School me on the Old Army

Just picked up a 1995 vintage Ruger Old Army, stainless, adjustable sights, pretty much new in the box. It appears unfired but there is a pinpoint of freckling on the frame which corresponds to a spot in the cardboard box. I think I got an OK deal on it for $459 out the door.

What are some good loads for this revolver? Any particular powders that work best; are Pyrodex pellets worth looking into? What's the best way to clean one of these? I've got a few BP rifles, but have no experience cleaning revolvers shot with black powder.

Also, what molds for conical hunting bullets should I be looking at?

You started your cap and ball revolver game at the top, For me the Ruger Old Army is best with a .457
round ball and 32 grains of FFF black. Super strong and well built . Clean with soap and hot water .

Regarding powders for the Old Army......Pyrodex and 777 are as corrosive as black powder and, my opinion only, are more difficult to clean. Hot water and dish soap to clean and then a coating of your favourite lube. Don't ever leave a BP firearm uncleaned for any length of time.....even a stainless one. Dave

These are the 1st and only 12 rounds I ever shot in this gun . I use Windex at range before I go home on all my black powder guns and then I use hot soapy and water at home and WD-40 after I blow dry gun . For short term storage I use auto trans fluid

TX Gunrunner.....I learn something every day. I will use your trick of the windex spray at the range before heading home. David

Lower power loads are far more accurate, but... I love the big bang as well! The manual says you cannot overcharge the pistol with smoke-more powder. I fill each chamber to the rim with Triple Seven, then press in a .457" round ball.

I thought about using conical bullets, but lotsa folks said round ball gives such good results, that's all they use.

MacEntyre said:

Lower power loads are far more accurate, but... I love the big bang as well!.

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I love winning matches and the money I save . I can almost get double the amount of rounds out of one a can of powder . I only use real black power in my guns I never try anything else . I was a serious shooter at one time .

I built this from scratch to play with .

I use 30 gr/volume fffg real black powder (Goex), a .457 round ball and a lubed wad between powder and ball. I use Ballistol during a session to remove fouling. Post-session cleanup is with plain water. Rust prevention between sessions is Birchwood Casey's Barricade.

I think that's the 'best' in each case. I can't say that for certain because I haven't tried everything; I don't need to because what I do now works just fine.

I load 40g of either FFF or FF Triple-7 which ever is handy. Shoots fine for me... I've never actually got my hands on any 'real' BP yet, but Triple-7 is always available so been using it. Was just out shooting one of my OAs on Saturday. Had a ball . .457 is the right ball diameter. Oh, I use cream of wheat as my 'wad'. No lube on front of cylinder. Clean up with hot water and soap. Also use the Murphy soap mix as well.

tx gunrunner said:

These are the 1st and only 12 rounds I ever shot in this gun . I use Windex at range before I go home on all my black powder guns and then I use hot soapy and water at home and WD-40 after I blow dry gun . For short term storage I use auto trans fluid

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Sounds like you have the plan that works? I doubt I'd use WD-40 because it known to gum up guns as it dries.
P.S. Personally, I think too many BP shooters try to invent a better wheel when doing BP cleanup? Just simple soap and hot water(or Hoppe's brought out for this job)has always done the job for me.
Steve

I use the WD40 to displace moisture from the soap and water not to lube gun . I blow dry the WD40 off and use a good gun oil to lube up gun or ATF which is a high detergent oil and it will clean and lube gun but it is for short time storage . I use the IC of W between ball and powder as a filler to bring ball to top of cylinder with reduced charges and also it will keep the bore clean . I can shoot all day without cleaning the bore and I only need to wipe the outside of gun off .

When you use dryer it hardens WD-40(makes it gummy). It was originally designed to displace moisture in the NASA progam but, I would never again use it on a firearm. Do some research on the internet.
Steve

Oregon45 said:

[...] Also, what molds for conical hunting bullets should I be looking at?

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I like two Lee 220 grain Lee molds: Lee's REAL (rifling engaged at loading) rifle mold and their round nose marketed for the ROA. The shank of Lee's round nose readily enters the chamber then the bottom edge of its ogive fits tight like a .457" round ball. Lee's REAL bullets are tapered so the front fits tight like a Maxi-Ball. Although made for rifles the .45 version is a great fit in ROAs. Both of these conical have given me good accuracy with lightly compressed charges of FFFg and FFFFg black powder.

Other members have suggested sticking with round balls. I enjoy target shooting with them but their ballistic coefficient is low so conicals have quite a bit more power down range.

steve8261948 said:

When you use dryer it hardens WD-40(makes it gummy). It was originally designed to displace moisture in the NASA progam but, I would never again use it on a firearm. Do some research on the internet.
Steve

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I use compressed air to blow dry it not a hair dryer . I've been doing this for over 30 years .

tx gunrunner said:

I use the WD40 to displace moisture from the soap and water not to lube gun.

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Folklore says that WD-40 is corrosive... I don't know. But for long term storage, I can tell you it will end up smelling very bad! More folklore says it has fish oil in it.

When I clean muzzleloaders with soap and water, I follow the last water rinse with alcohol, and then a small amount of light gun oil down the bore. Alcohol is not corrosive, and does a better job getting rid of moisture. A gallon of denatured alcohol is less expensive than a gallon of WD-40, too.

My best "cleaning trick" is to take my stainless ROA to the dry half of the state for a week then not clean it until the end of the week. I never had rust from my laziness.

I like soap and boiling water to get the parts hot so they dry fast. After dry patches I use WD40 then more dry patches then Hoppe's gun oil. I don't fault anyone who buys a specialty fluid for each application WD40 gets used for. That's probably technically the better way to go but I own a gallon of WD40.