Pro & Cons of shooting a C & B 44 Dragoon ????

[Marshal J.D.Lightning]

G'day Pards,

I'm needing some help from you Darksiders 

I'm looking at getting myself a Uberti Dragoon & would just like to know the pros & cons of these shooting irons. I normally shoot a pair of Uberti Schofields but just want a Dragoon for a bit of fun & I have liked the look of the Dragoons since I was a Kid  . Any advice on the Dragoon which may help me decide to get one would be greatly appreciated 

Take care, shoot straight & have fun with them cowboy guns.

Lightning.

[Judge Lead]

What in blazes are you up to now JD.

Shooting those Schoffies not enough for you, now you want to get a cannon .

See ya down the track.

Regards

[Noz]

Why mess with a wimpy Dragoon, go for the Walker.
One of our shooters, Chaos Jumbles is shooting a Walker as a main match gun. VERY impressive.
Makes my 1860s look like gamer toys.

[Deadeye Don]

I would go for the Dragoon.  I have a 3rd model Uberti that I will be shooting sometime this season.  I also have an RandD cylinder for it in 45 colt.   Steel Horse Bailey would likely give you some tips as he has a 2nd generation 3rd model Dragoon. 

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Why stop at one?  Go for the set!

[Deadguy]

I have an uberti 2nd model Dragoon, and here's the pros and cons that I have noticed.

Pros:

Big boom
big smoke
big fire
it builds wrist strength

Cons:

your powder flask goes empty quickly ;-)

[Steel Horse Bailey]

I'll go along with Mr. Deadguy!

When I shoot my Dragoon (1st model) I am wasteful: I shoot 40-50 grs (usually around 43) and can find no real cons.  It's a hoot!

A lot of folks will tell you that the lever latch IS the main improvement of the Dragoon over the Walker.  It IS distracting to shoot the lever down!  However, at 50 grs, my Dragoon STILL will pop the lever down about once out of 5 shots!!!  Perhaps the 3rd Model Dragoon, which has the newer style latch (like on the later Colts) has the "staying power" to work all the time! 

Another thing - and this relates to the ONE disadvantage, ie: emptying the flask quickly - a normal BP charge, like what I use in my 1860 @ 25-30 grs,  from of a Dragoon sounds downright puny and may not even compress the powder enough with a round ball!  I got inconsistent booms.

Finding holsters is a little harder, too.  Don't forget, the Walkers and Dragoons were considered to be "horse Pistols", not belt pistols, so authentic holsters are few and far between.  I have a Military-style flap holster made for Walkers and Dragoons.

[Deadeye Don]

My mistake Jeff.  I thought you have a 3rd model Dragoon, second generation.  I was sure you knew how to shoot it though!!

[Fingers McGee]

I have an uberti 2nd model Dragoon, and here's the pros and cons that I have noticed.

Pros:

Big boom
big smoke
big fire
it builds wrist strength

Cons:

your powder flask goes empty quickly ;-)

+1

Another con is you need more than just sponge ear plugs to keep from going deef.

I've shot em in the past as well as a Walker.  They are a hoot and gawkers come from miles around to see what's going on.

Fm

[Marshal J.D.Lightning]

Thanks Guys.

This will probably grow to be a set but I'm just starting out to see if I enjoy it as much as my Schofields. Not sure about this B.P. it might be a lot of hard work with all that cleaning & stuff 

Judge, what are you saying Mate  You can only use that B.P. stuff in the Nov. shoot can't you & my beloved Schofields don't like it so I thought I might try something else & with this hand cannon I can make more smoke & noise than Wallaby 

Thanks again Guys & please keep the advice coming.

Lightning.

[hellgate]

I have two Walkers and a Dragoon. I use the same load in all of them: 44grs FFg+wad+.454 ball+grease+#10 Remington cap. They are my 44/44s. Due to weenie wrists I shoot 'em all with two hands like a girl. Nobody seems to care 'cause they're shooting pa-dink loads with two hands and think they're cowboys too. I got the Walker holsters from Cabelas that look like Hunter brand with snaps on the straps. I went to my friendly neighborhood shoe repair and told them to remove the snaps and sew the back down to the holster and presto, a "slim jim". Again, not real authentic but nobody cares. They are blinded by the beauty (or deafened by the sound) of the guns and just smile and shake their heads as they walk away. Cool. Way cool. I do the same: just smile and walk away.........

