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09-24-2011, 10:11 PM
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Uberti Dragoon owner/shooters?
I picked up a slick used Uberti third model Dragoon Colt clone today.
Been wanting one for sometime..but not willing to dump $350 plus on a new one..and not wanting one with the stock cuts and extra screws for the buttstock. Anyhow..found exactly what I was wanting today..and probably near new..maybe never fired. Really nice Uberti Colt clone.
Son and I shot this substantial hunk-O-pistol...only had .451 diameter balls which are just a snug fit in the chambers(no lead rings peeling off). Had some issues with the loading lever dropping with anything more than a modest charge. As with my other BP revolvers..#11 caps are too big. I started out with the wedge wedged too tight..and had to bump it loose and reset it so it wouldn't lock the gun up.
Anybody else own/shoot an Uberti Dragoon?
What size balls..is .454 large enough..or do I need .457?
What to do to keep the lever up?...Pain in the rear to have the loading lever stuck in the front of your cylinder after every shot!
Thanx..Stevie
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09-24-2011, 10:27 PM
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I presume this revolver has a loading lever catch under the barrel. You might need to file a little steeper angle to this catch. Or, replace the spring in the end of the lever with a stronger one.
The early Walkers had a spring between the lever and the barrel. It was real bad to drop the loading lever.
Another "fix" is to wrap a piece of electrical tape around the lever and barrel.
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Last edited by Muley Gil; 09-24-2011 at 10:33 PM.
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09-24-2011, 11:14 PM
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Yeh..I watched some U-tube videos of folks banging away with Dragoons and Walkers this afternoon after getting home with my 'new' revolver...loading levers were dropping all over the place...
I ain't using tape...but a rubber band crossed my mind this afternoon
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09-24-2011, 11:26 PM
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I thought about suggesting a rubber band, but black tape wouldn't interfer with your sight picture, would it?
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09-24-2011, 11:40 PM
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A skinny rubber band wouldn't interfere...but I may see about either replacing the spring or putting something behind it to give it more tension.
If that fails..maybe file the notch a bit deeper..it's not notched all that deeply anyhow..and the latch piece will protrude from the lever enough to take advantage of a deeper notch.
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09-25-2011, 09:00 AM
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When they are new the loading lever is (should be) fairly tight. But the more you work the lever, it will move easier.
My Uberti Walker has not been shot much, so it is still fairly tight. But it will drop some under recoil with heavy loads. My quick fix is the same as some others have already suggested. A small rubber band.
I use .457 diameter round balls. .454 diameter seals the chamber well enough, but I seem to get better accuracy with the larger diameter balls. Maybe because they provide more surface area for the rifling to bite into?
When loading, the shaved lead ring is heavy enough that it can jam up the action if you miss getting one of them brush out.
The cap & ball guns are great fun except for the black powder clean up.
And unlike the little .36 Navy models, the Dragoons and Walkers speak with some real authority. And an impressive cloud of grey smoke.
Last edited by Mike1957; 09-25-2011 at 09:07 AM.
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09-25-2011, 09:12 AM
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Here is something that any black powder revolver fan might find interesting.
A reproduction of the Le Mat revolver from Navy Arms. A 9 shot .44 with a 20ga (.69 cal) center barrel.
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09-25-2011, 09:49 AM
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I have always liked the Colt's Dragoon and wanted one. Those Uberti models are really good lookers and seem quite well made. I have a pair of Old Army Rugers and a Pietta 1862 repro, but a Dragoon just hasn't been there yet. I like the hefty powder charge it can handle, even over the ROA, but the lever drop issue is pretty well known with heavy charges.
Some of the CAS/SASS shooters who I've talked to about it, when they are using full charges rather than light loads, seem to recommend a heavier spring as the cure. Most use a quick fix and stretch the factory spring. Sometimes recutting the angle works, but most say to try a heavier spring first since even with a deep cut a weak spring will still fail. I found this reference on the muzzleloading forum about a spring that seems to work if stretching the factory one doesn't do it ... "Gibson Humbucker guitar springs will work very well :
GPMS-12 Humb Pickup mounting screws-Nickel vintage style set of 4. 1 1/4" long, with springs:
http://www.grguitars.com/parts_5Pickups.htm "
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09-25-2011, 09:56 AM
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Them's pretty revolvers!...I gotta get me a digital camera..
I own several BP revolvers myself..currently have a Pietta Navy..a Pietta stainless Remington .44 clone..and a Navy Arms .44 Navy I bought battered and broken and fixed up. I've owned others too in brass and steel
This Third Model Dragoon is my first Uberti(excepting some Colt clone cartridge guns)..and I'm fairly impressed with its quality. It even has safety pins on the back end of the cylinder(I added pins to my Pietta Navy).
