Walker Wedge Issue

[45 Dragoon]

rodwha: I think your thinkin is sound and a few of all of them is def. the way to go!! My first bp handgun was an EMF Rem. 1858 and I shot the snot otta that thing for 5 yrs. Then, I found Colts open top style an got a "51 navy, a 1,2and 3 Dragoon and a Walker. Guess you could say I got bit by the open top bug. Kept the Rem. and even carried it a couple of yrs in the truck(the Colts were too purdy to carry and get beat up!!). Point is, I like um all!!! (even could put up with a ROA for the right price! Don't point this out to kendak though!!) You've got a lot of good advice here and plenty of support from all here.

kendak: I know and thank you for being here! We all learn from each other and it's about having fun. And, I agree with you about the "insurrection"!!!! I just didn't want to say "the civil war" , there wasn't anything "civil" about it !!!!!(yes, the South will rise again brotha!!!!)

45 Dragoon

 

[rodwha]

I'm still lost as to whether or not a change of wedges will fix any potential "over charged" problems. Is it simply the wedge that gets battered?

Obviously making the wedge out of modern steel isn't the answer, which I had thought about as well...

 

[45 Dragoon]

Yes, just the wedge gets battered. The closer to perf you get, the less battering I tbink you will have.

45 Dragoon

 

[rodwha]

Well, I need one anyway...

 

[45 Dragoon]

That's what I figured!!!

45 Dragoon

 

[rondog]

When I took my Colorado Hunter's Safety Course last year, I specifically asked about hunting with my Uberti Walker, and I was told that black powder handguns are NOT legal to hunt with in Colorado. BP rifles, yes. Handguns, no.

 

[rodwha]

Colorado is tops on my list too.

It's similar here too, though I can carry it as a sidearm. But I can use it as a primary after primitive season. It's not a muzzleloader, which is another reason why I've considered an actual muzzleloader.

 

[rondog]

Guess I mis-read something - I thought you were talking about using a Walker for hunting, and doing it in Colorado. If you can wear one of those hogs as a sidearm, more power to ya! Just the thought of it makes my back hurt.

Not exactly a dainty little thing.....

 

[kituwa]

Rodwah, if you had the chance to shoot a walker or a dragoon you would have to have one.That said, you already have the best black powder revolver there is for a back up gun, your ROA.Now one of those ROA conversions to .50 would for sure be the ticket if money didnt matter.If you could find someone that was a former machinest that had the right tooling and a heat treating oven you could prolly get them to do one like that for a lot less than someone actually trying to make a living off of it.At one time i had a shop set up where i did a lot of ruger single action custom work and a lot of other handguns for that matter and i charged what the materials cost most of the time except for the work i did that came through several gunshops.I just enjoyed doing it plus what i got out of the gunshop work more than payed for what i did for friends guns.Unfortunatly someone decided they needed my tools more than i did when i was out of town and the possibility of me ever replacing them will never happen short of me winning the lottery.

 

[kituwa]

Rodwha, i was just playing around with my walker and put 45 grs of 777 in a chamber and seated a hornady 300gr XTP jacketed bullet in it to see if there was room.There is. Of coarse i did not shoot it that way, just did it to give you an idea of how big the chambers are. Was room to load that bullet with the cylinder in the gun too. So you would easily be able to load 50 grs of 777 with the kaido 240gr bullets.If a ROA burns 45grs with a round ball i am sure it would burn 50 grs with a 240gr bullet in a walker just as well. I realize that does not answer your original question on weather it would hold up well over a period of time, i just thought you might find it interesting.A walker recoils very little even with 55grs and a round ball but im betting you would know you just did something with a 240gr and 45grs of 777.And if you used 45grs with a 300 gr bullet that was desighned for black powder that would be well into magnum class.

 

[72coupe]

I think that when you shoot max charges over an extended period of time, not only does the wedge get battered but the tolerances overall change. The arbor gets longer, the wedge gets narrower and the cylinder sets back farther into the recoil shield. The threads on the arbor will also pull and make the arbor loose in the frame.

 

[45 Dragoon]

72coupe, I wonder if the arbor in your gun way back then was the same as today? I have to think that when you have a void between the end of the arbor and the barrel assy., it allows for hammering of parts. If they are as one when correctly joined, it should be minor. As I stated above, it's been 20 yrs. since i had my Walker (ASM) and I didn't know squat back then as far as tuning and setting up rough production arms. Today, my Dragoons are as solid as can be (of course I've done a lot to make sure they stay that way).

45 Dragoon

 

[rodwha]

rondog: I was speaking of it in terms of a primary hunting weapon as well as a sidearm. As I'm not even sure of where I will end up I haven't checked hunting regs anywhere else but Texas, and here I can't use it as a primary during muzzleloader season, but can during standard season.

I'm a backpacker, and typically carry 45-55 lbs up the hills, and sometimes have to throw my daughter on top when it's getting dark. Though it may become a bit awkward over time, it's something I'd be willing to do.


kituwa: Sorry to hear about your loss of tools!

Having the .50 cal conversion would be awesome, and I'd jump on it if $1200+ wasn't a big deal.

Maybe I ought to just buy a Classic Ballistix cylinder that allows an additional 5-10 grns and call it good, which I'd like to do anyway. As is it may be plenty. If Mike Beliveau was able to pull 920 fps with 479 ft/lbs that penetrated 11 one gallon water jugs and kept going from a 255 grn Kaido bullet with a reduced load of 25 grns of 3F T7 I ought to get more without reducing the load. I have been using 35 grns behind a Kaido 240 grn bullet, which is still more than Mike's 30 grns behind a 220-225 grn conical giving him 968 fps and 469 ft/lbs. And this ROA is certainly easier to carry/draw than a Walker!

I still need a Walker though!

 

[72coupe]

45 Dragoon I can't answer your question. All of this took place on 1968 and the fine details have been covered by the fog of time.

I bought the Dragoon from Dixie Gun Works. After I snapped the end off the arbor I ordered a new one from them. It didn't come till after I had left for Vietnam.

When I got home a year later I found that the replacement arbor was unthreaded. Now that I know something about fitting an arbor I understand why.

Not being able to thread the arbor, I sent the gun back to Dixie and they sent me a brand new Second Model Dragoon. I never shot the new one as I traded it and the Centennial 1860 in for a Remington 788 chambered in 22-250. Now that was a rifle.

 

[45 Dragoon]

Understand 72, understand. Thank you for your service sir.


45 Dragoon