Return of the Old Army

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The ROA is unique in that it has a very strong following.

There was a member here who was only using his ROA's with conversion cylinders, and also loading them with jacketed bullets.
I'm not sure if doing that would be advisable with any other C&B model without replacing the barrel.

I met another person who sold a lot of his modern guns to buy ROA's.
The last time we spoke I think he said that he had about 18 of them.

Consider how expensive those Clements .50 ROA conversions were.
I guess that's just an example of how unique the ROA can be when money is less important than its design & functioning potential. --->>> https://gunblast.com/Cumpston_ClementsFugett.htm
 
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Yea, ~13 hundredths of an inch isn’t worth $1300 to me.

A used Ruger will hold its value.
 
arcticap said:
There was a member here who was only using his ROA's with conversion cylinders, and also loading them with jacketed bullets.
Click to expand...
Ummm, unless some legal restrictions apply, wouldn't one be better served with a cheaper and readily available Blackhawk/Vacquero of the desired caliber? If shooting cartridges is his choice... I mean, ROA is one heck of a fine gun when it is used as intended to (cap & ball), but when fitted with a cartridge conversion cylinder it offers no single advantage over a designated cartridge revolver. In fact, it is a compromise in almost every aspect.
 
I'm not certain why he preferred the ROA's to other Rugers for centerfire.
He did sell some of the C&B cylinders to me to defray their overall cost.
He had one cut down by Clements to make the barrel into more of a snub nose length.
And the 2 Kirst Conversions allows for the use of .45LC / .45 Schofield, as well as .45ACP.
They weren't quite as expensive at that time either, although they were stainless.
Maybe their cost was in the vicinity of $450 - $500 more or less.
Perhaps he liked their utility and felt that they would hold their value better due to having C&B frames, as well as being easier to resell without an FFL needed for transfer.
Remember too, that there were replacement cylinder pins available that didn't require the loading lever to remain on the gun.

What may be considered as being less desirable to some can be more desirable to others.
 
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arcticap said:
I'm not certain why he preferred the ROA's to other Rugers for centerfire.
He did sell some of the C&B cylinders to me to defray their overall cost.
He had one cut down by Clements to make the barrel into more of a snub nose length.
And the 2 Kirst Conversions allows for the use of .45LC / .45 Schofield, as well as .45ACP.
They weren't quite as expensive at that time either, although they were stainless.
Maybe their cost was in the vicinity of $450 - $500 more or less.
Perhaps he liked their utility and felt that they would hold their value better due to having C&B frames, as well as being easier to resell without an FFL needed for transfer.
Remember too, that there were replacement cylinder pins available that didn't require the loading lever to remain on the gun.

What may be considered as being less desirable to some can be more desirable to others.
Click to expand...

I’d love to see these cut down revolvers if I may.
 
It's a .45ACP cylinder with 3.5" barrel that was shortened by Clements.
From post #1817:--->>> https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/the-ruger-old-army-club.538088/page-73#post-9333113


index.php
 
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A very long time ago.. I cant SWEAR to it, but Im PRETTY sure it was here... Someone posted an absolutely BEAUTIFUL set of pearl or ivory (think it was pearl) birdhead gripped ROA snubbies... If anyone remembers those, I bet folks on this thread would love to see em.. i know I would again...
 
Saw a blue one at Jim Chambers' booth at Friendship, IN. $1k. However, it comes with a nice wood box that has all the accessories for it. I'd buy that one if I wanted a ROA.
 
The pair of standard .44 caliber stainless Rugers with 7-1/2" barrels just bought, coupled with two blue .44 caliber regular ROA revolvers bought down at the largest muzzleloading match in the Southeast, brings my Ruger "stable" up to six, if you includes these two match-grade revolvers I used in NMLRA line matches at the nationals from 1987 till 1999, and locally since then.

The .44 ROA with the "Dragoon" brass grip frame was accurized by well-known NRA conventional pistol gunsmith, John Videki, and fitted with Bo-Mar sights. The Ruger "Old Navy" .36 caliber, was custom-made by Tom Ball, well-known N-SSA pistolsmith. It has a 9mm "octagon" barrel with Bo-Mar sights, and stainless steel sleeves in the cylinder chambers. I use Hornady or cast .360 RB, c.o.w., & 15 grains of Swiss 3 FG. It belonged to a friend of mine who used it to win the NMLRA National Muzzle Loading Pistol Championship in 1997. Both have Herrett custom walnut grips. Each has been fired 25,000+ rounds. Guess I need to enter these two in the "Ruger Old Army Club" this week.

IMG_0646.jpg
 
Mr.D. Buck stopshere...i am in awe over that custom .36 cal "old navy". Id love to see more of it. It has my head spinning thinking about different ideas to buy a ruger old army and build myself a custom .36 old navy like that. A nice stainless ones with a 5.5-6 inch barrel. I know most companies make a 5.5.barreled gun but 6 inches is the sweet spot in my opinion...that half inch makes a world of difference especially with italian colt copies. The balance is alot more natural.
 
I'm an idiot. I took brass casting recently and should have brought a ROA grip frame with me.
 
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