blackhawk vs interarms dragoon

[illhunter]

Which is the better gun? looking at them for hunting.

How about double action revolvers as well to go into this.

Good revolver for about $500 used or new

[Heavy lead]

I've had both and like the Virginian Dragoon, but the Ruger Blackhawk handsdown, for several reasons, maybe most importantly is parts availability and aftermarket parts. I have several double action's, Smith's and Ruger's, but my serious hunting guns all seem to be Blackhawk's of one flavor or another, they are easy to work on, strong as a bull and just work.

[williamwaco]

I frequently see Ruger SA, DA, and an occasional Smith .44 mag at gun shows for 500 to 600 bucks. I bought a Ruger BH Bisley model about a year ago with at 7 1/2 inch barrel form 475 bucks.



.

[shooting on a shoestring]

I have several BlackHawks and a 44 or 45 will definitely fit your budget. I seriously considered buying a Virginian Dragoon about a year ago in Austin. It was in 44 Magnum (they might all be that caliber, I don't think they had much variety). The revolver was considerably heavier than a BH. Fit and finish were great. Price was $375 best I remember. I passed for two reasons. First I don't have any 44 stuff. I have a couple of .45 Colt BHs that will do pretty much the same as a 44. Second, BHs are popular and sell well should I need to bail out of one. The Virginian Dragoon was priced cheap b/c it wasn't selling (not popular). I do think it was a great deal if someone needed it and didn't care about being able to sell it quickly.

[illhunter]

have 3 guns am looking at both SA cause the DA are just to much unless wanta taurus or rossi. have a line on a dragoon online in 357 has few more days before closes, a dragoon in 44 mag know the owner is nice gun wants like $375 not counting shipping or transfer fee, the other is a stainless super blackhawk and it is in state and $400 but not sure i want a 44 or need one for deer hunting in IL.

How about the ruger rehawks ask cause saw a few that may be able to afford to like them better than the super redhawks.

[mongo]

I got a SBH in .44 and love it. Picked up a New Vaquero in .357, stainless, Now thats a purdy gun, Its so shiney I can see my ugly mug in it...

[illhunter]

wish had better pic of the one online here in IL is SBH in 44 with 7.5" barrel very nice looking gun but not great pic and good price i think at $400 but about 1.5 hour drive to get to it

[big dale]

I will never be without my old model Super Blackhawk. l had one stolen after I had it for about 20 years. The next one was a new model Super Blackhawk and it never did feel right to me. I just plain prefer the old ones. I also had a Redhawk in 44 with a 5.5 inch barrel and a Redhawk in 41 Magnum with a 5.5 inch barrel and I enjoyed both of them a lot before I gave them to friends who also loved them and had no 44's or 41's. The other 44 that I had was a Super Redhawk in stainless with a scope and the 7.5 inch barrel that I just gave away to my best friend mainly cause his 9 year old grandson is spending a lot of time this summer with him and they will enjoy shooting it together.

Still everytime I see another of those Interarms Dragoons in 44 with their beautiful color case hardening I am very tempted...again!

You can't realy go wrong with any of them, but I have only been without a 44 or 41 Ruger for more than a few days since the mid 60's.

Have fun with this stuff.

Big Dale

[Whitworth]

I've had both and like the Virginian Dragoon, but the Ruger Blackhawk handsdown, for several reasons, maybe most importantly is parts availability and aftermarket parts.

That is my reasoning as well. Parts availablity should something fail. Go Blackhawk and never look back.

[x101airborne]

You would be wise to get the blackhawk in 44 caliber.
Load it light for small game, load it heavy for large game.
Parts are everywhere and smiths are very knowledgable.
I would not hesitate a second on that decision. Spend the extra money and be in a state of serenity.

[illhunter]

always been a ruger fan but thought someone maybe knew something about the dragoons i didn't.

[tek4260]

always been a ruger fan but thought someone maybe knew something about the dragoons i didn't.


Lee Martin has a lots of info on them.


http://www.singleactions.com/

There are several members with them on his forum as well

http://www.singleactions.proboards.com/

[375supermag]

Hi...

