Beretta,
by way of its famed subsidiary, A. Uberti, has finally
started delivering to stores the single action revolver it has
been promising for some time.
They
call it the STAMPEDE ...and it is a very nice firearm.
The sample I have is a 4 and 3/4 inch barreled model in, what
else, 45 Colt.
The
grips came with the hard black composite types with a buffalo on
the sides. I immediately swapped them out for a pair of grips I
made out of a piece of unknown type of modern ivory like plastic
that I had on hand... I
like sixguns with white ivory like grips.
The Stampede has an excellent transfer bar system. The hammer
reminds me of the Ruger Flat Top
hammers of the 1960s. Clean, straight and attractive.
The transfer bar itself is in the frame channel the
hammer goes into, and rises when the hammer is cocked and is
still unobtrusive. Not like a number of clones now on the
market. I like it
better than the Taurus Gaucho,
whose hammer has an ugly nose on it.
The
cylinder mouths are with in 1/5000ths of each other at .4535.
Uberti obviously used the old Colt specs for the 454 Colt
45 size bullets. Since
the barrel is .452+ the accuracy is good.
The
frame and loading gate feature imitation case coloring, as most
do today. But it is very attractive with the very deep
blue/black of the rest of the gun, it is a very handsome
package.
The
Stampede has
the wide trigger like the Ruger single actions and that helps
the accuracy, with the ability to ‘feel’ the breaking of the
sear much better.
I
have
one of the older spring based trigger weight testers from RCBS,
and it tells me the trigger breaks at a very clean four and a
quarter pounds. Because it is so clean a break it feels much
less. The hammer style is the same as the older Colts as far as
the spur (thumb extension) goes.
This is another area where some of the clones fall
short... I’ve seen some strange changes, to make the clones
more ‘Western’! The short Colt like hammer makes the gun
easier to cock in a fast and positive manner. Some of these
other wing-ding hammers on clones with long spurs, have much too
long a draw to cock, to make up for the length of the spur. And
too long a hammer drop for good accuracy.
The
Stampede
has a solid steel frame, including the grip frame. And that’s
very welcome with me because I don’t like aluminum anywhere on
my guns...but it is a fact of life with many, like some models
of the Ruger S/As. And this gun loads and unloads just like the
old Colts. Pull the hammer back two clicks and the cylinder can
be turned. It has the overall feel of the 1873 Colt single
action. The size of it and my 1873 model Colt are almost exact
in every measurement. Another
reason I think the Uberti designers used and older Colt to
design the Stampede.
At
the range, which in this case consists of the open high
chaparral around the area of my home,
Winchester’s standard soft lead 255 grain load
went into 2 inches at 25+ yards.
This has always been less than an accurate load. And at
702 fps I’m not sure what it is good for...with me.
My load in this gun (and it is my load, so work up to it,
if you are going to copy it, and only in modern, strong, safe
guns) consists of 20
grains of 2400 under the 255 grain Keith cast bullet put out by
RCBS molds (45-250K) and just near 1100 fps, into 1 and a
quarter inches at 25+ yards.
After nearly
100 rounds of my load and 75 rounds of the Winchester stuff, I
can report only that the accuracy potential is very good. I
didn’t have time to test a number of other brands of 45 Colt
ammo... And I don’t go with gun writers that test guns with 50
to 100 rounds and then pronounce them accurate...but the
potential is surely there.
I think with a little reloading work it might be the 45 I
take with me to
Africa in March 2006. See www.leverguns.com
for information on the African trip if you want to come with me.
I have a Rossi ‘92 short rifle in 45 Colt that is also
going, so I will be working on a cross over load for both guns.
This
little Colt Clone by Beretta / A. Uberti for me is a keeper.
Paco
Kelly
NOTE: All load data posted on this
web site are for educational purposes only. Neither the author nor
GunBlast.com assume any responsibility for the use or misuse of this data.
The data indicated were arrived at using specialized equipment under
conditions not necessarily comparable to those encountered by the
potential user of this data. Always use data from respected loading
manuals and begin working up loads at least 10% below the loads indicated
in the source manual.
 
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