Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Uberti Colt Walker Dagoon pistol replica.....

I have one of these coming, NITB, from a trade of another gun and I always wanted to handle and play with one a bit. New in the box at the moment, but I have ordered some 245gr Hollow Base Conicals for it and I am kinda itching to shoot it a bit before I re sell it or trade it for something else.

Anyone here ever played with one of these? Looks like fun, and should be a very impressive LOOKING firearm, at a minimum.

I know about putting grease over the front of each of the loads, and what the underlever ramrod is supposed to do, but little else about owning and shooting one of these.

anyone here want to offer a tip, some experience, etc before I go and do something stupid and hurt myself or someone else?

Anyone know where to go to get a holster, in case I decide to carry it around a bit?

THANKS in advance, MARK

Well to "carry" it you actually need a trailer hitch & wheels!

The loading lever WILL drop down when shooting it.

I don't bother with grease over the loads as long as a circle of lead is sheared off when seating the ball or bullet. That means the chamber is sealed by the bullet. Most chain fires originate from loose or missing caps over loaded chambers, seat caps firmly.

Do not under-load, use at least 40 grains of FFg or FFFg, ya gotta have enough powder under the bullet to make a compressed load. It will handle up to 60 grains BTW.

Do take it apart and clean with hot soapy water each time you shoot it and oil well, also GREASE the base pin generously to keep the fouling out and the cylinder turning.

ENJOY making LOTS of smoke firing what was the "most powerful revolver made" till the introduction of the .44 magnum.

Start lifting weights now to prepare.

They called them horse pistols because the horses had to pack them via pommel holsters.

A charge of 50 grains of fffg and round balls worked well in mine.

I did grease over the balls - insurance and cleaning aid.

Fun shooting, but you earn each round in the cleaning to come.

The sights are a real challenge.

Thanks guys! I think I will see about a high ride pancake holster for this for concealed carry wear

I can hardly wait now to get it and go shoot it! SIXTY GRAINS OF 4F?!?!?! WOO HOO! Here we GO, baby!

Might be fun to try to take a black bear with this gun, using the 245gr HB conicals I have coming for it.

Check the dimensions on the bore, and the cylinder throats - like any revo shooting lead the dimensions of the balls will influence accuracy. I run .454 balls in mine and it shoots pretty well. If you run them with top powder charges expect barrel leading.

With heavy loads, they can be surprisingly accurate - for six shots

Never had a walkers. Did have a repro navy 36. Funneat gun i've ever had 10 grains of triple F and round balls, cylinder coated with crisco. Best dned barn cat gun ever

Seeing you post here reminds me of the TN hog shoot. My dad might want to pay his and my way to go. IF he does, then maybe this big 'ol Horse pistol will be called into service on a TN hog!

I am so looking forward to playing with it a bit. It should arrive tomorrow according to the tracking number. I took it as part trade against a Model 70 I snagged at the last gun show. One of the best parts of being an active gun swapper/trader is all of the cool toys I get to play with in between getting them and re selling them. And, parts I sometimes get off of one gun or another for some other gun that I want to upgrade.

Well, USPS sure took their own, sweet time - and lots OF it - to get this big 'ol hogleg but finally it IS in my hands as of this morning. With my XXL hands and forearms, I never thought I would meet a handgun that felt heavy and unwieldy to me, but this one does. It is a BEAST! It reminds me somewhat of the BFR 45/70 revolvers that I handled back in the late 70's and through the 80's. And, truth be told, 60grs of 4F aint all that far behind 70 grs of 2F in the trapdoor spriingfield rifles, with some them loaded down in the carbine designated ammo.

I am going to take it to this weekends gun show ostensibly to sell it, but the price will be full retail as I really want to play with it for a while before it goes to someone else. Maybe set some stop action photos like a buddy got for me one day when I was shooting my 1911 in 10mm.

I have some 245gr Hollow Base .440 Conicals coming for it, and I have a tube of 100% synthetic light axle grease that I plan to use for a cylinder base pin lube and over ball lube. Probably will have to drop down to about 45grs of powder with those longer 245gr bullets, but that still way outperforms the venerable 44-40 cartridge by a decent measure. That loads beginnings being 40grs of Black Powder and a 180gr bullet, and it being actually a 40cal/10mm bullet diameter.

If I do not sell it soon, I may try to take a hog and a black bear with it, after widening the notch on the hammer for a better sight picture. A 245gr soft lead bullet at what I figure should be really close to 1,000 fps would surely git er done so long as I feel good enough to still hunt.

1,000 fps might be a bit optimistic, though. Even if using 4F, might be closer to 850 or so from a handgun barrel. I know that with black powder and its substitutes, barrel length matters, and not just a little.

We shall (hopefully) soon see!

Maybe I will take it to shoot it on Thursday or Friday before the gun show and then clean it up good before the show, if I can stand the thought of parting with it after I shoot it!

As far as the workmanship etc on the gun, so far as I can tell Uberti did a pretty good job on this one. Nice looking Color Case Hardening of rhe frame, good polish to the brass pieces, tight lockup, Dark and shiny bluing. Pretty impressive LOOKING handgun from several aspects. Finish beauty and sheer size being the two main aspects.

If you really ARE going to use ".440 conicals", you're going to have problems...

Uhhh? The bore is .454=/- on that there hog leg.

Hmmmm....

safariman,

4f black powder is primarily used for priming flintlocks. It burns very quick and develops higher pressure faster.

A good general rule for black powder granulation size:

1f for black powder in cannons.
2f for black powder in large bore rifles and shotguns.
3f for black powder in small bore rifles and all pistols.
4f black powder in priming flintlock pans.

If you want to see an impressive show, fire your Dragoon after dark.

Mike

Mine runs .452 in the bore, and .454 in the cylinders. I use .454 dia round balls. .440 isn't going to work. The lube in front of the bullet [u]should[/] may prevent chainfires, but if nothing else the bullet is going to slip out under recoil.

I bought a crossdraw holster for mine, and will tote it at some point on the hog hunt. Backed up by something sharp and pointy.

Yep, I just got used to calling them by the cylinder bore.

Nominal, that is. I had a Ruger .44" that went .455"/.443".

The Uberti went .454"/.452"

Shoot it right at dusk. If you can, get your wife to shoot a picture or two as you do.

Nice holster.

Indeed! Where can one like that be had?

I am still holding out hope that I will be able to go on that outing again.

So even though marked'44' these are more like a 45 caliber?

The conicals being a hollow base should/could allow them to expand out and fill the rifling in the barrel, even if a bit undersized at the outset. I bought them thinking this beast would have a 44 bore vs a 45 caliber bore. I will have to measure it later this evening.

I never tried a .44" in .454", but I bet it won't seal in the chamber.

Even with a fiber wad it would likely just stick in the forcing cone.

I knew a guy that had a Pietta with oversize chambers. He ran his bullets as cast. That way they were oversize enough to shave a ring of lead upon loading.

My current 1858, a .36" cal. replica shaves a perfect circle of lead every time when loading.

Check your bullets, they may be marked for .44, and actually be .454".