Colt Dragoon
- Category
- Revolver
- Barrel
- 190 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.90 kg
- Introduced
- 1848
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Colt Dragoon is a .44 caliber, six-shot single-action percussion revolver designed by Samuel Colt and introduced in 1848. A refinement of the massive Colt Walker, it was lightened and shortened for cavalry use by the U.S. Army's mounted Dragoon regiments. Produced in First, Second, and Third Models through 1860, the heavy cap-and-ball revolver saw extensive frontier and American Civil War service and remained one of the most powerful handguns of its era.
The Dragoon was Samuel Colt's answer to the unwieldy four-pound-plus Walker revolver: a slightly shorter, lighter, and more reliable design that helped re-establish Colt's failed firearms business after the 1847 Walker contract. Named for the U.S. mounted Dragoon regiments who carried it in saddle holsters, it became the standard heavy military sidearm of the late 1840s and 1850s and a symbol of the American frontier.
Cap-and-ball black powder revolver loaded with loose powder, ball, and percussion caps. Roughly 18,000 to 20,000 were produced at Colt's Hartford works, plus a small London Armory run from 1851 to 1855. The Third Model could mount a detachable shoulder stock.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC
- Category
- Revolver
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1848 to 1860
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 190 mm
- Overall length
- 375 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.90 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Revolving
- Firing mechanism
- Percussion
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 6
- Magazine
- Revolving cylinder
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Walnut
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 259 m/s
- Effective range
- 75 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Percussion cap ignition
Six shot cylinder
Loading lever
Open top frame
Brass trigger guard
Optional shoulder stock
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers | 1.90 kg | 1.25 kg | Heavier than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers | 375 mm | 349 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers | 190 mm | 191 mm | Shorter than about 60% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers | 6 | 6 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Colt Dragoon
How much does the Colt Dragoon weigh?
The Colt Dragoon weighs 1.90 kg (4.19 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Colt Dragoon?
The Colt Dragoon is chambered in .44 Caliber Percussion.
How many rounds does the Colt Dragoon hold?
The Colt Dragoon holds 6 rounds, fed from a revolving cylinder.
How long is the Colt Dragoon?
The Colt Dragoon is 375 mm (14.8 in) long overall, with a 190 mm (7.48 in) barrel.
Who makes the Colt Dragoon?
The Colt Dragoon is made by Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC (United States). It was designed by Samuel Colt.
When was the Colt Dragoon introduced?
The Colt Dragoon was introduced in 1848 and discontinued in 1860.
How does the Colt Dragoon operate?
The Colt Dragoon uses a revolving action, and its firing mechanism is percussion.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- United States Army
- 1848
- Confederate States Army
- United States
Provenance
Confidence in this record
82%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/colt-dragoon' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "colt-dragoon", "name": "Colt Dragoon", "manufacturer": { "id": "colt", "name": "Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1855, "website": "https://www.colt.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": "American firearms manufacturer headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1855 and now a subsidiary of Colt CZ Group, continuing production of iconic firearms including the 1911 pistol.", "status": "active", "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:38", "version": "7143c7ff3f7e156063a240f2df7b4746ee1c0394d7cd5f592d05bac43233d637" }, "category": { "id": "revolver", "name": "Revolver", "description": "Handguns with a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1848, "barrel_length_mm": 190, "weight_empty_g": 1900, "action_type": "revolving"}