Uberti’s El Patron shot very well with Hornady’s 225-grain FTX load. This group was pretty close to the gun’s 1.5-inch average with the Hornady load.

Though I don't write about them much, I've been a fan of single-action revolvers since I first strapped on my John Wayne sixshooters as a toddler. At the age of six, my dad let me fire his buddy's Ruger Single-Six at a beer can a few times, and I was hooked. I was 19 before I could afford a single action of my own, but I've owned one sixgun or another ever since.

For many years, my single actions were reserved for plinking. But as I got into the outfitting business and started spending a lot more time working on some big, lonely South Texas spreads, I found myself wearing a sidearm more and more to protect myself from vermin of the two- and four-legged variety. I carried a 1911 the first few years, but I discovered that I used my pistol more for shooting four-legged critters than anything else. Sure, its presence on my hip was a big comfort when confronting groups of illegal aliens, but I used it most on the odd hog or coyote that stepped in front of me as I opened a gate or mended a fence.

I've experimented with several revolver and cartridge combinations over the years. I tried single- and double-action revolvers, but I developed a definite preference for single-action sixguns because I really liked the way they felt in my hand and on my hip.

As for cartridges, well, I've tried them all. I started with the .357 Magnum but was unimpressed with its performance on game. The .41 Magnum never tickled my fancy, and the .44 Magnums I tried, while perfectly accurate and plenty powerful, come in packages that are too heavy for comfortable, all-day packing. The .45 Colt, however, proved powerful enough to dispatch hogs and deer cleanly, and it is available in a number of trim, packable packages.

When I first started carrying a single-action revolver, there really weren't that many quality choices. But the incredible rise in popularity of cowboy action shooting has been a boon to single-action shooters. Today, sixgunners have an incredible variety of quality guns from which to choose. Uberti's El Patron, the latest version of the firm's popular Cattleman revolver, is one of the better choices.

Uberti's Handtuned SA
Uberti's 1873 Cattleman is a version of the original Colt Single Action Army. Colt's SAA has always been a quality, packable shootin' iron of the highest quality. Unfortunately, that quality comes at a price most cowboy action shooters are either unwilling or unable to pay. After all, who would want to shoot thousands of rounds through an expensive collector's piece? The Cattleman quickly found acceptance among cowboy action shooters in the market for an affordable single action that looked and handled like the beloved SAA.

As good as the Cattleman is, competitive shooters couldn't help but tinker with it. After all, that's what we gun folks do. Uberti took note of the more popular modifications and endeavored to deliver an affordable, race-ready revolver straight from the factory. El Patron (the Boss) is the result of those efforts.