My First Time (Updated)

[8StringKeith]

I own an 1851 Navy and an 1858 New Army Texas. This J.H. Dance & Bros. revolver will most likely be my next Black Powder Revolver. Very cool!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!

[Bettlebonnet]

liked the bit about Geronimo

[Zardoz215]

You meant "Blow Back Shield". The gun will recoil just like the Colt.

[Niemand101010]

@Zardoz215 - Your post makes sense, but that part of the frame is known as the recoil shield.

[imercanTR]

nice ..

[AwakeAndDangerous]

Nice! I didn't realize it was a Dragoon copy. Thought it was just a .44 belt pistol.

[arthurleino]

I have a Uberti Leech & Rigdon .36 cal. Sure looks close to the Dance Bro.s. It is also a copy of the Colt Dragoon style except in .36 cal.

Thanks for the post!

[atreewithnolife]

wow! thats high tek for geronimo !

[jesseb68]

i got a colt dragoon from my grandpa about a week ago and iv been trying to find out what model it is i no for sure its not a third model and unlike most dragoons iv seen it has a silverish trigger guard if any body can help me please do so

[Tanookiru]

@jesseb68 Many of the original Colts came with trigger guards plated in silver. As I recall, the M-1 Dragoon had the old oval cylender stops, the M-2 Dragoon had a square-back trigger guard, and the M-3 Dragoon had the rectangular cylender stops like a modern revolver.

[Jrhoney]

You can also get replica cap and ball revolvers from Cabela's. I picked up my new Uberti made, Remington 1858 New Army today and this thing is sweet!

[bjc2118]

Hay there cowboy dont be pointing that gun at me. . . Ya hear . . .

[19thepyrochilibean]

What you say boy. . .

[bjc2118]

Dont be pointing that gun at me. . . Ya hear . . . COWBOY!!!

[mknirbd]

How many grains of powder and what size rb ?

[Niemand101010]

.451 ball with ~24 grains.

[tinywiny9]

that had 5 shots?

[Niemand101010]

Habit. For safety, I only chamber five rounds although with percussion, it is really unnecessary...

[Zardoz215]

@Niemand101010  Not if you use the hammer notches between the chambers!

[Niemand101010]

@Zardoz215 - Some folks are not to comfortable with that measure of safety. It's up to the individual, but at a competition shoot such as SASS, the rules state that you may load only five.

[BlackLabelBlues]

do you know were i can get me a replica?

[Niemand101010]

I bought mine from Dixie Gun Works, but I see now that it is now available at most of the larger catalog dealers (for example: Bass Pro Shops).

[vesahirppa88]

that is my favourite gun :P

[bionicbaer]

Geronimo did alot of damage with his Dance Brothers revolver ,ask the US army.

[GUNRON1]

Very beautiful revolver. I love all Colt revolvers ever made. The early ones like the Patersons, Walkers, Dragoons, 1851s and 1860s are the most beautiful of all. Even the Dixie copies and the Italian Replicas are chilling.

[vidog1]

A Colt dragoon sold new in 1849 for $8.00 and you could get a fancy model for $9.25 with flask and everything....wish I had a time machine.

[Niemand101010]

Even considering the average cowboy's salary, it was still cheaper than today. Of course, all the taxes that are piled on firearms today didn't exist back then either. :)

[glnelson1956]

My January 1, 1858 Colt flyer lists the price of a civilian Colt Dragoon, including mould, flask and wrench at $32.50. In 1858, gold was $16 per ounce. Based on the reference price of dollars needed to buy one ounce of gold, a Colt Dragoon revolver in 1858 cost just over 2ounces of gold.

Today, with gold above $850, the equivalent of $32.50 in 1858 is more than $1700.00 in 2008!

[spitgalore]

Please pardon my ignorance. I haven't seen such a real revolver yet. On which part of the revolver will you use the wrench? Thanks for sharing this info.

[glnelson1956]

The nipple wrench was used to unscrew the nipples from the rear of the cylinder.

Nipples are small tapered tubes, with a flash channel, on which percussion caps are placed after the cylinder is loaded. The percussion caps explode when struck by the falling hammer, and detonate the loaded charge, launching the bullet.

There is one nipple for each chamber in the cylinder; a 6-shot revolver has 6 nipples, and a 5-shot revolver has 5.

The wrench also had a screwdriver at one end.

[Niemand101010]

Thanks for that!

People always want to quote how "Cheap" things were in the "old days", but they always fail to account for the cost of living differences.

Because gold is universally valued, it makes for an excellent tool for comparison.

[LRooster4Prez]

@Niemand101010 yep good ole days whiskey was only 2 bits

[Niemand101010]

@LRooster4Prez

Not if you make it yerself. Oops, did I say that?

Niemand101010 does NOT condone the production of spirituous liquors for the purpose of ingestion, with the exception of the occasional medicinal use, particularly when combating rheumatism.

[DirtyFrigginHarry]

Colt makes the most gorgeous revolvers.Between the SAA,Dragoon,and the Python,Its enough to make you cry

[Niemand101010]

I agree! Being a fan of Spaghetti Westerns, I am partial to the Colt 1851 Navy. After all, that's what Trinity and Manco (man with no name) carried. :-D

[raverswillrave]

the 51 navy is the best

[glnelson1956]

Bill Hickok could carry any handgun he wanted. He preferred a pair of 1851 Navy Colts. That is an endorsement that gets everyone's attention!

Properly loaded, a Navy Colt is extremely reliable, precisely accurate, and far deadlier than commonly thought.

In the late 1850's both U.S and British Ordnance Departments independently tested the Navy using the 140 grain conical bullet, and each stated the Navy was accurate and deadly at more than 200 yards.

[spitgalore]

Please tell me the main reasons why it was necessary for differences between the Navy and the Army revolvers. Thanks for sharing this info.

[glnelson1956]

The first .44 "Army" revolvers made were the 4+ pound Colt Walkers and Dragoons. The big revolvers were too heavy for comfortable carry, so Colt soon came out with the smaller .36 and .31 revolvers that could be comfortably carried on the person.

By the late 1850's, high quality steels became available, allowing Colt, Remington, etc. to manufacture .44 Army revolvers that were the same size as a .36 Navy.

The choice of revolver then became one of caliber preference rather than comfort!

[SlickVega]

My first gun!

thought about that decision for several years

[SlickVega]

and the Navies! and the anaconda, and the walker, and the... `

[weedfoxs]

what a beautiful firearm.