Ruger Old Army; getting right bullet for this grand revolver

[Onty]

Hi to all, BIG Ruger Old Army club here. Hope to get my first ROA within next week or two. It took me more than a year to find one. Keep in mind that I am located in Canada and those revolvers are in very short supply now. Some years ago, easy to find nice used ones, not any more.

Just when started looking for one ROA, I also looked for bullets and loads. At the first, I realized that almost all are using loads using round ball. Considering strength and quality of ROA, I always felt that round ball with it's very low weight is not the optimum bullet size for this wonderful revolver. My goal was to duplicate the load of original load for 45 Colt; 260-265 gr bullet at about 850 fps. At the first moment I thought that this is not possible, however, I stumbled upon this thread http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=113059 The shooter was using 777 and 250 gr Lee REAL and getting 880 fps, see also on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQVu3d3NpxU . Now, this is the load I would like to shoot in Ruger Old Army. After I looked further, I found DD-ROA FLAT Big Lube bullet http://www.biglube.com/BulletMolds.aspx?ItemID=09d6fdda-c105-4c87-b269-68ebfdaba982 . Also, I found another idea for a right bullet for this revolver. http://www.shootersforum.com/muzzleloaders/2414-performance-excellence-ruger-old-army.html. Considering all noted info, I started thinking about something like this:



Weight 260 gr. Nominal dia is .457 and heel .452 dia for easier reloading. Idea is to have 2 grease grooves, large enough to use one (or two) O-ring for better sealing and friction, to prevent bullet from jumping forward during recoil. Weight is 260 grains and meplat is .340 dia. Please keep in mind that this bullet cannot be loaded on revolver, some kind of loading press has to be used.

I would like to know what do you think about this bullet.

 

[arcticap]

SUMIKITO recently posted in the ROA club thread that the Ruger manual advises to use .454 pure lead conicals in the ROA.

The “Old Army” is designed to use a .457” diameter round ball or .454” conical bullet of pure lead.

https://ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/_manuals/oldArmy.pdf

I suppose that every bullet will fit and load with more or less difficulty based on it's design and diameter.
Maybe it's possible to do some testing with similar weight .454 bullets to see if they will stay in place during heavy recoil.
Even the Big Lube bullets for the ROA that are sold by Whyte Leather Works are .454's:

http://www.whyteleatherworks.com/BigLube.html

 

[DMH]

Not the same weight that you want to use, but for years (since 1985) I have been using a Lee mold 90384 it casts a bullet at .456 and 220 gr. this has two grease grooves and round nose. On the box it says it was designed for the Ruger Old Army. This has been a great bullet for me using pyrodex p with 30 - 33 grains. This has been accurate and hard hitting.

DMH

 

[Onty]

Since bullet I am proposing is .457 dia, it could be sized down until fit is right for ROA cylinder. Idea is to have good, tight fit. Also, different alloy could be mixed combining pure lead with wheel weight, to experiment with different hardness.

 

[6.5x55swedish]

To shoot anything besides a round ball out of one you really need an independent loading press and have to pre-load the cylinder with it off of the gun. Conical bullets tend to press in crooked and then you loose serious accuracy.

The Old Army is a tack driver with round balls... not sure why anybody wants to mess with perfection? I load 45 grain of FFF, top off with corn meal and then a round ball...