'unnofficial Walker/Dragoon LRE club

[twaits]

Can I get into this club with my cut down Walker? I wasn't included in the "Official" Walker club because I butchered it:

 

[72coupe]

Photography is not my best skill.

 

[Oyeboten]

Hi Hoof Hearted,


Ye'd mentioned...

Clembert and I went down the same basic path but I followed the convential wisdom of the conversion era and reamed the chambers straight (no throats) he used a gunsmith (Dave Clements I believe) who left throats in his chambers. On mine using 250 grain bullets the throat would have been very short but I also have 15 or 20 conversions that were set up this way and another fellow that I knew who did one of these was experiencing some pressure issues with his. The thing that people don't understand is that these "open top" designs compound set back issues. There is no gas ring at the front of the cylinder so headspace is a total of all clearances. The hammer pushes the cylinder forward and the bullet exiting pushes it rearward. So far mine has held up pretty well!

I will send off for some .460 Brass, and, study it not only for this application, but, for my New Service .45 Snubby which has overlarge Cylinder Bores which are straight through with no Step.


Now, if the .460 Brass as it comes, is anticipating a .452 Bullet, how is this reconciled with possibly .456 Chamber Bores and Barrel?

Do you form fire, and, then, resize to the use of a .454 or .455 Bullet?


Modified .30-'06 Cases I imagine could also be used.


One could also ream the Case ID a few thousandths I imagine, for the first half inch or so, also, if wishing to allow a larger than .452 Bullet to be Loaded.


Or, a slightly undersized Hollow Base Bullet, of course, would conform when fired...


Just brooding, trying to understand details...

 

[Captain*kirk]

Snubbed by them Walker Boys

Hey, guys....mind if I join your little soiree?
Them Walker boys said I warn't fit to grace their table with a Dragoon, even if is is durn near the same gun (just a sawed-off version) and one that won't drop it's drawers with a full house load (loading lever)
I mean, what's the use of packin' in 60 grains if it's gonna lock up the cylinder...right?
Anyway, here's a pic of my new baby....

 

[Hoof Hearted]

Oyeboten

PM me so we can keep the hijack of this thread to a minimum.

 

[Oyeboten]

Okay...


'Done'

 

[72coupe]

Captain*Kirk yours looks just like mine except yours is short 1 screw.

I don't have a shoulder stock either.

 

[Captain*kirk]

Which screw might that be?

 

[bill97222]

Wow... I've been hanging around too many gunstores lately... LOL...

So I'm in this little hole in the wall looking at this overpriced repro... and I ask the owner if he's got any Walkers... knowing full well I can't afford the gun I'm holding, let alone an 1847.

Nope he says... then he pauses for a second and walks over and says, hey, I wonder what's in this old box we took in this morning.



I look at the pistol and wonder aloud... how much would it go for?

Well he says, we haven't even had a chance to go through it... or even to clean it up... I could let her go for $249.

I'LL TAKE IT!!!

The pistol was definately unkept, long neglected when we opened the box. It was covered in places with a thin layer of brownish grunge/crud... so he says, lemme make the gunsmith give it a quick once over and clean her up a bit... make sure she's safe... how would you like to pay?

It's an Armi San Marcos 2nd Dragoon... Serial number 7309... Never been fired according to the gunsmith... the bullet mold and flask were still in the original sealed plastic bags when I left the store.

I've got no way to know, but my sense is that it was probably made in the 70's sometime?

I'm not totally sure if the brown grunge was very light rust, or the original cosmoline the gun shipped with... They scrubbed off a lot at the store, then I spent perhaps another half an hour with a plastic brush and some WD-40 to get her in the condition you see in the photo.





What a handsome pistol eh?

I'd love to tell you it's a tack driver, but in the first few trips out, while I'm confident I could hit a horse at 50 yards, a thin man probably wouldn't be in too much danger... ha... ha... ha...

I'll tinker some with my loads... I'm sure I'll find the range.

So am I in?

 

[junkman_01]

Great find!

 

[Captain*kirk]

Gorgeous!
Give me the date code and I'll tell ya when it was manufactured.
(Should be two letters in a box if between now & 1978, or Roman numerals if between 1954 and 1977)
Some people get all the luck......

 

[72coupe]

Captain*Kirk it would be the fourth screw.

 

[AlexanderA]

The Dragoons were a Mounted Regiment called the Dragoons , the USMR to be exact .

Not quite correct. The 1st Dragoons (the first Regular Army mounted regiment) was organized in 1833. By the time of the Mexican War, the 2nd Dragoons and the United States Mounted Rifles had been added. Then the 1st and 2nd Cavalry were added in the 1850's, and the 3rd Cavalry at the start of the Civil War. All the mounted regiments were renumbered in order of seniority, so that, for example, the Mounted Rifles became the 3rd Cavalry, and the (old) 3rd Cavalry became the 6th Cavalry. The famous 7th Cavalry is post-Civil War.

Napoleonic-era mounted troops were specialized, and named accordingly. Dragoons (troops who rode to battle but fought dismounted) were quite different from, say, Hussars. When Americans organized their cavalry in the 1830's, it was thought that the Dragoon style of fighting would be the most suitable for fighting the Indians and patrolling the West, so that was the name that was chosen.

Actually the first issued Colt revolvers (the Walkers) were issued to the Mounted Rifles, not the Dragoons. The Dragoons fought the Mexican War armed with single-shot pistols.

 

[Captain*kirk]

Baby Dragoon

In addition to my newly purchased Second Dragoon, I am now considering the purchase of a slightly used Baby Dragoon.
Anybody here own one, and what can you tell me about them? Pix?

 

[72coupe]

Captian*Kirk I like the baby Dragoon very much. I don't currently own one but am looking for a good deal on one.

I had one many years ago that I used for hunting jackrabits and for shooting rats and mice at short range. I used 0 buck shot which I think is a mistake as it was very hard, making it very hard to load with the short loading lever.

 

[Captain*kirk]

Since I'm already a member of the club, I guess I don't need to ask to join now that I bought my Baby! But I'll show it off anyway!

Daddy with Baby...



Baby





A Real Handful...

 

[Captain*kirk]

Oh, yes...before you ask, that IS a non-standard front sight. The PO installed that, and deepened the notch in the hammer and says it's zero'd at 15 yards. Time will tell.

 

[gifford]

Must have missed this the first time around, congrats on the find. That's a fine looking cased Dragoon.

 

[Captain*kirk]

Thanks! I'm rather pleased with it. Always wanted a Baby, and found it right after the purchase of my 2nd, which I've wanted even longer!

 

[MJN]

Can I play too?

 

[4v50 Gary]

Old Fuff - you said that Ruger made some long barrel revolvers. Were they Ruger Old Armys or the cartridge revolvers?

 

[BigG]

This is a Colt's repro 3rd Model Dragoon

 

[Fallout556]

I've got a type three dragoon that I've been dying to take out on a reenactment but haven't had the chance yet because I haven't been able to find a holster for it. I found one at DWG, but a fellow reenactor recommended buying a stock. Does anyone have a stock they're willing to sell or no where I can find one?

 

[scrat]

HERE IS MY BABY

 

[mic214]

I guess I can throw my hat in with this gang too...

Here is my Uberti 3rd Model Dragoon with an R&D conversion cylinder in .45 Colt: