illumination could cause both high altitude AC or Satellites to appear to wink in or out.
    3. Testing our or another players capabilities of some sort.

    shootski

    * “UAP,” or “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” is used to describe unexplainable sights in the sky, not just unidentified flying objects.

  13. Shootski,
    Could be? But this was well over10 years ago. May have been top secret stuff back then.

    Thay acted like the balls of light you hear about today. Sudden fast and steady movement that came to an abrupt stop. No period of accelerating to speed or slowing down. Except for the last one and it disappeared into space in the blink of an eye, it moved so fast. Instantaneous movement.

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