range day

O.S.O.K. · April 17, 2007, 07:37 PM

Well, got out to the range today to spite the rain and shot two of my cap and ball revolvers: Pieta 1858 Remington and Uberti Colt dragoon - both .44's.

The 58 liked a load of 40 grains of Pyrodex P with a cabelas lubed wad over it and topped with a Hornady .454" ball and using #10 CCI caps. Groups at 25 yards were 3.5". They went about 6" high at the sight's lowest setting and started out a little to the left - but now spot on.

The dragoon liked my cast Lee 200 grain conicals which measure .458" with a cabelas lubed wad and 45 grains of Pyrodex and #11 CCI magnum caps. Groups at 25 yards were 3.5" rested and a little under 3" off-hand (two hand hold).

I took a couple of videos - with my little HP digicam believe it or not - actually does a plausable job. Downloaded the vid of the 58 onto youtube - by first such offering. Here's the link to the vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEADE-4EAq4

Here are some pics - starting with the 58 and then the dragoon - the first target of the dragoon shows the point of aim being the big orange dot - then the second pic shows the same target with point of aim being directly below the bull at the edge of the paper - filed the hammer notch so it's pretty much on windage-wise now but still shoots about 12" high at 25 yards.

timothy75 · April 17, 2007, 08:17 PM

Great report and great shooting! Do those conicals hit much higher than the round balls?

O.S.O.K. · April 17, 2007, 09:28 PM

Well, I don't know for sure because I didn't shoot any round balls out of the dragoon at this range (25 yards) for comparison. I don't think there's much of a velocity difference between them though and that's the primary cause of elevation varience at this close range ( the rolling of the revolver in recoil).

ETA - thinking back, I did shoot the conicals in the 58 first and they did strike about 3" higher on average than the round balls... so a little different.

Phantom Captain · April 18, 2007, 04:38 PM

Hey great report and pics! The little video clip was cool too!

Two questions, how would you compare the 1858 to your Colt's in both feel and balance?

Also, did your Dragoon surgery do the trick?

Great groups with both too. I'm going this Friday and am bringing my 1860 Army, Dragoon, and my new Stainless New Model Army you twisted my arm into buying, hehe! The conicals out of the Dragoon seem to group nicely as well! Good to know although I've never shot anything but round balls.

O.S.O.K. · April 18, 2007, 06:16 PM

The dragoon and 58 are two different pieces in terms of balance and feel. The dragoon is h-e-a-v-y but holds on target well because of that. The 58's grip is a bit small and of course is much lighter but it feels good in hand.

The surgery that I did on the dragoon did not work - the loading lever came down about every other shot from the bench and every shot from off-hand.

I've already taken it to the next step and removed the original spring and the primer and replaced it with a new spring (I've got a set of Brownell's replacement spring stock) and its now very stiff. So stiff in fact that I had trouble retracting it and keeping from slipping back when I went to pull it out, so I stippled the end of the latch and it "sticks" to my finger now. That should do the trick!

I also filed the notch a little more, but I think the stiff spring should do the trick.

Thanks and enjoy YOUR day at the range

April 17, 2007, 09:28 PM	#3
O.S.O.K. Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 2007 Posts: 122	conicals Well, I don't know for sure because I didn't shoot any round balls out of the dragoon at this range (25 yards) for comparison. I don't think there's much of a velocity difference between them though and that's the primary cause of elevation varience at this close range ( the rolling of the revolver in recoil). ETA - thinking back, I did shoot the conicals in the 58 first and they did strike about 3" higher on average than the round balls... so a little different. Last edited by O.S.O.K.; April 18, 2007 at 10:52 AM.

April 18, 2007, 06:16 PM	#5
O.S.O.K. Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 2007 Posts: 122	balance, surgery The dragoon and 58 are two different pieces in terms of balance and feel. The dragoon is h-e-a-v-y but holds on target well because of that. The 58's grip is a bit small and of course is much lighter but it feels good in hand. The surgery that I did on the dragoon did not work - the loading lever came down about every other shot from the bench and every shot from off-hand. I've already taken it to the next step and removed the original spring and the primer and replaced it with a new spring (I've got a set of Brownell's replacement spring stock) and its now very stiff. So stiff in fact that I had trouble retracting it and keeping from slipping back when I went to pull it out, so I stippled the end of the latch and it "sticks" to my finger now. That should do the trick! I also filed the notch a little more, but I think the stiff spring should do the trick. Thanks and enjoy YOUR day at the range

April 17, 2007, 07:37 PM	#1
O.S.O.K. Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 2007 Posts: 122	range day Well, got out to the range today to spite the rain and shot two of my cap and ball revolvers: Pieta 1858 Remington and Uberti Colt dragoon - both .44's. The 58 liked a load of 40 grains of Pyrodex P with a cabelas lubed wad over it and topped with a Hornady .454" ball and using #10 CCI caps. Groups at 25 yards were 3.5". They went about 6" high at the sight's lowest setting and started out a little to the left - but now spot on. The dragoon liked my cast Lee 200 grain conicals which measure .458" with a cabelas lubed wad and 45 grains of Pyrodex and #11 CCI magnum caps. Groups at 25 yards were 3.5" rested and a little under 3" off-hand (two hand hold). I took a couple of videos - with my little HP digicam believe it or not - actually does a plausable job. Downloaded the vid of the 58 onto youtube - by first such offering. Here's the link to the vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEADE-4EAq4 Here are some pics - starting with the 58 and then the dragoon - the first target of the dragoon shows the point of aim being the big orange dot - then the second pic shows the same target with point of aim being directly below the bull at the edge of the paper - filed the hammer notch so it's pretty much on windage-wise now but still shoots about 12" high at 25 yards.

April 17, 2007, 08:17 PM	#2
timothy75 Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2005 Location: Nevada Posts: 1,146	Great report and great shooting! Do those conicals hit much higher than the round balls?

April 18, 2007, 04:38 PM	#4
Phantom Captain Member Join Date: March 27, 2007 Location: Indiana Posts: 78	Hey great report and pics! The little video clip was cool too! Two questions, how would you compare the 1858 to your Colt's in both feel and balance? Also, did your Dragoon surgery do the trick? Great groups with both too. I'm going this Friday and am bringing my 1860 Army, Dragoon, and my new Stainless New Model Army you twisted my arm into buying, hehe! The conicals out of the Dragoon seem to group nicely as well! Good to know although I've never shot anything but round balls.