In Praise of the Colt 2nd Model Dragoon

[Tom A Hawk]

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..."

 

[Treestalker]

Years ago in the 1970's I bought a brand new 3rd model Colt's dragoon made by Armi San Marco IIRC and it was my favorite sidearm. I'm a big burly guy 260lbs and fairly large hands. It fit well and I carried it on a 3" wide belt and it was comfortable. I shot 45 gr 3f and a .454 ball. A couple months later I was shooting that load and on the second shot the front sight disappeared! I had cocked it for the third shot; no front sight, so I turned the gun sideways and the barrel was hanging muzzle down about 15 degrees! The arbor/cylinder pin had cracked to the rear of the wedge slot. Well, I wound up trading it to my brother for a Whitney .36 in good shape, and he wound up repairing the arbor and making a sheriff model with a 3 1/2 inch barrel that he carried as a defense weapon driving a taxicab nights. Think Avenging Angel on steroids, Ha! One of these days I'd like to find a Uberti or Pietta in good shape for old times sake. I think it makes a hell of a sidearm for those who want real power and don't mind the weight. I believe it would make a good primary sidearm for deer, but in the Peoples Republic of Arkansas the barrel has to be 9" w/a conical bullet. Thanks for the memories! George.

 

[fireman1]

I picked up a decent used one this fall...sadly I had to sell it. Still mad about that. I will get another one. I might have my local smith chop it to 5.5".

 

[Stantheman86]

Best looking revolver ever made ,I had a Uberti I should have kept.....might buy another one

 

[William P Sepessy]

I have a pair of recent manufactured Ubertis that I like very much. With most loads I've tried they both shoot a little high and left. Funny thing though, with 45 Colt conversion cylinders they both shoot close to point of aim at 25 yds. A couple of times when I was feeling real ambitious I wore the two of them at Cowboy matches. They tend to pull the belt down a bit. I got to stop looking at that vintage picture of Captain Rip Ford wearing his two!

 

[bang]

Been shooting bp for long time but just noticed something. Measurement on 44 cylinder is less enough that the ball will catch riflings but not contact actual inside surface of barrel. First time I've ever checked this. Never had any accuracy issues but does not seem rational. Was considering reaming cylinder to actual barrel measurement but thought since it came this way from manufacturer I would first look into it. Is this typical? Should it be corrected?

 

[Treestalker]

Not sure about your Dragoons, but (some of) Colt's later suppository guns had that problem. It may not be a problem, if obturation of the bullet under pressure is sufficient to expand the bullet to groove diameter. If it shoots good at say 25
yards, I'd leave it alone. George.