USFA Rodeo II

[Cozmo]

With the great conversation going on about the Rodeo I and the original matte blue finish as well as what USFA offered on the Gunslinger it got me thinking of the Rodeo II. Same basic gun built at a very high level, as every USFA gun was, but a matte nickel finish.

It was a gun I liked right from the get go. Just never a fan of the plastic, brown "burl wood" grips.

I've added ivory to some of mine as well as the black plastic grips to others.

What I didn't know is USFA also offered the guns with standard black plastic grips from the factory, which I think look a lot better than the brown "burl wood" IMO.

Consecutive # .45s with ivory and 1st Gen style color cased hammers. While I had fitted older ivory to other USFA guns this was the first pair of USFA guns I bought to specifically put ivory on. It was a high compliment at the time to USFA guns and there were naysayers at the "waste" of ivory



Carved ivory on a pair of .38s.



Factory box noting black rubber.




More typically the end labels look like this..with "burl wood" noted. Made me laugh as the last Rodeo II I sold the "collector" wanted to see just how good the "burl wood" was and asked for detailed photos




And one of mine that I shoot on a regular basis, with black rubber factory grips. Again, BP hammers and this one, luckily, has a Longer hunter action job. Nice as it is, I just wish it would clean itself

[Ugly]

Beauty! If I had a time machine go back and order Rodeo II with black rubber grips in .45 ACP 4.75 and a USFA Bisley.

[Cozmo]

Beauty! If I had a time machine go back and order Rodeo II with black rubber grips in .45 ACP 4.75 and a USFA Bisley.

Haha! Took me long time to find and buy every USFA gun I really wanted. Thankfully I have Bisley Colts so didn't need to go there
First Colt I ever owned so wasn't all that enthralled and needing more.

There is a 3", that I had, then sold. It is one of the few USFA guns I would buy again for my own use. But passed on one a while back when it hit $2600.

[smutt]

Ivory is never a “waste” on a quality late model USFA.

[VoyPescado]

That matte nickel and ivory combination is really sharp. Looks like I’ll be adding the Rodeo II to my list of must haves! I keep waiting for prices to level out on these USFA’s...doesn’t look like that will be happening anytime soon. “Good deals” are getting mighty hard to come by. And rightfully so. The more of them I buy, the more amazed I am at the remarkable consistency of fit and finish these later USFA’s represent.

[saintclair]

Dane, The consecutive SN pair of Rodeo-II's I got at LGS came with Tru Ivory grips on them, but the brown grips were in the boxes.

DSCN2326 (1).jpg

DSCN2327 (1).jpg

[what would you say]

Here’s a comparison of brown grips to black . I have a set of Rodeos acquired from a collector that had factory dome blue cylinders instead of all matte blue. It really helped the look of the standard Rodeo more than I thought.

Yeah , the reddish brown Rodeo II’s grips .. “meh” . But- USFA would do it any way requested.. back when you could request it.

Look at that Burle wood !

[Cozmo]

The movie TOMBSTONE likely started this addiction But also easy to want to make the comparison to the Colt model 1841.



I've had 6 of the 1841s and easy to make the comparison for me. They are totally different guns. Each has attributes I find worth owning. So I still have a pair of the 1841s as well.

USFA did a nice job ( as expected) on their bright nickel guns as well.



But I'd like to think if I was stuck in the "way back machine" I'd want the matte nickel gun is it were available. Just seems to be a "workman's gun" compared to the bright nickel pimp versions

Wasn't long ago you could buy a NIB Rodeo II on the secondary market when a NIB Colt 1841 would set you back $2000 easy enough. Did see Micheal Knothead just listed a NIB Rodeo II for $2200 on GB!!? That is crazy money IMO.

I put ivory on my pair of NIB 45s long before I bought a pair of 1841s.

In my blog journal the title really says it all. The Legend Lives on...nickel 45s

[Cozmo]

Probably the ugliest threesome of really nice six guns I have ever seen No wonder USFA shut down!

[smutt]

For me the brown grips are just so wrong. It’s like USFA was trying to replicate wood and it just doesn’t work for me. That said I’ve got a couple Rodeos and really like the flat blue look. Ivories would really set that look off.