Care to share your experiences with a Virginian dragoon?

[44minimum]

Seems like I have won an auction for a 44 magnum Virginian dragoon. Any of you guys have experience with this critter and can enlighten me on the strength of this weapon? I have found a couple of threads on another forum indicating that they are capable of RUGER type loads or maybe even beyond but im a little leery of this.

[Heavy lead]

Very, very cool. My very first handgun was a Virginian Dragoon 44 mag, in stainless steel. 71/2" barrel. I wish I still had it. I loaded some hot, hot, stupid hot H110 loads with 265 Hornady Interlocks in it. I was only 18, stupid, dumb, and lucky, it took everything I gave it. Well now I know it's probably hard to blow a gun up with H110, but I crammed and filed and compressed it to death, don't remember how much, but I'm 42 now, and don't do it anymore. Anyway, it shot well. I liked it because it had a half cock like the old Colts, and as I remember it was heavier than the SBH in weight with a rounded trigger guard.

[SharpsShooter]

Had one for years. Loved it. Shot about everything really good.. Wish I still had it. I shot a lot of Elmers pet load out of mine and never saw any problems.


SS

[felix]

They were imported by Interarms as quality stuff. I think the Dragoon was made in Italy, but I do know the SSA's were made in Switzerland by Hammerlii. I have a pair of those. They are lighter than the Colt I have, and are just as strong because of their steel. Each one has locked bolts at full cock with ZERO slop. Makes the factory Colt junk in comparison in terms of shooting. However, they both have 456 cylinders and 4525 grooves, not too far different than the Colt. Interarms at that time was extremely quality concious, and the Dragoons came into this country about a couple of years later. Talking 1972 era. ... felix

[Kraschenbirn]

Once upon a time, I had a 6 1/2' Interarms SSA in .41 Mag. and, like all the previous posters, wish I still had it. Was a very well-made piece and superbly accurate. Matter of fact, the only complaint I can recall was that it was, perhaps, a little too tight. My pet load was a moderate charge of Blue Dot behind a gas-checked NEI 238gr TC and the cylinder gap was so closely fitted that after 40-50 rounds, the cylinder would start to drag a little and I'd have to clean the fouling off the cylinder face and forcing cone to free it up again.

If the gun is in good shape, you've made a good buy. Congratulations.

Bill

[Heavy lead]

Something else I just recalled about mine is that the cylinder had countersunk chambers where the rim was fully surrounded like the old model sbh I have. Man why do we sell things.

[Kraschenbirn]

Something else ... Man why do we sell things.

I was just getting into sillwhets and traded mine for a 10" Dan Wesso 741...which has also gone down the road. Why DO we always seem to sell off the really good ones?

Bill

[felix]

I still have mine! The Colt SSA went down the road, instead. Good riddens. ... felix

[Buckshot]

............Having had an 01 FFL from 1980 to 2001, I had a subscription to both The Shotgun News and The Gun List (both those would make me as crazy as a druggie needing a fix :-)). Plus the various distributers and retailers would send you flyers and stuff in the mail. I remember when the Viginia Dragoons were being sold very cheap at one time. I'd seen a couple of them at the range, and they appeared to be very nice. Both in fit and function.

It struck me as odd that they were being sold so inexspensively, and that the adds ran so long. Since I wasn't really into handguns I didn't really care about them, but I knew OF them. I suspect that possibly the importer/distributer was just getting rid of stock on hand or something. But this was well before any of the cowboy action shooting was real popular.

...............Buckshot

[NuJudge]

The first ones were made by the Swiss, then they were made in Virginia.

I've had two.

I've had no problems with the carbon steel one. I had a barrel split at the forcing cone on the stainless one.

CDD

[Lloyd Smale]

I had one. It was a good solid gun.

[Calamity Jake]

I'm going to throw a fly in the ointment, I had one in 1984 or 85, SS 45C, it looked purty but shot real bad, come to find out the groove dia. was .442 not .452 as it should have been,
Bore dia was .430-.431
It went to gun show, got traded for a NMBH 45C

[testhop]

i guess i am going to be a me toohad one shot much better than i could shot very hot loads in it not even a burpi i like the halfcock also
i heard thay went under so i sold it again wish i hadden
sssas i said it was a shooter