The RUGER OLD ARMY Club

WOW!! Two thousand comments, so far, containing questions, answers, decades of experience and experimentation, and gorgeous photos of beautiful and functional ROAs. What a valuable thread!

Thanks to ClemBert for getting it started.

Jeff (member # 19)

robhof said:

I have some Classicballistix cylinders that have slightly larger cylinders and the .454's creep with heavy loads, so I only use .457's or conicals with them.

Click to expand...

Really? I have some Classicballistx cylinders as well and they come out at .4525-.4530 on pretty much every chamber. They're more consistent than the stock Ruger cylinder as well as holding more powder.

They may jump because the chambers are more highly finished than the stock Ruger. The stock cylinder is much rougher. Despite the Classicballistx being the right size, I have had some bullet jump on heavy loads but only on the first cylinder full. Once fired and bit dirty, the bullets stayed put. I have had no problem with shooting 45gr of T7 behind a 230gr bullet.

To get ready things ready to go I fire off a round of caps on empty chambers to clear the nipples of any oil. Then I fire a cylinder full of a lighter load, like 25gr or so. After that, anything goes.

I had Kaido's 240 grn bullets that are .456" jump after about the third shot often when using stout loads of 3F Triple 7.

"I was able to get it for $265...I think I got a good deal on it."

I paid almost that much for an extra cylinder and grips. I am flabbergasted that Cabela's would give anyone that kind of deal.

Me too. $265 what a deal. I have seen em in bad shape go for more.

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Posting this on gunsmithing and repairs with a significant update. I will post pictures only if someone requests.

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Ok am I missing somthing here or not. I just fitted a New Model Blackhawk grip frame (a 55 dollar aluminum ebay special) to a Ruger Old Army.

I left the newer version trigger spring mounted and put the old trigger return spring and plunger on top of it.

When all is assembled it's just held in place behind the trigger but a little higher resulting in a lighter trigger and the new version cylinder return spring prevents the trigger from being pulled too far back after the hammer is released.

It's a lighter crisp release with less overtravel great.

The newer grip frame has more area milled out that allows that trigger plunger and spring to fit in with the spring pin behind it.

I removed the old style cylinder latch spring and used the modern spring and plunger that mounts in the grip frame for the newer model cylinder latch. It's a fit and it works fine on the Old Army.

Putting it together was different but not too difficult. It's easy for the cylinder latch spring and plunger to miss it's seat (hole) and bend over to the side and of course the trigger spring and plunger has to be positioned also.

Everything seems to hold in place after assembly.

Some lessons I learned I also ordered a trigger and cylinder latch for the new model to see if I can match it or modify it easily but no the holes for the pins in the trigger and cylinder latch of the New Model Blackhawks are of different diameter and drilled in different places.

Retrofitting those are either almost undoable or too much work to be worth it. I was hoping to be able to just hack saw some parts of the new trigger off and adjust the cylinder latch with a little bit of filing but they are very different.

The good news is that the cylinder hands (pawl) of the New Model Black Hawk are good enough to work with. If the other catch in the hand is filed flat you now have a hand that will fit the Old Army alll you have to do is some standard hand fitting.

How do I know because I did it and it works fine in fact the new hand is thicker and rugged.

The Old Army is now 100% coil springs except for the new trigger return spring but that is not used it just acts as a trigger overtravel stop.

Don't fret if you can't find an XR3RED grip frame for your Old Army it seems the new one can be made to fit. If this does not work out (I think it will though) I can forsee moding the grip frame to take the old style trigger sping and plunger would not prove difficult.

The grips I had on the XR3RED fit fine also.

I have bought and sold guns in Cabela's Gun Library. They buy at 70% of what they think they can realize on the sale and will negotiate on price when they sell. In the case of this ROA, they had it listed for $299.99, I offered $250 and they countered with $265. I immediately agreed.

When I was checking out, one of the guys who I know there told me that they had gotten two guns in as trades and the "seller" wanted to go even up on the ROA and his cartridge gun for some semi-auto handgun. They priced his cartridge trade using their 70% rule and, because they don't normally buy C&B revolvers, used the ROA pricing to get to even on the "seller's" trade deal. Not sure if this story was exactly accurate but I got the ROA for the $265. The nipples show some wear but the gun is in great shape. I'm going to get a set of new nipples from Track of the Wolf after I test it at the range.

As they say, "sometimes you bite the bear, sometimes the bear bites you!". In this case, I guess I got a bear lunch on the cheap. Mmmmm-good!



FH

I stopped at the Cabela's in Dundee MI while traveling for business a couple of weeks ago. I was excited to see not one, but two Ruger Old Army's in the Gun Library. Then I saw the price tags...

$699.99
&
$799.99

You can see they are both still available, and listed on their website under the gun library. (I wouldn't expect them to fly off the shelf)

My Friend Pastor Howard Fleury up in Minnesota has gotten a mold and is making available the Kaido Ojamaa 240 grain SWC at .256 diameter. Here is his Gunbroker ad. The man is an experienced caster and offers bullets in many styles.. I have gotten some good bullets from him including the Lyman Devastator bullets in several calibers. He supplements his ministerial income by his casting endeavor. Also ROA 220 grain conicals Note: he has several sizing dies so he can make them (or any 45LC SWC) to fit your 1858, also. He has a 225 grain round nose for the 45ACP that has a small hollow point in it. I have shot a few of those at .454 to 455 diameter in the OA-- but i have to bevel the bases with a chamfer tool.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=433077630

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=432715712

Too bad those Fleury bullets don't have a heeled base (rebated). Lining them up straight in my cylinder is the biggest pain to using them. If they had a rebated base, I'd buy a couple hundred of the 240s.

Unless you know something different, both the Kaido bullets and Lee ROA 220 grains are undersized at the base with .456 driving bands. I have not gotten the Kaido in yet but have used bunches of the ROA. I was talking about that he would cast any of his 45 colt or 45 ACP over-sized for me and I would use them by having to chamfer the bases--just trying different bullet styles. (but of course many longer ones have to be loaded with the cylinder out)

video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVmYRePzoOQ

My newer easy updated method of fitting a New Model .357 XRN-3RED grip frame to the Old Army is posted in gunsmithing and repairs.

Now maybe I will finally be able get an steel blued grip frame without getting gouged.

Can you post a link? Thanks.


Karl

Hold on for a second I'll see what I can do but if you look in the gunsmith and repair section you should see it.

Here it is I think lets try this

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=758649

Yes it works it's not as detailed as I wish and wrote with those familiar with field stripping an Old Army in mind.

Cool stuff, I used a thick walled piece of plastic tubing for the trigger plunger.
I think it was the vent tube off a car battery, been working just fine for 2 yrs.

Wow over 2,000 posts, hundreds of pictures, and a tick or two of hitting the 200 bonafide members list !! That's bragging rights right there Clembert ! A tip of the hat to you !!

Yeah, if only he wasn't a Clemson fan.

Now what we need to do is arrange a day or perhaps days to gather for target practice in gun friendly states across the USA that are closest to us.

All those Ruger Old Armies are just begging to be fired multiple times at the range.

I would also really love to see one of those .50 Cal conversions in action. I bet they would be quite a sight.

This is a camera phone pic of the $265.99 Cabela's ROA I picked up in the last 2 weeks. I hope this is a ticket of admission to the club.

FH

You need a medal for making a $265 something purchase.

Welcome Harry

That is a nice ROA and the price makes it even sweeter.
I just acquired my third and seems like most of my time shooting is with my ROA's. No cap jams and don't have to clean after every other cylinder from shooting.
Dont get me wrong, I love shooting my colts and remmy's, it's just so much nicer with a ROA.

Quick report on the Kaido 240 grain-- They simply "drop" into all chambers up to the driving band and are thus square to the chamber and ready to ram. They fit perfectly under the archway. Best bullet I've had so far.. I will shoot them in a few days. In these picture, maybe 1/8th inch of the bullet went into the chamber easily and the edge of the chamber is now resting against the gas band or driving band (whichever you want to call it). They come coated in ALOX.

Flatbush...got a tip for ya,
go buy a Lotto ticket afore your luck fails
robert

Florida Cherokee: When I loaded up Kaido's 240 grn version with 30 grns of 3F Triple 7 I often had bullet creep on the 3rd to 5th bullet. Kaido had suggested that I get his 255 grn version as they were meant for the ROA, but I thought a .460" bullet would put a lot of stress on the loading lever assembly, whereas .456" seemed perfect.

I don't understand why this happened. Maybe it was due to my Gatofeo's #1 lube combined with the somewhat heavy recoil.

I haven't shot them yet-- these came lubed with tacky alox coating-- i would not put any more lube on the sides as this will cause some slip-- maybe a dab on the nose or a felt wafer underneath. if you want...where are you getting the .460 figure from? That would be a large diameter to swage down into bore size..

go back and read this thread you were in-- http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?204854-Lube-for-a-Lee-Conical-in-a-ROA

You've been doing this longer than i have, but i always tend to shoot a dry sided conical just like a ball (dry sided)--can you imagine if you had semi-liquid lube down in a cartridge case on the bullet sides??
Friction fit sides-- lube on top? (maybe for chain-fires) or Lube on bottom ( maybe to keep soft fowling). Lead projoes at this velocity only need a little slickum... Mike