[Marshal J.D.Lightning]

OK Guys,

Which model is which  What one has the squared trigger guard 

The more I look the harded it is becoming  But I'm having fun 

thanks again.

Lightning (soon to become a Darksider I think  )

[Deadguy]

The Second Model Dragoon has a squareed trigger guard.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

OK Guys,

Which model is which  What one has the squared trigger guard 

The more I look the harder it is becoming  But I'm having fun 

thanks again.

Lightning (soon to become a Darksider I think  )

Good !!!


OK:  Here's most of the visible differences.  Somewhere during the 3 Models, the mainspring got changed to what is in the later guns.  There may be a few other differences, but ... ?

     1st Model: squared guard, oval cylinder stop holes, 1st model lever latch

     2nd Model: squared guard, rectangular cylinder stop holes, 1st model latch (I think)

     3rd Model: rounded guard, rectangular cylinder stop holes, last model lever latch (like on the 1851s & 1860s, etc.)


While the squared guard looks WAY cool to me, now that I have one, I understand WHY they were changed.  With anything over a 35-40 gr. charge, recoil puts that squared point right into your hand.  Firmly.  Not really painful, but distracting, if you know what I men: an annoyance that is just short of slightly painful.


But I DO love my 1st Model !!!   It's a hand-full of Mammy Jammer!

[Marshal J.D.Lightning]

Thanks Deadguy & Steel Horse Bailey,

thanks so much for the heads-up. I think I'm going to go for the 3rd model Dragoon  The hands can't handle much belting around anymore  But I love BIG GUNS 

Thanks again for all your help & FRIENDLY PERSUASION  I'll keep you posted on how I'm going on getting one.

Take Care, shoot straight & enjoy them cowboy guns 

Lightning

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Thanks Deadguy & Steel Horse Bailey,

thanks so much for the heads-up. I think I'm going to go for the 3rd model Dragoon  The hands can't handle much belting around anymore  But I love BIG GUNS 

Thanks again for all your help & FRIENDLY PERSUASION  I'll keep you posted on how I'm going on getting one.

Take Care, shoot straight & enjoy them cowboy guns 

Lightning

Glad to help, pard!

They're 4 lbs. 2 oz. of powerful FUN !!!

[Deadguy]

Glad to be of assisstance! 

[Dick Dastardly]

If ya love big guns, and if ya ain't stuck in history and if ya want to shoot very strong loads with never a worry about gun failure, get yerself a brace of Ruger Old Armys.  NO, they don't have a basis in history, No they aren't period correct whutsomever, but they ARE big guns that WILL handle maximum loads all day every day and never get loose.

I have a brace of ROAs and shoot them both with the original C&B cylinders and Kirst Konverter 45 Colt cylinders.  The 45 Colt ammo can be loaded up with as much FFFg Holy Black as I can squeeze in (and I do mean squeeze) under a PRS 45-250 RNFP Big Lube™ boolit.  This kind of load would soon shoot an open top loose and condemn it to the status of wall decor.

I have a brace of 1860s coming my way.  I'll have both the original C&B cylinders and Kirst Konverters in them along with Kirst ejector rods.  These are way cool guns, but I'd never shoot them with a diet of ammo anything like what my ROAs can handle.

A good number of Colt Walker guns came from together when shot with maximum loads.  I'm thinkn' that's why they were discontinued in favor of the Dragoons.  So, respect those great old designs and enjoy shootn' them with charges that they can and do handle on a continuing basis.

DD-DLoS

[Steel Horse Bailey]

DD said:
"A good number of Colt Walker guns came from together when shot with maximum loads.  I'm thinkn' that's why they were discontinued in favor of the Dragoons."


Yep.  The Walker cylinders were made of cast iron, and since they were designed to hold 60 grs. of powder    it was tooo much strain for many of them.  The Dragoons were designed for a 50 gr max charge as an "improvement."  The original 1860 fluted cylinders, and 'tho made for a smaller charge, suffered similar problems and were also quickly discontinued.  I don't know for sure, but perhaps ALL the Colt cylinders were iron until during the (un)Civil War.  St. George might know for sure.

[Marshal J.D.Lightning]

Guys,

I've got Hellgate's load, now what other suggestions do you have to help me out 

Here in Australia with western action we can't have real big loads, so I need a good western action load to get me started when I get my new toy or toys 

Thanks again for all your help, much appreciated 

Leaning more towards this black stuff the more I read 

All the best.

Lightning