Of the Italian BP revolvers I've owned...the overall quality of most of them has been pretty poor..The stainless Pietta Rem clone being about the best I've had..the Pietta Remington being very good..considerably better made than it's same make Colt Navy brother.
I have high hopes for the rather large Uberti clone..really seems well done.
Think I'll order a box of .454 and .457 balls and just see what will cram into the cylinder plus preform well.
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09-25-2011, 10:31 AM
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09-25-2011, 10:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike1957
The cap & ball guns are great fun except for the black powder clean up.
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The clean up is the easy part, lot's of hot water.
Presto.. very clean gun
Just remeber to oil well before puting away
By the way, you have very nice guns there, sir.
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09-25-2011, 10:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Qball
The clean up is the easy part, lot's of hot water.
Presto.. very clean gun
Just remeber to oil well before puting away
By the way, you have very nice guns there, sir.
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A friend of mine had a good way of cleaning them. Took them apart and put everything (except the grips) in the dishwasher.
What amazed me, was that his wife let him get away with it.
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09-25-2011, 11:38 AM
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For cleaning up. Ill take the pistons out of the cilinder. Put the cilinder in a container with hot water and a litle soap. Clean the barrel also with hot water. Drye them in and out and oil them. Not that much work.
This is my Belgian made Centaure and My Pietta Lematt.
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09-25-2011, 01:31 PM
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The Walker fuly load uses 48 grain blackpowder, The Dragoon uses 40 grain blackpowder. The normal .44 Colt Army 1860 uses 28 grain blackpowder. Ofcource that the loadinglever of the Walker and sometimes of the Dragoon comes down. I would do that to with that difference in power.
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09-25-2011, 03:09 PM
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I bought a Uberti Walker about 8 years ago, shot it a few times cleaned it up and it hasn't seen daylight in several years. Thing was a blast but what I really want is a square back trigger gaurd Uberti '51 navy. Or a Star DA. I shoot the snot outta my Pietta Remington '58, I don't mind the clean up and I love the smoke!
-Jesse
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09-25-2011, 03:22 PM
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Haven't fired my Dragoon all that much, I find its heft and balance are just right for me, balance better than the Walker, firing it is like firing an M-27 or 28 with 38 WCs. I cover the mouths of the chambers with store brand shortening to prevent chain fires, wipes off easily.
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09-25-2011, 05:59 PM
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I think I fixed my lever-drop issue.
Removed the small pin holding the latch..and removed the latch and spring. The hole in the end of the lever is pretty deep..and the spring really isn't compressed to any great degree to tension the latch. They could've used a somewhat longer spring..or drilled the hole less deep for the spring Uberti did use.
I made a 3/16" long plug out of some appropriate diameter brass rod and dropped it into the hole in the loading lever. Fitted the spring and latch back in..and re-pinned it in place. Got lots of tension on the latch now..substantialy more than it had. Still easy enough to unlatch for use..and I'm hopeful the lever will stay latched up.
The notched lug on the barrel isn't all that deeply notched..If I have further issues I may file the lug notch a bit deeper. However I'm confident the lever will stay in place now. Only shooting will tell for sure.
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09-25-2011, 10:57 PM
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I filed the latch on mine, and I use .457 balls. I had to use JB weld to mold the cavity in the end of the rammer to conform to the round balls, as it would pull them back out of the cylinder after I shoved them in. Keeping the lever screws tight also helps keep it from dropping. I had a dovetail cut in the barrel of my Walker so I could install a taller front sight, and I plan to do the same to my Dragoon. More fun than any other pistols I've ever owned.
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09-26-2011, 08:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KingBee
I filed the latch on mine, and I use .457 balls. I had to use JB weld to mold the cavity in the end of the rammer to conform to the round balls, as it would pull them back out of the cylinder after I shoved them in. Keeping the lever screws tight also helps keep it from dropping. I had a dovetail cut in the barrel of my Walker so I could install a taller front sight, and I plan to do the same to my Dragoon. More fun than any other pistols I've ever owned.
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Just out of curiousity...How does the Walker models latch the lever up?
I've never personaly examined a Walker model..the Dragoons themselves being rarely seen in my parts...all you see is Navys..1860 Armys..and the Remingtons.
My new Dragoon shoots high too...but I'm not going to mess with the sights until I get some proper size balls and some more shooting experience with the revolver. Not all that far off..I may be able to live with it. at least with the small balls..it was pretty close to dead on at fifty/sixty/seventy yards...
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09-26-2011, 03:33 PM
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Just picked this picture of the net.
You can see the spring wich held the loading lever on place. It isnt a that sturdy construction. That is why the Dragoon has an other solution.
I have further no idear what they are doing with this barrel. But that wasnt the subject.
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09-26-2011, 07:26 PM
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Thanx for the pic...I can see how the Walker lever latch works now...I was having problems envisioning just what mystery apparatus was at play here.
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