I started dinking with black powder around 1980 or 81.
The initial success of the Ruger Old Army was predicated on the fact that most of the replica guns were neat looking, but objectively junk. There were some exceptions like the old Euro Arms Rogers & Spencer my dad gave me recently. He paid good money for that thing back then, and it was worth it, They're still relatively expensive, and they're still worth it.
But by and large, the BP revolver replicas of the time were more like my old Remmie, which has a frame cast of soft steel or maybe even iron, and soft internal parts. The sear galled up and formed a big burr. It wasn't hardened at all, apparently.
So anyway, back then, if you wanted to experience the Old West, you got a replica and messed around with it a bit. If you really wanted a shooter that you could use for high-volume target shooting, with a good trigger, excellent durability and good accuracy, you bought a Ruger Old Army (or one of the few high-end replicas in the same price range).
Now, you can get a replica that's a truly excellent gun. They offer good looks, shootability and history, and they're not too expensive. Uberti was a good maker before; now under the Beretta umbrella, they've become excellent.
So it doesn't surprise me that, with most of the reasons for buying an Old Army no longer valid, Ruger's heavy, expensive gun with an oddball caliber (yeah it does matter to those of us with a bunch of molds) might have lost sales.
Maybe Ruger has something else in the works, though. I like their products.
and going to cause a fuss here in England where the ROA is just about the only modern design handgun that we can own. Maybe I should buy one before they get too sought-after!