Decided on 2nd model Dragoon, now where to buy?

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Big Bore Dan

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I posted the other day asking advice on which Black powder gun to buy. I failed to mention that I have shot about every model currently in production. I prefer the larger guns and have settled on the 2nd model dragoon by Uberti. Cabela's no longer carries them and the best price I have found on a new one is at Sportsmans warehouse for $325 plus tax. Anyone know another store that offers this gun at a price better than what I've found? Thanks
 
MidwayUSA has them for around $355, but presumably with no tax.
Got mine from them, and while it was nicely finished, the hammer wouldn't hold on full cock, and would drop to half cock with the slightest bump. Obviously, extremely unsafe. Uberti fixed it on their nickle, but I was stuck for postage on the outbound shipment. The shipping companies were not sympathetic to my argument(s) that it was not subject to firearms shipping rules and thus eligible for cheaper shipping. I finally went to the USPS and shipped it parcel post.

Kinda hard to imagine carrying something that big under normal circumstnces.
 
Go over to this BP Revolver Forum:http://www.voy.com/60048/74413.html
One of the users "Western Sky" has a Dragoon for sale. Post a new message asking for his reply, he posted a few day's ago and I'm sure that post is at the bottom of the page by now, tell him Thumper sent you over.
 
Well, I got the 3rd model Dragoon this afternoon. $325 plus tax. Nice looking gun, feels good in the hand. I still may have to buy a Walker though. Got my eye on a Colt on Gunbrokers. I do have another question on this gun. The generic Uberti manual shows a recommended charge weight of 22 to 30 grains? Is this correct? I read somewhere that these guns can easily digest 40 grain of Pyrodex P. I'll be using 30 grains though
 
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I bought mine from Midway . I use 457 balls and 45 grns of powder very accurate.I love shooting it !
 
madd trapper, where did you get the data to use this amount of powder? I heard the Walkers could take 50 or more grains, but I didnt know the Dragoon could take 47??
 
Percussion Pistols and Revolvers, History, Performance and Practical Use by Mike Cumpston and Johnny Bates, pages 86 & 88.

Highly recommended book.
 
Big Bore Dan , I use 45 grains of 777 powder in my dragoon. Shooting a hornady .457 round ball.I got my info from other posts on this site and other sites .I have a dragoon Whitneyville and I love shooting it.
 
Load Recommendations

mykeal, help us out a little here will ya? I don't have access to the book mentioned as I'm on the road. If you could paraphrase the pages referenced it would help out more than just Big Bore Dan.

I typically load my 2nd Dragoon with 40 Pyrodex P from an adjustable which I've found may or may not be perfect. I was looking at a Uberti Walker online the other day and Uberti recommended a charge of not more than 25gr.

Is this a liability issue?? Or if it's a real issue it'll cost you more in Cream-o-Wheat or corn meal than powder to get the balls close enough to the barrel.

Joe
 
madd trapper and foto joe. Thanks for the responses. I believe there may be a liability issue as mentioned. The Uberti manual that came with my 3rd model Dragoon is probably the same one that comes with the 1851 Navy guns etc. I dont think the Dragoon will digest the same amount of powder that a Walker will, I know I wont be trying it. I'll just go with the 30 grain nozzle I have and see how things go.
 
A Walker will accept a real 60 gr of fffg real black powder under a .457 ball. The Dragoon, IIRC, will accept just 55 gr. I've done that just once, but I use the full 60 gr in my Walkers two or three times a year when we do a demo at the club.

Unfortunately those page references are to tables rather than text. I'll play around with them and see what I can do tonight.
 
Ok, this was easier than I thought.

These data are actually from the second book: Percussion Revolvers, A Guide To Their History, Performance and Use, which was unfortunately not published due to a dispute with the publisher. Some pre-release copies were sold on eBay and Amazon.com however.

Dragoon

Load ................Powder...............Velocity...Spread (5)
.454 Ball...45 Gr/Vol...Goex FFFg.....881 fps...19
.457 Ball...50 Gr/Vol...Goex FFFg ....890.......37
.454 Ball...50 Gr/Vol...Swiss FFFg.....1217......51
.457 Ball...40 Gr/Vol...Pyrodex P......1030......56
.454 Ball...45 Gr/Vol...Pyrodex P......1157......55
.454 Ball...45 Gr/Vol...Pyrodex RS....869........85

190-Grain Buffalo Bullet
................40 Grains...Swiss FFFg.....976.......62

200 -Grain Lee Conical Bullet
.................35 Gr/Vol...Goex FFFg.....967......26
.................35 Gr/Vol....H777...........1101....66
.................35 Gr/Vol....Pyrodex P.....1066....57
.................40 Gr./Vol...Swiss FFFg...1043....33

193-Grain Ram Lock Bullet
.................45.6 Gr/Vol..Swiss /Big Iron Wad 904 63
3" group at 50 yards
 
Load specs for the 2nd gen Colt Dragoons are 35-40grs (37 recommended) of 3F under a .457 rb. My Dragoons shoot more accurate at 30grs and 35grs then at 40grs or more.
I'm just under 900fps with a 35 grain Goex load and .457 ball. T7 pushed that up to just over 1000fps.

You can fill the chambers with powder and not hurt the revolver. It's a impressive sight with smoke and flames, your group size well suffer if your concerned about that, and the flask well empty much sooner.
 
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