Cimarron Pistoleer For Modern Shooters

I got to test the Cimarron Pistoleer, a 4 3/4″ barrel, .45 LC, Old West-style revolver design with a modern upgrade. It turned out to be one of the most entertaining range guns I have fired in years.

The two-tone Cimarron Pistoleer has a nickel-plated backstrap and walnut grips with the Cimarron coin logo and is built by Uberti for Cimarron Firearms. Uberti and Cimarron have a long-standing relationship, and any Cimarron firearm in their catalog has the “one-gun-at-a-time” quality we all appreciate in a firearm.

Although this is supposed to be a base model single-action shooter with the styling of Old West revolvers like the Peacemaker, it has the workmanship and finish of an expensive working gun ready for Cowboy Action Shooting.

The Pistoleer is a six-shooter and feels and shoots like guns of the era except it uses Uberti’s Automatic Safety Hammer. The Automatic Safety Hammer uses a floating firing pin, which was designed to allow a dropped hammer to sit over a loaded chamber.

Traditionally, all six-shot fighting guns of the Old West were actually five-shooters, unless the user knew they were actually walking into a gunfight. Because of the risk of the gun going off accidentally, most people carried these guns with the hammer resting on an empty chamber. Legend has it some shooters carried their “buryin’ money” in that empty chamber.

Some manufacturers use transfer-bar safeties, which don’t allow the firing pin to reach the primer unless the trigger is actuated. Uberti developed the Fully Automatic Safety Hammer that allows the hammer to rest on a loaded chamber. Essentially, it is a drop safety, whereupon a dropped gun, or one where the hammer is struck without the pull of the trigger, is unlikely to fire.

The most important feature of this safety system is the fact the gun looks and feels authentic. The second most important feature is the crispness of the trigger is unaffected by the safety mechanism. In fact, the trigger on the Pistoleer is very close to the quality one experiences after their trip to the gunsmith.

Shoots What You Feed It Without A Hitch

I broke out my pig of Linotype and poured dozens of bullets from my Lee 452 255 mold to test the Pistoleer. I loaded some moderate loads using brand-new Starline brass and headed to the range.

The .45 LC cartridge was originally a black powder load, and it actually was sworn in for military service. There are still working ranchers who use the .45 LC in single-action revolvers for every day use. I like the .45 LC for its versatility.

I cranked off the first few rounds from the Pistoleer. If you know anything about using a single-action revolver, it is often necessary to adjust the load so it impacts where one is aiming. Some users experiment with different load combinations until the bullet strikes where the sights point. This kind of sight cannot be drifted, and some gun owners would shudder if they knew how we adjusted for elevation. I’ll give you a hint: It takes a rig that uses a hydraulic jack. The loads I used were shooting exactly where I aimed, and were printing sub-2″ groups offhand.

The SAA design has always been used to handle heavy recoil loads, simply because of good physics. My Pistoleer has good balance in the hand, and rides straight up when it recoils. Shooters can throw down follow-up shots with fairly heavy loads and print them accurately downrange. This gun is designed for standard .45 LC loads, but there is a very large inventory of choices within this parameter. There are plinking loads that barely move the barrel and there are hard-cast lead loads that offer protection against threatening teeth and claws. There are even defensive loads, with characteristics similar to the .45 ACP.

I loaded and shot the Pistoleer without a hitch. It liked bullets in the 200–300-grain range, and never complained when I loaded a few with un-burnt powder or loads that made my teeth clench.

Tugged At My Heartstrings

There are plenty of us who prefer this type of gun and why the Pistoleer tugged at my heartstrings — and eventually my purse strings. It wasn’t the even finish, even though it was well blued, especially for a workin’ gun. It wasn’t even the faithful design, although the iconic profile and the quick throw of lead was cooler than Hollywood could ever portray it.

The Pistoleer is a faithful reproduction of a design more than a couple hundred years old. Long after the plastic guns of the world are melted into what looks like primordial ooze and technology fails, people like you and me will be slinging this kind of gun on those Swamp Thing creatures emerging from the fallout. When we pull the trigger, this gun will go bang and large lead pills will protect us. This makes the Pistoleer the smartest gun a person can own.

Visit Cimarron Firearms for more information.

Get More Carry Options content!

Sign up for the newsletter here: