Awesome!
I have a 1st Mod., 2nd Gen. Colt Dragoon I've been thinking of sending ... to you or Raven ... to have a conversion cylinder fitted, so I could, with the C&B cylinder too, have the best of both worlds.
Which I perceive is exactly what you did, 'tho you might have started with a 2nd Model.
It wouldn't be exactly authentic, but with a cylinder that has a slightly longer throat, one could load up some, uh ... what would they be called? ... 45 ELC (Extra Long Colt)? 45 Colt Magnum? er, .454 Casull, with BP and shoot away!! It would be sort of a "secret" thing, since a 454 C factory load wouldn't do very well. Probably would't be worth the effort, what with possible accidents after I'm gone and someone ELSE discovers the "secret" and chambers a factory Casull round.
Never Mind. But it would be fun. The most fun I've had with mine (C&B cylinder) is when I put in 19-20 grs. of 3F, then seat a 30 gr. Pyrodex pellet. That takes it up to the max designed Dragoon load of 50 grains ... and it rocks! I tried it a few times with a "Buffalo Ball-et" which I think was about 180-190 grs. (or about 40-50 grs. heavier than a standard roundball) and it was the first time I ever experienced smokeyless-feeling recoil from a BP revolver! It had the "felt recoil" approximately of what my Python does when firing full-power 158-180 gr. hunting rounds. Not a lot of recoil, it IS a gun weighing more than 4.1 pounds, after all, but it was noticeable and a much sharper "hit" rather than the "shove" I normally get from full power BP loads. Most folks wouldn't tolerate it, and I only shoot it like that once in a while - it's an expensive load, after all! Normally, I shoot around 42-43 grs. of 3F behind a round ball and THAT is a good and VERY accurate load. Actually, if I don't put in at least 32-34 grs. of powder, the ball stops down in the rebated portion (where the chamber narrows by the nipple opening) and I don't get any compression and then have inconsistent loads. Over 35 grs. guarantees good compression and consistency.
But back to YOUR new "favorite:" COOL!!