Colt C&B Transitions

[rodwha]

I'm considering between the Walker and a model (most likely the 2nd as I kind of like the squared trigger guard) of a Dragoon, and am curious about the modifications Colt had made.

Why were the cylinder notches changed from oval to rectangular?
Why change froma V-shaped mainspring to a leaf?
Why was a wheel added to the rear of the hammer?
Why was the trigger guard rounded?
The pins between the nipples are places to safely rest the hammer?
Thanks

 

[Stophel]

I'm considering between the Walker and a model (most likely the 2nd as I kind of like the squared trigger guard) of a Dragoon, and am curious about the modifications Colt had made.

Why were the cylinder notches changed from oval to rectangular?
Why change froma V-shaped mainspring to a leaf?
Why was a wheel added to the rear of the hammer?
Why was the trigger guard rounded?
The pins between the nipples are places to safely rest the hammer?
Thanks

I think they just went from oval to square cylinder stops just because they were easier to make. I'm sure the newer mainsprings were easier for them to make and assemble too.
The roller on the hammer makes for a smoother action.
I like the squared guard, myself. I have as big hands as anyone, and the corner doesn't hit my finger, but apparently it was a concern at the time, so they did away with the square guard.
Yes, the pins are the safe position between chambers. :wink:

 

[Zonie]

Why were the cylinder notches changed from oval to rectangular?

The rectangular cylinder notches are not as sensitive to the fore/aft location of the cylinder.

With the oval notch a slight shift of the cylinder forward or aft from its designed location can cause the cylinder stop to hang up on the end radius of the slot.

Why change from a V-shaped mainspring to a leaf?

The V shaped spring has a high stress at the bend and it is more difficult to make when compared with a simple leaf spring.

Why was a wheel added to the rear of the hammer?

There is less friction when a wheel is rolling against a surface than when a metal part is skidding across a surface.

Why was the trigger guard rounded?

Although the square back trigger guard looks neat many shooters find that it can strike the knuckles on their hand when the gun recoils.

The pins between the nipples are places to safely rest the hammer?

The "safety pins" were added when the Military reviewed the gun and found that it was dangerous when loaded with a fully charged cylinder with 6 shots loaded.
They recommended that a safety provision needed to be added in order for the gun to be bought by the Government.

Remington's first military revolver had the same complaint made against it. Rather than adding pins like Colt did, Remington decided to cut notches for the hammer nose to fit into on the rear of the cylinder.

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

So in the universe of cap and ball revolvers, how do you rate the Dragoons? Are they noticably less powerful than the Walker? And how are they compared to the 1860 or the Remington 1858? Thanks.

 

[Zonie]

The best way I can answer that is to give you the chamber depths.

Because they all are .44 caliber with about the same chamber diameter, the depth gives a good indication of the amount of powder the chamber can hold.

These dimensions may be slightly different when compared with other reproductions:

Walker = 1.650 deep
3rd Model Dragoon = 1.540 deep
1860 Colt Army = 1.340 deep
Remington Army = 1.310 deep

IMO, a difference of 1/32" (.030) won't show a noticeable difference.

A difference of .200" or .300" difference will be quite noticeable.

The Lyman Black Powder Handbook shows the Walker at up to 45 grains of 3Fg GOEX powder giving a muzzle velocity of 983 fps, 300 ft/lb of energy.

It also shows a .44 Revolver of unknown type with a max load of 35 grains of 3Fg GOEX powder giving a muzzle velocity of 848 fps, 220 ft/lb of energy.

Doing some unsubstantiated BS ratio's I come up with a guess that the shorter Dragoon cylinder would produce a muzzle velocity of somewhere around 935 ft/sec.

Rather than dwelling on velocities I think perhaps a larger issue for many would be weight.

The unloaded Walker weighs around 72 ounces (4 1/2 pounds). The unloaded Dragoons weigh 64 ounces (4 pounds) and the unloaded Colt 1860 weighs 44 ounces (2 3/4 pounds).

The heavy Walker and Dragoons were horse pistols which were carried in saddle mounted holsters. They were never meant to be carried in a holster on a person.

The 1860 Army (and Remington Army) were holster pistols meant to be carried in a holster on a persons belt.

 

[Stophel]

I have recently found (through personal experience!) that the round cylinder stops are more prone to cause cylinder overtravel. The stop can skip over the notch in the cylinder and allow the cylinder to spin too far, especially when cocking quickly. The later models with the square notches also have a lead cut in, so that the cylinder stop slips into the notch more easily and reliably.

How do I know? Well, I have a "Whitneyville" transitional Dragoon, and it overtravels on two chambers! I need to get it apart and measure my notches. Apparently, these two are just a hair too tight to allow the stop to easily slip into place at high speed. The rest seem fine. I have read that you can even cut a lead for the oval notches, but I'm hoping I can cure the problem without doing that. :wink: The hand is also a hair too long, I think, as it wants to keep turning the cylinder after the stop locks it into place.

 

[Stophel]

Oh, and when you get one, I would HIGHLY reccomend getting TRESO nipples for it. The nipples that came on mine were really small, and caps simply would not fit on them.