I have had this Virginian Dragoon for a few years now.
It is a .44 Magnum and shoots great. They are well-built guns ,IMHO.

I think they are the equal of any Ruger BlackHawk or Super BlackHawk.

http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy305/375supermag/100_0759.jpg

[44man]

I had one long ago. It was a great and very strong gun. Parts might be a problem but I have to wonder if you can ever wear out anything???
I had the .375 and the gun was not a problem, the WW brass was. Only stuff I could buy.

[illhunter]

can find a 44 and watching a 357 which am actually more interested in IL deer will fall the the 357. waiting on the auction to end see what it goes for.

[Stick_man]

First handgun I ever bought was an Interarms Virginian Dragoon in .357mag with a 6.5" barrel. I shot probably close to 50,000 rounds through it before I got a stupid wild hair and became enfatuated by the double action guns. I sold it and picked up a S&W model 19 with 6" barrel. Only shot that one about 100 rounds and then stumbled across a very nice Dan Wesson 15-2 with 6" and 2.5" barrels. The guns were traded straight across. I still have that DW and will probably never part with it. Just picked up another DW in stainless .44 6" and 8" ported barrels. In Double Action revolvers, my first choice would be a Dan Wesson or an older Colt. Have never liked the Super Redhawk looks or fit with factory grips.

[illhunter]

with the DA revolvers like smiths, older colts, dan wessons, and the redhawks and GP100 but all those get quite higher in price. with the SA ruger i have owned but would like to maybe find an old model blackhawk or super blackhawks and the dragoon have seen a few people swear they are better than a blackhawk. I am seriously wanting to buy something and will be one of the two calibers mentioned. have to find a place to handle the dragoon cause am just not sure one is so much better than other but know guy that bought super blackhawk recently and hated it. Anyone buy from the auction sites never done it before and would be concerned let a 357 dragoon go cause hate buying a gun have not handled before ever, like to at least of held one of the makers guns before i invest my money.

[torpedoman]

The dragoon no question, better built and stronger than a black hawk, far better trigger due to not having a striker system and timed not to cut a rut around the cylinder. The dragoon uses a cylinder pin lock to allow for 6 rds carry much better system than the striker in my opinion and it has engraved dots over one chamber to mark it if you wish to carry 5. they came in 45 --44 mag --41mag and 357 .. ruger is too focused on profit to build a revolver that is timed and will maintain its appearance to suit me. but then i'm old enough to remember real quality.

[kyle623]

I had a dragoon in 44 mag for several years, It was every bit as strong as my BH, but finding parts if it does break could be a bit of a problem. they did make them in 357 mag too. If you can get one for a good price i would jump on it if your wanting a 44 mag or 357 mag. As far as buying from the gun auction sites, just check the sellers feedback, and if they offer an inspection period with return policy.

[idahoron]

I have had a couple of Stainless dragoons over the last 25 years or so. One got stolen and I still have the second one. First they are a very large framed pistol in my opinion. They fit my had much better than the Black Hawk's do. I added a pachmyer grip to it years ago that also added some size to the grip. My hand does not overlap the grip like my hand does on the BH's. For me shooting a BH with heavy loads is tough. The gun twists and turns and bucks way worse than the Dragoon. My load for the Dragoon is a 300 gr Hornady XTP. I have found that they can't take the pressure that a Red Hawk can. I have never compared it to the BH for pressures.
Mine has the 8 3/8" barrel and weighs about 3.5 pounds. I originally got the gun for an all around shooter and home protection. I used it for hunting several times and killed deer and varmints with it. It is now mostly just a hunting gun since I now have other guns for home defense.
Like i said I have had mine over two decades and never had a problem. I have never had to get it fixed for anything. I did order a few sight parts years ago just in case and I never had to install them. Over all I have enjoyed the pistol and it is never going to be sold. As for a recommendation, if you can find one is good to great condition and need a gun like this I would say go for it. Ron

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd294/idahoron/Pistol%20pics/Dragoon1small.jpg