ruger old army
- Thread starter Chloe
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Starter52
Member
I shoot my Old Army in competition. Here's my target load:
28 grains of Pyrodex-P, Wonder-wad, .457 Hornady swaged round lead ball.
28 grains of Pyrodex-P, Wonder-wad, .457 Hornady swaged round lead ball.
Zeke/PA
Member
25 grains Goex fffg, enough cornmeal filler to allow .457 Hornady swaged round ball 1/16" below cylinder face.
Zeke
Zeke
Zeke/PA
Member
25 grains Goex fffg, enough cornmeal filler to allow .457 Hornady swaged round ball to be seated 1/16 below face of cylinder.
Zeke
Zeke
Howdy Doody
Member
Accuracy to what? 25yards? I like 30gr of 3F Goex a card wad and a Speer .457 ball and over the ball lube. Crisco works fine. Good accuracy to 25 yards.
Target at 50 yards . I was resting over my knees while sitting on the ground using the shooting bench for a backrest.
This worked out well. with .457 balls, my particular one got really good accuracy over 35 grains of black, pyrodex p, and h 777. The chambers would hold a good bit more powder but accuracy fell off. This revolver also didn't like lighter charges.
Black Prince
Member
I shoot cast bullets from a Saeco mould # 68. It is a 200 grain semi-wadcutter Keith type bullet designed for the 45 ACP that cuts neat, clean holes in targets, or whatever it hits. It fits fine in the Ruger and it has a slight bevel on the base to get it started into the chamber. I've tried flat base bullets, but they are hard to get in although they shoot very accurately once loaded. I shoot that on top of 32 grains of Triple 7 or 36 grains of goex FFF-G, a 1/8 inch felt wad soaked in SPG lube. That load shoots better than ANY round ball load I've ever tried and I have tried A BUNCH!!! It also packs more whallop than the round ball loads and I've managed to kill a couple of white tails using it. I don't size the bullets. They are shot just as they come from the mould, pan lubed, and I cast them from wheel weights. Yeah, I KNOW people say you shouldn't do it, but I have been for over 25 years with excellent results, so you can listen to the nay sayers, most of whom have never tried it, or try it yourself and see good results too.
You might try buying 50 or so bullets and trying them to see how you like them BEFORE you go invest in a mould. If you know any 45 ACP shooters, see if they have a mould that will cast a bullet that will fit your Ruger. If you don't know any, attend a 2700 pistol match. There will be a BUNCH of 45 ACP shooters there. Ask them about the bullets they are shooting and see if they will give you 50 or so to try. The Ruger shoots any conical cast bullet that I can get in it well. It is capable of EXCELLENT accuracy using them. If you haven't tried them, you have not seen what the revolver can really do when loaded with a good bullet.
You might try buying 50 or so bullets and trying them to see how you like them BEFORE you go invest in a mould. If you know any 45 ACP shooters, see if they have a mould that will cast a bullet that will fit your Ruger. If you don't know any, attend a 2700 pistol match. There will be a BUNCH of 45 ACP shooters there. Ask them about the bullets they are shooting and see if they will give you 50 or so to try. The Ruger shoots any conical cast bullet that I can get in it well. It is capable of EXCELLENT accuracy using them. If you haven't tried them, you have not seen what the revolver can really do when loaded with a good bullet.
Sixgunjeff
Member
Welcome Mr. Prince. I've witnessed you shoot tiny groups with that Old Army combination. You made me a believer.
Titanvk56
Member
+1
Interesting, Black Prince. I've wondered about that combination myself, since I'm also a Bullseye shooter. I don't use bevel based bullets, but I'll have to get some from a buddy that does.
I'm also intrigued by your comment about using wheelweights. I have often wondered about that. I think the issue is that wheelweights work poorly in ROUND BALLS, but would work fine in BULLETS.
Consider this: wheelweights are not as elastic as pure lead, which means that when compressed, wheelweights don't spring back as much as lead. This is an issue in round balls, since the portion of the ball actually in contact with the barrel is a fraction of the surface area of the ball. The bullet has much more surface area, so the lack of elasticity would be made up by the large contact surfaces.
Also, the less elasticity of wheelweights means that the material is more easily "stripped off" rather than deformed, as pure lead. When the low surface area of round ball hits the rifling, pure lead will deform and "grip" the rifling. If necessary, pure lead can even swage up to grip the rifling. Wheelweight round balls, on the other hand, will strip instead of gripping the rifling, leading the barrel badly. In a conventional bullet, the larger bearing surface again makes up for the lack of elasticity. The larger bearing surface allows enough "grip" to prevent stripping the bullet.
I'm really intrigued by this idea, so I created a new thread with this as the topic. Please reply there, if anyone's interested.
Thanks,
-John
I'm also intrigued by your comment about using wheelweights. I have often wondered about that. I think the issue is that wheelweights work poorly in ROUND BALLS, but would work fine in BULLETS.
Consider this: wheelweights are not as elastic as pure lead, which means that when compressed, wheelweights don't spring back as much as lead. This is an issue in round balls, since the portion of the ball actually in contact with the barrel is a fraction of the surface area of the ball. The bullet has much more surface area, so the lack of elasticity would be made up by the large contact surfaces.
Also, the less elasticity of wheelweights means that the material is more easily "stripped off" rather than deformed, as pure lead. When the low surface area of round ball hits the rifling, pure lead will deform and "grip" the rifling. If necessary, pure lead can even swage up to grip the rifling. Wheelweight round balls, on the other hand, will strip instead of gripping the rifling, leading the barrel badly. In a conventional bullet, the larger bearing surface again makes up for the lack of elasticity. The larger bearing surface allows enough "grip" to prevent stripping the bullet.
I'm really intrigued by this idea, so I created a new thread with this as the topic. Please reply there, if anyone's interested.
Thanks,
-John
Old Army load
My particular old army is stainless, and was made in 1985. The chambers are to big for most colt or acp bullets...Most of which are around .452 dia, and they slide forward during recoil
I need to try unsized bullets of the same type, in which most molds will throw .454-.455, would probably work nicely. Another factor is that the harder alloy, smokeless lubed bullets do tend to lead the bores up, even when using Triple Seven or other cleaner powders
My particular old army is stainless, and was made in 1985. The chambers are to big for most colt or acp bullets...Most of which are around .452 dia, and they slide forward during recoil
I need to try unsized bullets of the same type, in which most molds will throw .454-.455, would probably work nicely. Another factor is that the harder alloy, smokeless lubed bullets do tend to lead the bores up, even when using Triple Seven or other cleaner powders- Status
