Uberti El Patron Competition 4122 357 Magnum

For the Cowboy Action Shooting competitor, a tuned six-shooter can offer better reliability, more speed, and improved shooting comfort — no small matter with about 100 rounds typically being fired in a cowboy-style match. But a tuned shootin’ iron can also appeal to the recreational shooter, who simply wants a better gun than what he or she might buy untried over the counter. 

Since Single Action Army (SAA) revolvers were first built, there have been kitchen-table gunsmiths tweaking the design to lighten the trigger pull and enable the revolvers to be fired faster and more accurately. Today, there are revolvers that are tuned at the factory that enhance the performance of the classic single-action revolver without having to pay for custom gun work.

Three of these factory-tuned 38 Specials include the Uberti El Patron Competition, Taylor’s & Company Short Stroke Gunfighter, and Ruger’s SASS Vaquero. These are all SAA-style six-shot revolvers chambered in 357 Magnum but which also fire 38 Special more comfortably and more cheaply. Barrel lengths were 4.6, 4.7, or 5.5 inches, and all had fixed sights. The Ruger SASS is a matched pair of revolvers packaged to appeal to weekend gunslingers participating in Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) or those who just want a matched pair of revolvers.

These performance six-shooters were reviewed for accuracy, point-of-aim regulation to point of impact, trigger weight, ease of use, and sights. Just a side note on accuracy for Cowboy Action Shooting matches. Pistol stages are typically at 7 to 10 yards and targets are large, measuring 16 by 16 inches. Despite these large targets, CAS revolvers are often capable of excellent accuracy.

We opted to try ammo loaded for Cowboy Action Shooting and traditional target ammo in 38 Special as well as 357 Magnum, because these revolvers can also be used to defend the homestead. Cowboy fodder consisted of Blazer aluminum case loaded with a 158-grain lead round-nose bullet and Magtech with a 158-grain lead flat-point projectile. Traditional target ammo was Defender loaded with a 148-grain wadcutter bullet that punched perfectly round holes in paper. The defense load was Hornady Custom Critical Defense 357 Magnum with a 125-grain FTX bullet. We tested accuracy at 15 yards and fast shooting at 7 yards at a tombstone-style target. At 7 yards, we fired both two handed using our support-hand thumb to cock the revolvers and one handed using our firing-hand thumb to cock the revolvers.

A preliminary cylinder gap test showed the Uberti and both Rugers were in spec between 0.003 and 0.005 inches, while the Taylor’s was a very tight 0.012 inch. Would the Gunfighter bind up with continuous lead bullets shot through it? We would find out. 

These are fun revolvers to shoot. The devil is in the details, as they say, and here’s what we liked about these tuned six-shooters.

Uberti El Patron Competition 4122 357 Magnum,

$675

Gun Tests grade: A

The lowered and wider hammer on the El Patron Competition makes it easier to reach for and cock. Accuracy was excellent, and the revolver has an authentic look.

Uberti kicks up the Cattleman series a notch with the El Patron Competition models. In case you forget, the model name is roll marked on the left side of the barrel and filled with a gold-colored paint. 

The barrel, cylinder, and grip frame wear a deep-blue finish, and the frame itself is casehardened. Uberti chose to equip this gun with a walnut grip that is checkered on the sides. This grip is slightly thinner than the traditional SAA grip. All this makes the Uberti a sharp-looking SAA.

In hand, the Uberti feels like a traditional SAA with nice balance and a natural pointer.

All El Patron Competition models feature Wolff springs and an action that is very smooth and easy to cock and has a lighter trigger pull — 2.7 pounds on our sample. It is a dead ringer for a traditional Single Action Army except for the lowered hammer style and tuned action. The hammer is similar to the Montado hammer on the Ruger. The thumb of your firing hand is closer to the hammer spur, which is also wider and serrated.  

The front-sight blade is wide, and the rear-sight groove offers plenty of space on either side of the blade to enable fast sight acquisition. We liked these sights a lot. The cylinder chambers are numbered so it is easier to keep track of them. Instead of load one, skip one, load the rest to load five rounds, users can use the stamped numbers to load five rounds. Handy. There was not much of a cylinder bevel on the front of the cylinder face; we would have liked more. If the cylinder was rotated just past a chamber, the cylinder could be rotated counter-clockwise to get back to the chamber. With use, rotating the cylinder on an SAA and stopping on the chamber becomes rote. It is nice to have some wiggle room, though. The base pin has a fine grooved texture to pull it free when field stripping.

The one thing you notice with the Uberti is the firing pin. You can wiggle it when the revolver is in full cock. That is because it is a floating firing pin, so in theory, the Uberti can be carried safely loaded with six rounds. The trigger must be pulled fully to the rear to engage the firing pin and fire the revolver.

At 7 yards, the Uberti allowed us to blaze through five rounds fast with a two-hand hold. It shot to point of aim. The texture on the hammer spur is just slippery enough to allow the support-hand thumb to slip off of it prior to firing the shot. The trigger pull was light and well suited for competition shooting. Changing to one-hand operation, the lowered hammer is an asset because there is less reach for the hammer, you can cock the hammer faster than a traditional-style hammer. The crescent-shaped ejector head pivots away from the barrel so your finger tips don’t get seared from a hot tube. Most empties fell free from the chambers; a few required a slight push from the ejector rod.

Accuracy data showed the best five-shot group at 15 yards with the Uberti came with Defender target ammo, 0.71 inch, and an average of 0.80 inch, the best smallest group and group average out of all the pistols. For cowboy loads, Magtechs produced a best of 1.77 inches and an average of 1.96 inches. The other cowboy round, Blazer, had a best of 2.07 inches and a 2.24-inch average. The best with the 357 Magnum Hornady load measured 2.17 inches and the average was 2.22 inches.

Our Team Said: The Uberti is a very capable single action with an edge in speed over the Rugers. We liked the large modern sights, the thin checkered grip, and the light trigger pull. This revolver is good-to-go out of the box for Cowboy Action Shooting or plinking at the range. Opt for the Uberti if you want to keep the look authentic. 

To collect accuracy data, we fired five-shot groups from a bench using a rest. Distance: 15 yards with open sights. Velocities and energies were recorded using a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph. The Blazer ammunition has aluminum cases. LRN = lead round nose. LFP = lead flat point. FTX = Flex Tip Expanding. 

Written and photographed by Robert Sadowski, using evaluations from Gun Tests Team members. GT