Dragoon

[Charles D. Prokopp]

Since you fellows have been having such a good time with Walkers and their kin, I decided to wander a couple blocks to Thunderstick Trading here in Tucson and take a look at what they had.
There were specimens of just about every Colt cap-n-ball ever made. Felt like a kid in a candy store. Checked out a Walker and realized that, for a guy my size, it was way too much gun. There was a Third Model Dragoon by Uberti right next to it that kept asking (nicely) to be taken home. Being unable to say "no" to kittens at the animal shelter, I succumbed, and now own my first revolver.
I've taken it out to play twice, now, and have had loads of fun. Strangely, I find I'm a better shot with this old-style pistol than I am with my modern Russian semi-auto. At 25 yards, it patterned 8" wide, with two rounds dead center in the bulls eye. Not bad at all, since I've always considered myself to be a poor pistol shot.
One problem I have is keeping the caps on the nipples. With flintlocks, that's never been an issue. Remington makes tiny little plastic tubes that fit around the cap and hold it in place. PITA to use, though. Would some other type of nipple work better that the ones used by Uberti?

 

[R.M.]

Congrats on your new toy. Great gun. You'll have a heap of fun with it.
I'm going to guess that you're using #11 caps. If so, try #10's, they're smaller.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I have to agree with RM. Most of the foreign made replicas use #10 caps, not #11. Until then you pinch the #11 together so they are a hard fit on the nipple, and leave a little crud on the nipples to hold the caps in place. :thumbsup:

 

[mukluk]

Welcome to the world of C&B revolvers :hatsoff:

I can't recommend Ampco/Tresco nipples high enough... the ones I have on my Walker have seen over 500 rounds fired with no issues, #11 caps still fit them perfectly with no need for pinching or hard seating.

 

[torn moc]

Congrats on your new Cannon!Its a mighty Fine pistol! Do yerself a favor and load that puppy
up to the max and take some shots at a 8"x11"
piece of printer paper at 100 yds.
The first time I did that with my dragoon I hit the paper 4 out of 6 shots. !!!!
You can hear the ball hit the paper a split second after the BOOM!
Yes..they are very accurate at the longer distances than you will be willing to believe....

 

[mykeal]

If you're as big a pushover for a fine handgun as I am, this is in your future:

Pictures, son, we need pictures.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Congrats and welcome to the land of the loudest boooom :rotf: ! I own both of the revolvers that you speak of in your post. Except for a shy few ounces, they weigh the same. The big difference is the extra 1.5 inches of barrel. I use a 45 grain charge in my 3rd model Dragoon, only 5 grains less than the Walker.

One thing that I'll say for the Colts: Aiming through a notch in the hammer has taught me to be a better pistol shot with any pistol that I shoot. It makes you concentrate enough to enable you to repeat everything you did to sight the revolver with the first shot you take. This barely visible sight makes you concentrate more on what you're doing, unlike a nice big fancy sight on a single-shot Patriot or a modern hand gun. Less is more in this case. Once you get the hang of it, most of your shots will be in the black. The more practice you get, the more the gun will become an extension of your hand.

Good luck with that horse pistol!

Dave

 

[docjim]

It really NEVER gets old. I started 20 yrs ago with a repro 44 Remington, Next a LeMat. It was under $300 back then (LOADS of fun - pun intended), Then 2 Remington 31's for light work (I saw Josey Wales), Jumped WAY up to a Walker. Shoots a magnum load but it IS heavy! Next a 36 Spiller & Burr. 3 yrs ago I Got a deal on a Ruger Old Army, Maybe not period but just as fun & better sights (it came w/ 45 colt cylinder too).. Now, Just This weekend I found a 'used but unfired' Pietta 51 Colt Navy in 44cal w/ Holster, Belt, & cartidge box for $200 at a gunshow. I still have all of them, that says something.
There's just nothing like em for a great time. Cheaper to load than a 22 if you cast balls (get free lead from roofers). It's almost the most fun you can have with your clothes on..!.. DOC

 

[Charles D. Prokopp]

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My apologies: took pictures and forgot to post them. Here's my only revolver, with the Slim-Jim holster I made for the piece.
Oh yeah, the Remington #10 caps work a treat. Thunderstick Traders seems to stock everything.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Had my 3rd Model Dragoon out today in the balmy 45 degree Jersey sun! At 25 yards my 45 grain load of FFFg did quite well indeed :grin: . I surprised myself with a rock-steady two-hand hold that netted 3 great targets! Got an 81, 85 and 88 score on the NRA Qualification targets that the League uses at my local Club.

Had to adjust my aim to the bottom of the paper target (not the bottom of the bulls-eye) to get where I wanted. This is even lower than my Walker which uses a mere 6.5 inches. Scores were good enough to win at least 2 matches (even against the single-shot pistols with adjustable sights)! Not bragging mind you, cause there are better shots than me on this Forum...but not bad for an almost 50 year-old wearing progressive tri-focal glasses :shocked2: .

I LOVE my horse pistols, and I use full-power loads in them all of the time to great success. A friend in the next shooting pit had a chrono set-up, so I couldn't resist asking to run a shot through it...1091 feet per second about 8 feet from the chrono . The old #10 Remington caps did the trick...no miss fires in 40 shots :grin:

That picture looks really good and so does the holster :thumbsup: . Hope you have as much fun with yours as I do with mine. If you ever need any help or advice, don't hesitate to ask. If I can't answer it right, someone else will! This Forum is a wonderful resource :wink: .

Take care and "Keep 'em in the black"!

Dave

 

[mykeal]

You are forgiven.

Very, very nice rig. Thanks.

 

[Charles D. Prokopp]

Smoking50, I have to hold the sights at the same really LOW spot at 25 yards. My suspicion is that a greater distance, the point of aim will be the same as point of impact. Just have to be a better shot than I am to reach that accuracy.
I suppose that calls for lots and lots of practice.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

You said a mouth full! Remember, those horse pistols replaced a rifle. That's why they are sighted-in at the factory for 75 yards :shocked2: . I've shot my Walker at a gong some 135 yards away on a hill top--it takes about a second or so to hear the clang!

May you get to enjoy your wheel gun as much as I do shooting the five in my collection :thumbsup: .

So which one is your next one? They're like Doritos--you can never have just one!

All the best,

Dave