Dragoon, Plains Pistol and Saw blade

[mec]

For no real or good reason, we decided to shoot up a circular saw blade yesterday.

Somewhat interesting that the big guns shot right through it while the .38 special just made a dent.

 

Holy cow :: ! I didn't know muzzleloading pistols were THAT powerful . What were the charges ?

 

[mec]

40 grains of swiss fffg for the 50 bullet and ball
50 grains swiss fffg for the dragoon.

 

[Bear Rider]

For no real or good reason, we decided to shoot up a circular saw blade yesterday.

Somewhat interesting that the big guns shot right through it while the .38 special just made a dent.

Just to put things in perspective, those wouldn't happen to have been CAS cowboy loads that you were shooting out of the .38, would they? If so, they were set up to NOT damage steel targets.

 

[mec]

158 grain swc lead 3.3 grains of bullseye. They are a bit slower than the factory listing of 870 fps however a lot of factory RNL produce velocities below the listed values. I suspect they were equivalent or slightly below factory SAAMI performance but not squibs by any means.

This was not a profoundly scientific exercise. In fact, aside from staying back at least 60 feet and hanging the sawblade free swinging to avoid fly-backs, it was pretty mindless.

 

[Okwaho]

If I am not sadly mistaken, the most powerful handgun in America prior to the .357 Magnum was a .44 cal. Walker Colt with a heavy {approx. 60 grains of black powder}charge behind a Ca..454 round ball I may have the grainage and bullet weight a little off but they are close and you get the point.
Tom Patton :m2c:

 

50 grs in that Dragoon is no slouch load.

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

This was not a profoundly scientific exercise. In fact, aside from staying back at least 60 feet and hanging the sawblade free swinging to avoid fly-backs, it was pretty mindless.

There's no rules anywhere that says you have to be doing Research & Development when "plinking" at various miscellaneous targets. It's always a good idea to be back as far as practical in case of bullet or ball come bouncing back to you. I always keep a swinging target or two, hanging around at the end of my back yard. Then, whenever I feel like practicing, I can just walk out the door and take a few quick shots at it, and it keeps the skills sharp!

I'm not surprised about the results. Many people don't realize that a .38 Special is a target cartridge that just happened to get selected as a Police standard. It's really not all that powerful, as you found out. Try that same target with a full power .45 Long Colt and watch the fun.

Likewise, the large capacity muzzleloading single shot pistol and the cap-n-ball "magnum" you used are both much more powerful than their "paper ballistics" would have one believe of them.

I do hope that was a worn out saw blade. I hate to wreck something that is still useful--even a little bit. Now old stereo equipment, and kitchen appliances--there's some spectacular results from shooting & hitting those with a powerful load.

Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[mec]

It gets the ball in to the 1200 fps range but only with Swiss fffg or pyrodex p. Goex is a lot slower and we don't have any way of knowing what the 19th century ballistics really were. they generally used FFG or "Rifle Powder" then. Actually, this particular dragoon performs about as well as our Uberti Walker with ten grains more powder.

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

It gets the ball in to the 1200 fps range but only with Swiss fffg or pyrodex p. Goex is a lot slower and we don't have any way of knowing what the 19th century ballistics really were. they generally used FFG or "Rifle Powder" then. Actually, this particular dragoon performs about as well as our Uberti Walker with ten grains more powder.

Wouldn't it be great to have all that information from the days when cap-n-ball revolvers were at the cutting edge of technological advancements in firearms? I'd love to have the variety of black powders that were available in the late 19th century to see how "clean" and how "powerful" some of them really were.

That 1200fps velocity is what I used to get with my Walker, but I stupidly sold it off a few years back to build up my cash resources for buying some rifle or other that I "wanted" more at the time. Though I prefer Black Powder for several reasons, Pyrodex P was the more potent propellant in my Walker also.

I really do need to get another Walker or a 2nd or 3rd model Dragoon. I'd think "I'd died and gone to heaven", if I found one of the replicas with the folding leaf rear sights! I used to have access to a couple of nice "dumps" that provided all sorts of fun targets to plink at. Old TVs were one of the best, but you've really got to stay "WAY BACK AWAY" from them. Porcelin bathroom fixtures (you know... crappers?) were also a favourite target. They are also very tough materials to shoot and it's best to be at least 50 ft away or more if possible.

Shoot Safely, ESPECIALLY at these very "HARD" targets.
WV_Hillbilly