Dragoon goes to the range....

O

O.S.O.K.

New member
OK, made it to the range today and had some time to shoot a couple of cylinders out of the 1848. Tried two loads: 40 and 50 grains of Pyrodex P. It liked the 40 grain load better.

The CCI mag #11 caps worked fine - but did have to pinch them to make em stay on. I used .454" balls but they seemed a little loose and a couple acutally stuck to the loading ram and pulled back out, so I'm going to try .457" balls.

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The target is the 4th, 5th and 6th shots out of the revolver - it took a few to figure out where it was hitting. Point of aim is the lower left corner of the paper. Distance was 40 meters, and I shot with my forearms supported on that bag.

I'm pretty pleased with this level of accuracy but will try some other loads - the 40 grain loads where seated pretty deeply in the cylinders.

Oh, and with the 50 grain loads, the loading lever popped loose every shot - so need to do a little surgery on that catch and maybe something under the spring....
 
Wish we were there to shoot with you. Looks like you are far south of us though with the greenery... Trees are just starting to bud here in IL... Have some 454 balls on order and cant wait to try them with the 1858 pietta and some various loads. May even get the corn meal out....
Regards....
 
greenery and O.S.O.K.

I am in Texas and yes, its green as we've had plenty of rain (Thank you God!) lately.

O.S.O.K. = One Shot One Kill :D
 
Also, on this pietta the #10 caps fit better than the #11's. I can shove them on as far as they will go and they don't split or anything. The #11's will fall off unless you squeeze them first. I'm just getting back into this sport after the late '70s (job, kids, etc) but find the new stuff kind of friendly. Back then your powder was what you found in the barn or what the old neighbor guy gave you out of his massive hord... and as a last resort you ordered powder from a store in town...
 
yeah

Things are pretty good now - in spite of the increasing regulations on black powder and pressure to ban lead projectiles in hunting areas :eek: :mad:

But we do have some very good bp substitutes - the Pyrodex P that I use for my pistol shooting performs well and is pretty dang clean.
 
Hey O.S.O.K.

That Dragoon is fun isn't it? Nothing in the world compares to the old Colt's in my opinion. I think you will find the light surgery works well!

Also, yep, mine too very much likes the .457 ball with a wad and 45 grain loads. Sounds like yours is going in the same direction.
 
scapel, file, retractor...

surgery complete!

It was pretty easy - drifted out the retainer pin and dropped a spent small pistol primer down the hole - replaced the spring and latch and tapped the pin back on through. Filed the notch a bit with a couple of swedish files and viola', done. Should stay put now.

This is a great place to get info! :)
 
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