I'll start. First off I am a huge fan of the later "USA production" USFA guns.
But I have also shot and then later owned 1st Generation Colt's since childhood. For the last 30 years I've been a full time gunsmith, eventually specialized as a pistolsmith for the last 20. Suffice to say, few will be blowing smoke up my skirt on the quality of the guns or how they are made. I've also been successful as a firearms and defensive tactics instructor at a National level. With the claim of a State championship or top 5 finishes in more than one handgun discipline.
I can build a good one. And more importantly to me, make the thing run.
How does that relate to USFA? Well if you have one of the later guns...it tells me you likely have an exceptional gun. If you have one of the early USPFA or even many of the early USFA guns you have a Uberti. Plain and simple, that is the facts. As nice as a Uberti can be, and I own several, they are not guns I spend a lot of time shooting. YMMV obviously on how you view Uberti guns and good places else where to have that discussion.
USFA may have built some of the highest quality SAAs ever. Or they may have just had a spectacular and reasonably successful ad campaign selling highly refinished Ubertis. Or something in between. Simply out of curiosity on my part I'd like to know the real story. After all I bought into that ad campaign originally, with 7 of the later guns! Knowing full well the earlier guns really were just "highly finished Ubertis".
I'm also a "collector". I collect quality guns I find worthy of shooting. And those are mostly hand guns.
I get as excited about the best of the USFA guns as anyone. But the praises heaped on all the USFA SAA guns frankly IMO just isn't justified. As one of the best known Colt SAA smiths mentioned to me this week...."USFA? They are like Beanie Babies, or a Uberti".
He might be just a little jaded on the facts with a healthy dose of Colt loyalty to turn a blind eye to the best of the USFA guns. Or may be just know more than he is willing to write in public. Likely the later I'd suspect.
The deeper I research the history of USFA, how the guns were built and from what parts, with a critical eye, the more I agree. But with this much USFA trigger time, I suspect there is more to it than "beanie babies"
.
I'm not the first to say the USFA guns were dressed up Ubertis. (Coffinmaker where are you?
) And when the dust settles and the full story finally comes out, as it eventually will, of USFA production and material sources I won't be the last. I didn't start the discussion to bash USFA. No reason to. But I do find the search of how the company began and how it ended.....and the resulting changes in quality of parts and finished guns in between those dates, short on documented facts, but very interesting.
Till then I'm gonna keep shooting mine!