ever shoot FMJ 45 cal bullets in Old Army?

[pinhead56]

A friend of mine has a Ruger Old Army BP revolver. He has been known to shoot copper plated FMJ 45 cal bullets out of it. Has anyone else done this? Is this even safe? He has been advised by one person to NOT do this anymore, but he wonders what the *real* danger is (if any). Any comments from you Old-army guys out there?

 

[robert garner]

The use of cast bullets in the ROA is old hat,tho the use of plated is new to me ,I have used wadcutters designed for 45 acp as cast; not sized, with good but not spectacular results. Undersized bullets will not seal the chamber(chainfire),nor would recoil allow them to stay seated in chambers as pistol was fired. Cast bullets are available that are suited for this application if y'all arent interested in casting your own, find a style you like in .453-.454 ....I would bet the plated will be .451. I would use wads either of felt or wax under the bullet. The Ruger is the primo blackpowder revolver available toss what you have and feed it well! There is no good reason to use undersized bullets, and many not to! Good Luck
robert

 

[O.S.O.K.]

Safety

I don't see any safety issues if they are loaded safely - as mentioned, with a lubed wad under them and watch for them backing out of the cylinder. Further, we are talking normal black powder loads - not smokeless and not juiced up black or substitute either.

But what is the point? What do you gain by doing this? Nothing.

It will perform best with the projectiles that it was designed to shoot, which are swagged or cast lead balls or conicals.

This is one of those times that I see the point of the conversion cylinders - if you really want to shoot jacketed bullets, get a conversion cylinder.

But here again, why not just get a regular Vaquero or Blackhawk? Both are available used for just a little more than a new conversion cylinder.

Why buy a bp cap and ball and try to make it into something its not designed to be? Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[pinhead56]

Thanks for the info.