COLT SAA 45

Being the cover photo on the latest issue of Airgun Hobbyist, an American based magazine, is high praise indeed for the latest offering by Armex.

Even in the land where the original pistol was born, this Co2 powered replica has created quite a stir. There are already just a select few air pistols that are becoming modern legends due to their incredible build quality and stunning likeness in looks, weight and feel to the real thing. I’ve only had a few days to enjoy these beautiful pistols but I’ve already fallen in love with them.

Since I first saw pictures of this gun being shown at the gun shows and on the cover of the magazine, I’d been eager for them to land here in the UK to get my hands on one, to test it and see if the rumours are true about these legendary pistols. I was absolutely delighted when Ty from Armex had informed me that Solware were due to have them in stock, I already do a little voluntary work for the manager of Solware so hopped straight on the phone to ask him if I could loan them the following day. Friday they had been delivered and come 10am the Saturday morning, I was on my way and super excited to be making the trip to retrieve them for review from Solware. There are three models and Carl (the manager) offered me all three to write about and review, which I was really hoping he’d agree to, so that I could make the comparison for you all and show you how different they are in looks to one another.

They are all mechanically identical but have different finishes coming to us in blued/brown, nickel/pearl which has imitation bone or ivory grips and antique finish which is absolutely stunning!!! All of these Replicas of the colt single action revolver are insanely realistic, but even more so when you are pointing one at your target and not just looking at a picture. They are all metal design , 4.5inch smooth bore barrels , use 12g Co2 cartridges and use 4.5mm steel BBs. They have a 6 round cylinder with brass removable dummy shells, which have been beautifully made and polished, nothing is spared on detail.

They weigh in at 2.1pounds or 953 grams; they are single action only just like the original. What is interesting is it’s the only Colt 45 SA that Colt license, it carries all the Colt trades which on some guns can look quite off-putting but on these, it enhances the look! Underneath the cylinder you’ll find the license pattern and on the opposite side you’ll find Colt’s brand logo.

The box has a great finish with lots of details and specifications and inside you also get a very detailed manual.

Loading the gun was an absolute breeze, charging the gun with a Co2 cartridge is simplicity itself. You do this by unclipping the pistol grip which has a hex key already fitted to the inside, which is a feature I am a massive fan of as I tend to lose my allen keys too often! So, you’ll drop in your CO2, tighten it up with the hex key until you hear that hiss of bliss, snap your grip back on, load your BB’s into their shells, then you’re good to go!

Loading your BB’s you need to take a shell out by half cocking the gun, flick open the loading breech, and pull out the spent cartridge by using the spring loaded ejector rod, but you can also use gravity by simply pointing the gun towards the sky, rotate the cylinder and allow the shell to slide out and fall out into your hand one by one.

The shells are a bit different to a lot of standard BB pistols out there, most other BB pistols tend to take the BB in the tip of the shell, but this one the BB goes into the back of the shell. It’s worth knowing that bit of information because I almost made the mistake of loading at the front but luckily I read the manual word for word before loading. Another pointer is it’s very quiet and back garden friendly, which tells me that with the BB going into the back of the cartridge, it gives you that extra barrel length which in turn is able to use slightly less air but still get the same velocity. This is brilliant because your co2 will go that little bit further meaning it’s a very air efficient gun.

There is an even easier way, though, due to the clever design of these shells being back loaders - means you can just open the loading port and slide a BB straight into the back of the round without even having to take the shells out of the cylinder which is a much quicker and definite easier way of loading those BB’s which is a feature I really loved! Just keep on doing the same thing until you’ve loaded all of the dummy cartridges, when they’re all loaded you just shut the breech and if you’re not going to fire it, just un-cock the gun by putting your thumb on the hammer, pulling the trigger and letting the hammer move forward very slowly, then when you’re ready just re-cock the gun and fire. Which brings me onto the very discreetly placed safety catch; it’s fitted on the underside of the action just in front of the cylinder and does its job extremely well.

When safety is on, it locks the hammer in the un-cocked position and will also lock it in the cocked position disabling the gun from firing.

When you cock the hammer and the cylinder rotates it puts a massive smile on your face because it’s like hearing all those sounds from your favourite western.

Rear sight is just a notch and the front sight is a blade just like on the original. No tech on this gun but with this gun you’re buying realism and this Colt has it in spades.

As with all BB guns please make sure you always wear proper eye protection and are certain you have a soft and safe backstop to absorb the energy from your BBs

Now these are selling like hot cakes, you have western enthusiasts buying them and classic gun enthusiasts collecting them so don’t hang around purchasing one of these if you’re interested in owning the most realistic 45’s available.

Another ground breaking air pistol - the Colt 45 SAA by Umarex . These stunners are distributed by Umarex, sent to Armex UK, who then distribute to dealerships in the UK.

Check out my youtube review on this gun at www.youtube.com/user/triggerhappydanni

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