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My New Dragoon

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Norton Commando

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Joined
Mar 4, 2011
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318
Location
Houston, Texas
I got my new Dragoon today, exciting!

Following are a couple of quick point-and-shoot-camera pics.

All I can say so far is: Wow, this thing is huge; I can only imagine what it would be like to handle the Dragoon's big brother - Walker!

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Thanks there kbbailey - so what's the optimum Pyrodex P load for a Uberti Dragoon? Notably, the documentation that came with it says 25 grains max, which seems awfully low to me.
 
Once you run through your pyrodex, try some real black powder. Pyrodex doesn't ignite as well, and is more corrosive than black (Goex).
...As for the load, I will leave that to a Dragoon shooter. I have Remingtons.
 
Thanks for the info, I prefer genuine gun powder (black powder) over Pyrodex, but genuine black is hard for me to find in this big town of Houston. Lots of artificial stuff available in various stores around town, but no genuine, perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places?

By the way, my first black powder revolver was an 1858 Remington purchased as a kit in 1981; I still have it.
 
My local club gets together to order black as a group, or someone picks up a bunch at Friendship.

My first b/p was a T/C Hawken kit also in 1981. I still hunt deer and compete with it.
 
Thanks for the powder charge feedback, Timothy.

On the basis of several internet articles and forum posts, it appears that the original Dragoon was designed for 50 grains of black powder.

I think I'll start with 40 grains and perhaps work up to 45 grains of Pyrodex P.

Is your gun an Uberti?

Jason
 
Norton,
That is a good plan. 40 grains is a good target load in an 1848, and 50 grains is a great martial load.

I hope you get some BP to try as well. It has been tough since you lost Rebel Arms. You might check around with the local CAS clubs, I know a lot of the Houston area CAS shooters head over to Columbus to shoot with theTexas Historical Shootist Society then there is the Magnolia Misfits and the Tejas Pistolleros over in Eagle Lake.

Look on SASSnet.com for listings of clubs near Houston. If you contact the club they will put you in contact with some of their shooters that use BP. We go through enough of it that we buy it from places like Powder Inc. by the 25 and 50 pound lot. You can buy as little as 5 pounds form them but a lot of guys split 25 pounds which is the lowest price point. I'd be willing to bet they would sell you a pound if you asked one of them.

Take that pistol or even better a pair of pistols to a match and shoot with them. They will outfit you if you show up and you just might find you like it. I think a pair of Dragoons would look good on you :). You'd get plenty of style points for showing up that way...

Regards,
Mako


 
Hey Makos,

Thanks for the reassuring feedback on the powder loads for my new Dragoon. I still can't get over how massive it is compared to my other BP revolvers!

And thanks for the tips on how to get genuine black powder. I much prefer it to the artificial stuff.

However, my enthusiasm has suddenly been tempered by the out of control fire that's currently burning up hundreds of acres to the south of me. The southwest corner of I 10 and Highway 6 is on fire and I'm afraid my shooting range, American Shooting Center, may be in the fire's path. There's ash falling in my front yard as I type this post.

Some of us are literally burning up here in Texas. There have been massive fires around the Houston and Magnolia areas recently, not to mention all the fires around the Austin and Bastrop areas. I'm sorry for the woe-is-me attitude, but I’m getting feed-up with the severe draught and all the ensuing fires, damn it all.:mad:

Ok, that’s it. Now back to Dragoons, do you shoot two at once, like with one in each hand? Is there a special competition for two-Dragoon-shooting? If so, I’d love to try it. I was going to shoot my Dragoon this weekend, hell I even like the name, except I fear my shooting range is burning up. As a fall-back position, my wife has some acreage in North Zulch, Texas where we could set up some makeshift targets and blast away. I’ll report back on the Dragoon's, there's that name again, performance.

Jason
 
Norton,
There isn't a special classification for "Dragoons," but there are two categories in SASS for BP shooters. The first is Frontiersman and you shoot C&B revolvers one at a time in a duelist (one handed style) and you have to shoot BP loads in your Lever Action Rifle and Double Barreled Shotgun. The other is Frontier Cartridge where you replace the C&B revolvers with cartridge revolvers shooting BP. However there is a category called Gunfighter in which you draw both pistols at once and shoot with them both out. There isn't a specific category for BP Gunfighters so we actually end up competing with everyone. I normally use a pair of 1860 Army models and do quite well, even against the guys shooting .38 special smokeless mouse loads.

I have shot "Walkers" and "Dragoons" Gunfighter style. I even used the "Walkers" in a Josie Wales style match where you use four revolvers (it seemed appropriate). The two extra revolvers take the place of the rifle, you fire five from each. I have holsters for the Walkers and I stick the Dragoons in them, but I've been thinking about shooting 1848s or Whitneyville-Dragoons for a season, so I'll get a pair of holsters made for the Dragoons. I like the Transition Dragoons for looks but that square trigger guard bites me. So it will probably be 3rd models because the trigger guards are unique to the Walker and the Whitneyville-Dragoon and it would require a purposely reshaped trigger guard which I might attempt some day.

North Zulch is out on 21 isn't it?

Regards,
Mako
 
Hey Makos,

Yes, North Zulch is essentially located at 21 and FM 39; have you been there? Actually, the property where we will be shooting is closer to Iola, which is just south of North Zulch. There's a dried up cattle tank that we use to set up cardboard box targets. I pin the flaps of the box to the tank bottom with long galvanized nails. Then I tape a paper target to the box; it works well, especially if I use tall boxes.

Jason
 
You know you have to ask for black powder, right? Since it is a controlled substance, it's never out on the shelves. There are a number of shops near me (PA) that stock it, but you'd never know if you didn't ask. Always in a vault or other storage facility in the back room. Make some calls and you might be surprised.
 
This is the building where I work; I 10 is in the foreground. The fire behind my office building started yesterday in the vicinity of American Shooting Center.

We desperately need some rain!

Fire.gif
 
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I briefly owned a Colt 2nd gen 2nd model. I touched it off with a stiff load and an 18-yr old kid standing behind me said:

"It made my pants move."

I got rid of it because every time I shot it, the loading lever popped down. Other than that, it was an impressive gun.
 
Chaos Jumbles from Missouri shoots a Walker on one side and a Dragoon on the other. When he turns them loose at a match you don't have to turn and look to know who's shooting. The earth moves. I think he uses 40 grs in both guns.
 
I am looking at a copy of the Colt Black Powder Loading Data:
For a Walker using round ball...Min. 35 grns. Recommended 50 grns Max. 55 grns.

For Dragoon (1st,2nd,3rd)....Min. 35 grns. Recommended 37 grns. Max.40 grns.

For 1851 Navy .36 Cal............. 15 18 20
 
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