Virginian Dragoon Question

B

Big Cabin

New member
I just picked up a 44Mag. Dragoon. This was imported from Switzerland by Interarms in the late 70's and early 80's. For a couple of years they were made in Virgina.
It is a huge frame single action with a great trigger and shoots very accurately. The grips have been abused however and the blade on the rear sight is missing.
Does anyone out there have any experience with them and do you know were to buy grips?

Thanks for your help?
 
Hey BC,
I posted a question awhile ago about the same revolver. I have one and really enjoy it. Mine has "WE THE PEOPLE 1776-1976" stamped on the butt. I hope this helps. Heres one response I recieved:

The Interarms Virginian Dragoons were a nice single action, but not a commemorative.

Here's a quote from: http://www.singleactions.com/VADragoons.pdf

Quote:
Most Dragoons were inscribed with either “Don’t Tread On Me” with snake logo or the untranslated Virginia state motto “Sic Semper Tyrannis “. The former was used on the earlier guns, circa 1976 to 1978. At least three other inscriptions exist though to include: 1) “We the People 1776 – 1976”, 2) “Yorktown 1781 – 1981”, and 3) “Liberty Forever” (see variants). Cylinder dots were also drilled to the left and right of one bore to indicate the empty chamber. It was a small enhancement, but a useful one at that.


I purchased mine for $155.00 new back around 1981 or so. It's a stainless, 8 3/8" barrelled .44 mag with "Yorktown 1781-1981" inscribed on the butt. It was stolen out of my locked car at work here many years ago and recovered about six weeks later when some yahoo tried to pawn it in Denver.
 
I just traded mine off for some silly reason. I did some google-ing about it and it seems that the grips were proprietary- so it seems that it would be something short of a miracle to find replacements. I really don't know why I got rid of it- it had a 2 digit serial #, shot as smooth as any single action I'd ever seen.
 
My stainless .44 5.5 incher actually said ROSSI on it.

The grips were damaged. I found a nice set of Ivory micarta grips at www.ajaxgrips.com
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It shot OK, but was no Ruger. I made $100 profit when I sold it:)

347043-big.JPG
 
I've had two of these. One .357 that wasn't marked, except that it was Interarms. It was a very nice shooter. The other one was marked with the Hammerli name, also .357. It was terrible. It shaved lead all the time. I took it to a gunsmith, spent some money on it, and after a couple months it was shaving lead again.
They were nice heavy guns, some are real gems, some aren't.
 
They were imported by Interarms out of Virginia. Overall, they were considered very good guns.
I recall reading someplace that the parts were actually made by Uberti and that the gun itself was assembled in Virginia.
If that is the case, grips for the old Uberti Buckhorn in .44 magnum would probably fit it.....
 
Jack, the originals were all made in Virginia along with all it's pieces, parts, and accourtrements. For whatever reason, they folded along about 1976, or '77 and production resumed overseas.
 
I'm gonna pickup a couple sets for my Virginian Dragoon Silhouette sometime this year. A set of those Buffalo Horn that Lee Martin suggested and a black/silver laminate set from Ajax.

Once I get them in I'm gonna use them as a template for a homemade set purple heart wood grips.

Presently my Dragoon has the Pachmyr rubber grips that came along with a pair of wood grips for the Silhouette model.

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This is on Guns & Ammo web site.

Virginian Dragoon
Q: A few months ago I purchased a stainless steel Virginian Dragoon single-action .44 Magnum, made by Interarms of Alexandria, Virginia. The serial number is S146XX, and the patent date is April 16, 1974. As far as I know, it has all its original parts and is in fantastic condition, including the dark wood grips. It's beautifully engraved, and there is a "Sic Semper Tyrannis" inscription on the butt bracketed by a five-point star. Up until I bought it, the gun sat in the previous owner's home in a locked case for about 10 years. I've taken it to the range twice, and it shoots with impressive accuracy. I would love to know the history of this model, why it's no longer in production, if rubber grips are available and its estimated value. --J.G., Rockaway, NJ

A: The Virginian Dragoon was imported by Interarms between 1962 and 1999. The revolvers were manufactured in Europe by Hammerli, which owned the trademark up until 1976. Between 1976 and 1984, the Virginian was manufactured in Midland, Virginia, until it was discontinued (the last MSRP was $625), probably due to lack of sales because of other competition. I am not aware of an aftermarket supplier that makes rubber grips for the Virginian, but you may be able to refit your gun with oversize rubber stocks from Hogue (hogueinc.com) or another maker. The estimated value range of your Virginian is $300 to $550, depending on original condition, and add approximately 25 percent if it was manufactured by Hammerli.

http://www.gunsandammomag.com/values/values0410/
 
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