This article is a comparison of revolvers, specifically an old single-action .357 magnum Hawes Firearms “Western Marshal” and a double-action .357 magnum Colt Manufacturing “Trooper Mk III.” While it may not be exactly “fair” to compare a single-action to a double-action, both are good revolvers with interesting histories, and different enough to provide an entertaining comparison. I enjoyed shooting and learning about them both.

“Western Marshal”

The “Western Marshal” that I shot was completely original, or very nearly. It had a blued finish with a 6” barrel, six shot recessed cylinder, original grips, fixed post sights,  and original trigger. On the right side of the barrel was stamped “Western Marshal .357 mag cal.” The left side of the barrel had “Hawes Firearms Co. Los Angeles, California Made in Western Germany by JP Sauer & Sohn.” The loading slot  Overall, the revolver looked like a classic cowboy gun that Clint Eastwood might have used in his westerns.

“Trooper Mk III”

“Trooper Mk III” had a dull, satin-nickel finish with a 6” barrel, 6 shot recessed cylinder, fixed post front sight, adjustable rear sight, large stock grip, and original trigger. The right side of the barrel was stamped with “COLT’S PT. FA. MFG. CO. HARTFORD, CONN. U.S.A.” The left side of the barrel was stamped with “TROOPER MK III .357 MAGNUM CTG.” The left side of the frame just below the cylinder release lever had a faded stamp of Colt’s famous Rampant Colt Pony symbol. Overall, the gun looked like something you would see a police officer carrying in a 1970’s shoot-em-up movie.

“Western Marshal”

I have had this old revolver for years, a gift from my great uncle when I was younger. It was the first gun that he ever gave me and I have great memories shooting it. But I never knew much about it, it was just a cool cowboy gun. When I decided to do a comparison of revolvers for this article, I learned quite a bit about my old revolver, the Hawes Firearms “Western Marshal.”

I discovered that the “Western Marshal” was not actually manufactured by Hawes, but by JP Sauer & Sohn, an old German company (Not to be confused with the Sig Sauer company). Hawes was a major American importer of European firearms during the 1950’s,1960’s, and early 1970’s; and the first importer of JP Sauer & Sohn firearms into America. JP Sauer & Sohn (Est. 1751) is the oldest firearms manufacturer still active in Germany. (Justcollecting)

Hawes contracted with manufacturer JP Sauer & Sohn to produce a series of single action guns in several calibers known as the “Marshal” series. The most common calibers were .22, .357 magnum, and .44 magnum. These revolvers were mid-range quality firearms made cheaply in Germany, and sold to Americans under an American brand. They were used in a lot of “spaghetti western” movies since they were cheaper to buy than Colts. (TinCanBandits)

However, Hawes revolvers did not have a hammer block, and sometimes fired unintentionally if the chamber beneath the hammer was loaded. They were sued for this lack of a safety feature many times, and eventually stopped importing firearms into America.

“Trooper Mk III”

Manufactured between 1969 and 1982, the Trooper Mk III came into being as a result of Colt’s concern with its declining market share. Designed to be a cheaper alternative to the Colt .357 and the Colt Python, the Trooper Mk III was the “working man’s” gun. (Gun-tests.com) The Trooper Mk III was the first major advancement of Colt’s designs in the 20th century, and utilized a new ‘J’ frame with no interchangeabe with older models. The new revolvers were considered groundbreaking at the time since they were the first modern revolver designed to employ a transfer-bar lockwork system. This lockwork was far safer than the old hammer-blocking designs since the revolver could fire only if the trigger was deliberately pulled completely to the rear. (Wikipedia)

Trooper Mk III was also designed to be much more durable, and used sintered parts instead of forged parts, lowering the cost of the revolver significantly. The sintered parts also allowed for improved fabrication tolerances, and could be heat treated to create a harder, more wear-resistant composition. Production of the Mk III stopped in 1982 and was replaced by the Mk V.

For the comparison test, I took both of the revolvers to the range and shot at targets approximately 10 yards away. I used the same type of ammunition for both of the revolvers, 110 grain Remington JHP. I was not shooting for accuracy (I shot them both free-hand, standing) as much as I was shooting them to see how they felt and performed overall. Both revolvers were fun to shoot, and I quickly went through a box of ammunition. However, there were a few things about each revolver that I did not like.

I have large hands and the small grip on the “Western Marshal” made it difficult to get a firm grasp on the gun as I shot it (my pinky finger slid off the end of the grip at each shot from the recoil). Another issue with the “Western Marshal” was the sights. The front sight was a prominent post that is hard to lose sight of, but the rear sight is literally just a groove machined out of the top of the frame. This, and the small size of the groove, made it very hard to acquire a proper sight picture quickly without hours of practice. However, when the sights were aligned properly, it is incredibly accurate.

