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I
have in my possession a Second Generation Colt Single
Action Army revolver that I recently purchased at a pawn shop
about 30 miles from home. I wasn’t really looking for one when
I ran across this one, but I was able to negotiate a good deal
on it, so in my mind the purchase was justified, and I brought
it home. The sixgun is about thirty years old, but still wears
most of its casehardened finish; still, the nifty sixgun needed
a little tuning to make it really slick. The gun shot about
three inches to the left, and the action was looser than it
should have been, so I started a search for a good gunsmith that
specializes in tuning old Colts.
I
had never used the services of Tom Sargis; the proprietor
of Bozeman Trail Arms, but after speaking with others who
had, I decided to give him a call. Tom is a real down-to-Earth
kind of a fellow, not at all full of himself, but knowledgeable
to the extreme about single action revolvers, so I packed up the
gun and shipped it to Montana with the instructions to
"make the gun sing", as John Taffin likes
phrase it.
Tom
specializes in tuning and rebuilding old Single Action Army
Colts and their Italian copies, and also smoothes and
tunes lever-action rifles and Ruger single action
revolvers.
When
the gun was returned to me a few weeks later, I had to check the
serial number to assure that it was indeed the same sixgun that
I had shipped to him earlier! The Colt looked much the same, but
the action is unbelievable! The only cosmetic change to the gun
was that Tom had removed the old surface rust from the sides of
the hammer, but the action job that he performed on the gun’s
innards is really slick. He retimed the action, leaving it with
an almost liquid feel to cocking the hammer. While the four
clicks are felt as the hammer is brought back to full cock, it
works as slick as oiled glass, with a trigger pull of about one
and three-quarters of a pound, as measured on my digital gauge.
Besides
the excellent action job, Tom also re-cut the forcing cone and
turned the barrel in the frame just enough to correct the
windage to dead center. The group shown was fired by Tom with Black
Hills Cowboy loads, and shoots higher with heavier .357
Magnum ammunition, placing the bullets right where the sights
look.
Overall,
I am well-pleased with the work performed by Tom Sargis on my
Colt. He took an average Colt Single Action Army, and converted
it into a really slick-working, great-shooting, and accurate
sixgun. Again, to quote John Taffin, he "made it
sing", and it sings a sweet tune indeed.
I
highly recommend the work of Tom Sargis. You can view all of the
services offered by Bozeman Trail Arms on the web at:
http://www.ycsi.net/users/gunsmith/
I
think that you will find his prices fair, his work excellent,
and with only an eight week turn-around, one of the fastest
custom gunsmiths anywhere.
Jeff Quinn
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Tom Sargis, proprietor of Bozeman Trail Arms, in his
shop. Tom quietly runs a fine gunsmithing shop, performing
quality work at reasonable prices with quick turn-around
times.
Click picture for a larger version.
Bozeman Trail Arms performed an action job and some
accurizing work on Jeff's Second-Generation Colt SAA. After
shooting the Colt, it was hard to believe Tom had returned the
same gun!
Click picture for a larger version.
Tom Sargis did a fine job slicking-up the action on
Jeff's old Colt. The action is now perfectly timed and
smoothed, and the SAA's only cosmetic flaw was corrected when
Tom polished the surface rust from the sides of the hammer.
Click picture for a larger version.
Tom's test target shows that the accuracy of the gun is
much improved. The test target was fired with Cowboy loads,
and the gun now shoots perfectly to point of aim with the
heavier ammunition favored by the Author.
Tom Sargis (left) with Mike Venturino. Tom loves the
"Old West" style guns, and he enjoys breathing new
life into Colt, Colt clone, and Ruger SA revolvers as well as
lever-action rifles. Next time one of your beloved guns needs
some attention, give Bozeman Trail Arms a try; Jeff thinks
you'll be well pleased with the results!
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