Samuel Colt was an American genius and his revolver designs a work of art. Manufactured between 1848 and 1860 the Dragoon pistols were intended to be carried on the saddle pommel but they also found favor with the frontiersman.
One account of the Hickok / Tutt encounter holds that Wild Bill actually used a .44 Dragoon pistol rather than a .36 Navy and steadied his aim by leaning on a fence post to make his famous hit.
I shoot conicals in mine and while its weight tends to drag one's belt down, I have great things to say about its accuracy and reliability. As received, it originally shot quite a bit high, as do all Colts of that vintage. I re-ground the hammer nose and notch such that it now hits on point of aim. Its accuracy is on par with most of my center fire pistols and I have no doubt that a 75 yard hit is possible.
I once used this pistol to down a buck I had wounded with a shot from my Hawken that hit a little higher than intended. Three hits from the hip on a moving deer. "No brag - just fact..."
One account of the Hickok / Tutt encounter holds that Wild Bill actually used a .44 Dragoon pistol rather than a .36 Navy and steadied his aim by leaning on a fence post to make his famous hit.
I shoot conicals in mine and while its weight tends to drag one's belt down, I have great things to say about its accuracy and reliability. As received, it originally shot quite a bit high, as do all Colts of that vintage. I re-ground the hammer nose and notch such that it now hits on point of aim. Its accuracy is on par with most of my center fire pistols and I have no doubt that a 75 yard hit is possible.
I once used this pistol to down a buck I had wounded with a shot from my Hawken that hit a little higher than intended. Three hits from the hip on a moving deer. "No brag - just fact..."