On the other hand, the “Trooper Mk III” had a very large stock grip and fit very comfortably in my hands. The sights were also larger and had contrasting colors, which made it easier to acquire a good sight picture. When the proper sight picture was acquired, the “Trooper Mk III” was also very accurate.

Another issue with the “Western Marshal” was the trigger. The performed wonderfully, very light and smooth. It was almost a competition-level lightweight trigger. Some people prefer a heavy trigger on a pistol, but I am a big fan of the lightweight, competition triggers, having used them for years shooting in smallbore competitions. The problem lay with the trigger itself, it is tiny compared to modern triggers. It was barely more than a small rectangular bar with a slight curve. If I was not careful, the pad of my trigger finger would slide across the trigger and stop at my knuckle, where you do not want your trigger to be. Despite this, I like the smooth, light function of the “Western Marshal’s” trigger.

The trigger on the “Trooper Mk III” was much larger and much, much heavier. Unfortunately, I did not have a tool to measure the exact weight of the triggers, but the “Trooper Mk III” trigger was incredibly heavy compared to the “Western Marshal.” The double-action trigger weight was easily over 10 pounds and the long travel made it difficult to control the muzzle and sight picture. The single-action trigger weight was much lighter compared to the double-action trigger weight, but it was still much heavier than the lightweight trigger of the “Western Marshal.” However, the trigger of the “Trooper Mk III” was much more comfortable. The trigger was much larger and wider than the skinny trigger of the “Western Marshal” and had a very good radius curve that fit the pad of my trigger finger very well. Unfortunately, the large, comfortable trigger did not make up for the heavy trigger weight.

Another factor was the weight and recoil of the revolvers. As a result of newer manufacturing methods, the “Trooper Mk III” was designed to be lighter and cheaper than most of the revolvers at the time. The “Western Marshal” had been around for almost 20 years by the time Colt came out with the “Trooper Mk III.” As a result, the heavier “Western Marshal” revolver was able to control the the recoil much better than the lighter “Trooper Mk III.” However, as a consequence of the heavy barrel and frame of the “Western Marshal,” it was more difficult to hold for longer periods of time, resulting in a lot of trembling that made it hard to maintain a good sight picture. Being lighter, the “Trooper Mk III” did not have this problem, although the recoil was more pronounced.

The hammers and cylinders on both of the revolvers worked beautifully. The “Western Marshal” loaded like a standard single-action revolver (one round at a time), with no hang ups on loading or unloading the rounds. The cylinder of the “Trooper Mk III” worked smoothly and I had no issues loading or unloading it, although it became rather sticky after it became dirty from some much shooting. The hammer on the “Trooper Mk III” was very good, with a deep and prominent cross-hatch to keep your thumb from slipping off. The hammer on the “Western Marshal” was good as well, although it arched up very high. Unless you have large hands with long fingers, you may have to shift your grip to reach it each time.

I like both of these guns and greatly enjoyed shooting them. Each has its own pros and cons for shooting. In this case, it would honestly depend on what you wanted to use them for. The slower and heavier single-action “Western Marshal” would be great for slow-speed precision shooting and cowboy reenactments, but not for rapid shooting or heavy-duty use. I would not want to carry it as a sidearm in any scenario either (although I would not want to carry either of the revolvers due to their size and weight). The slow reloading and heavy barrel do not lend themselves to shooting with more than 6 targets where speed counts. The “Trooper Mk III” would be much better suited for timed shooting with a higher number of targets. The lighter frame and double-action of the “Trooper Mk III” make it more ideal for heavy duty use, but the heavier recoil means that the shooter would have to have very good control of the revolver to keep it on target. The faster reloading ability also make the “Trooper Mk III” more attractive for most scenarios.

Unless you are doing a cowboy reenactment or shooting in an untimed precision competition, I have to give the edge to the Colt “Trooper Mk III.” It is the safer and lighter option. The sights are much better, the grip is comfortable, and it has a hammer-block (unlike the older “Western Marshal”). However, considerable hand strength is needed to control the recoil and pull the heavy trigger weight.

Both revolvers are fun to shoot and come in several common calibers, from .22lr up to .44mag. The Colt “Trooper Mk III” averages $300-$500 and the Hawes “Western Marshal” averages $100-$400 depending on the condition and caliber of the revolver. Spare parts for them can be hard to find, but if you find yourself in a “too nice of a price to pass up” situation, I encourage you to consider it.

References

All Collectibles

http://tincanbandit.blogspot.com/2015/12/featured-gun-hawes-western-marshal.html

http://www.gun-tests.com/gow/handguns/Colt-Trooper-357-Magnum-Python-revolver-used-Mark-III_11358-1.html#.VxQCSN9jPQo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Trooper#MK_III