Ruger Old Army?

[boatswainsmate]

Hello All,
Does anyone here shoot one of these on a regular basis? I'm looking for first hand experience with these before I start playing with black powder or a substitute. Thanks for looking and any reply's! Boats

 

[rugertoter]

I had an Italian made .44 Old Army, blued, a number of years back. It was fun to shoot and more accurate than I thought it would be shooting Hornady .44 caliber lead balls, but boy was it a bear to clean. Make sure you grease the cylinder faces, or you can use the patches as well, otherwise you may end up with a nasty "chain fire" condition. Other than that, they are most certainly fun to shoot, and I would not wanted to be on the receiving end of those balls I shot through it.

 

[Nazgul]

I have one. Lots of fun, get some .457" leads balls and black powder/ substitute and have fun.

Easiest is a lubed wad between powder and ball, needs some thing to hold lube.

Hot water and soap will clean it easily after shooting.

Don

 

[Kurr]

Cap n Ball is my everyday carry gun, and I am jealous! Love to have me a Ruger Old Army.

Keep it clean. Clean immediately after shooting. Hot water is sufficient. Don't use petroleum products on it. I lube with extra virgin olive oil. As long as you use black powder or substitute, no worries, you won't blow it up. Make sure when you stuff a ball in the cylinder you shave a lead ring off it, and you should never have a chain fire.

I make my own black powder, if you have, get, or want to make a ball mill you can too. I think I figured it a year or so ago that if I got my materials off ebay I could get the price down to about $2.50 - $3.00 a pound. I can also tell ya how to make your own percussion caps, but it's really more time consuming than its worth except for the novelty or of you really can't get caps. For sure get a lead mold to cast your own balls if you like it and want to shoot a lot.

Edit to add: Don't hold the trigger and fan the hammer. It ain't built for it and you can the cylinder stop, hand, and screw the timing.

 

[boatswainsmate]

I just picked up a lyman .457 ball mold off Ebay.

 

[ruger1800]

20gr triple f 20gr of Corn mill patched compressed with lead ball, will shoot a cylinder full thru a half dollar at 25 yards.

 

[ru44mag]

I had 2 of the Italian models. Still have the 1860 Colt Army. They are very fun to shoot, and all the smoke is really cool if you use black powder. I find the loading and cleaning processes to keep the revolver in the safe way longer than other pistols and revolvers I have. Hot soapy water, make sure they are dry and lot's of oil right after you shoot them, or you will have rusty pitted paper weight.

 

[oldpink]

The Old Army is about as stout a cap-and-ball revolver as you can get.
Listen to the already provided advice about using hot water and soap for cleaning, and another suggestion to prevent chain fires is to use the Wonder Wad here - Ox-Yoke Originals® Revolver Wonder Seals : Cabela's

 

[Leadeye]

I've owned and fired these and they are great BP guns. That said, I find shooting reproduction Uberti cartridge revolvers easier and more fun. They make an 1858 conversion revolver with similar looks and balance to the Ruger.

 

[spencer rifle]

Not all chain fires are caused by muzzle-end errors. Sometimes it's the cap end:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/chain-fires-and-black-powder-loads.665490/

 

[Old Dog]

The Ruger Old Army is the best BP revolver in my opinion. I started with them about 2 years ago and love 'em. Started with 1 SS and 1 Blued, had opportunity to pick up another SS and Blued for a very right price. I have seen the SS as NIB for as much as $800. Yours looks very clean. I will not use BP substitutes as they are claimed to be worse than BP for fouling and corrosion, but they are more readily available than BP. I use .457 round balls, 20-30 gr. BP, and a greased wad (Ox-Yoke style), shoots well enough for me.

 

[ru44mag]

I've owned and fired these and they are great BP guns. That said, I find shooting reproduction Uberti cartridge revolvers easier and more fun. They make an 1858 conversion revolver with similar looks and balance to the Ruger.

What caliber did you choose?

 

[Leadeye]

What caliber did you choose?

45 Colt, the nice thing is that if you want to make up BP cartridges for it they perform well. Good looking guns, they don't give up much to the Ruger and you can run smokeless or black.

 

[ru44mag]

45 Colt, the nice thing is that if you want to make up BP cartridges for it they perform well. Good looking guns, they don't give up much to the Ruger and you can run smokeless or black.

Nice. I had the same. 1858 Remington in .44 caliber black powder. I think I will get one in .38 special and plink with my 158 grain cast.

 

[Max Volume]

If you have a Uberti or Pietta you can buy a conversion cylinder and have it both ways. BP or cartridge. 1858 Remington - Conversion Cylinders - Hand Guns

 

[cosermann]

Not all chain fires are caused by muzzle-end errors. Sometimes it's the cap end:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/chain-fires-and-black-powder-loads.665490/

In addition to using the proper size cap, I like to squeeze them just enough so they're a tiny bit out-of-round. They stay on the nipple better that way.