Good Day Gentlemen,
As you can see, I am new to the Ruger Forum. I’ve been involved with both black powder and smokeless powder firearms all my life, but I have just recently acquired a Ruger Old Army Cap & Ball revolver – and that is a new game to me. This particular model is stainless steel, has the long barrel, and was (I believe) made in about 1996. It is in essentially “unfired” condition. It also came with a conversion cylinder which will allow it to fire .45 Long Colt. A very nice piece, and I’m extremely pleased with it.
My present situation is that while I am familiar with percussion “cap” firearms (although most of my black powder firearms are flintlocks), I freely admit I don’t know all that much about Cap & Ball Revolvers – including the Old Army.
So I thought, where better to ask for some “beginner’s advice” than on the Ruger Forum. If I’m going to find any experts on the Ruger Old Army revolver – I imagine this is the place where they will be. So here I am!
My plan is to stay on board the forum, and with luck eventually develop some contacts amongst other ROA shooters (and some other Rugers I have), but for now I have a few questions about this revolver that I’d like to discuss. So, if there are any ROA shooters out there who have some spare time on their hands and don’t mind sharing a bit of advice, here are a few things I was wondering about:
(1) BALL SIZE: I understand that the Ruger Old Army operates “best” with .457 round balls. Apparently anything any smaller will not fit tight enough to give optimal results. Is this true? I was thinking of buying Hornady swaged balls in .457 dia. Thoughts?
(2) POWDER & CHARGE: I am told the ROA works very well with a charge of about 25 to 28 grains of “real” FFF black powder. Apparently 777 also works well, but I’m kind of a traditionalist on the black powder. Any thoughts on this – any advantages to either one of these powders?
(3) WADS: I was told to use a pre-lubed felt wad about 1/8” thick between the powder charge and the ball. I understand Ox-Yoke makes such a product, although I have been told that even their pre-lubed “Wonder Wads” could use a bit more lube to do the job correctly. Some articles I have read suggest adding more lube to the Ox-Yoke wads to get the desired amount of lube on them. Any thoughts on this – and if I should use extra lube what is the most recommended?
(4) GREASE: If you use the wads between the powder charge and the ball, do you still fill the end of each cylinder to prevent chain firing? Theoretically a tight fitting ball and the felt wad should prevent that – at least from the open end of the cylinder. Loose fittings caps could be another story, but that has nothing to do with grease. Comments?
(5) CAPS: There are different makes of caps (Remington, etc) and different sizes of caps (#10 and #11). Is there a “general consensus” amongst ROA shooters as to which type and size the ROA usually likes best? I’ve been told #11 caps work well as a general rule, but I also read somewhere that the ROA liked #10 caps if they were Remington caps. I know I can try out different types and sizes, but thought I might as well get a head start by seeing what most of you shooting these revolvers use.
(6) GRIPS: I’d like to get a different set of grips for the revolver. I was told that any grips designed for the Ruger Blackhawk – will also fit the Ruger Old Army. Is this the case?
That should be enough to kick this off, and if I can get answers to the above it will get me started shooting. Of course, if anybody has any other thoughts or advice on the ROA I’d appreciate hearing what you have to say.
Thanks for your time gentlemen. I appreciate your assistance and expertise.
As you can see, I am new to the Ruger Forum. I’ve been involved with both black powder and smokeless powder firearms all my life, but I have just recently acquired a Ruger Old Army Cap & Ball revolver – and that is a new game to me. This particular model is stainless steel, has the long barrel, and was (I believe) made in about 1996. It is in essentially “unfired” condition. It also came with a conversion cylinder which will allow it to fire .45 Long Colt. A very nice piece, and I’m extremely pleased with it.
My present situation is that while I am familiar with percussion “cap” firearms (although most of my black powder firearms are flintlocks), I freely admit I don’t know all that much about Cap & Ball Revolvers – including the Old Army.
So I thought, where better to ask for some “beginner’s advice” than on the Ruger Forum. If I’m going to find any experts on the Ruger Old Army revolver – I imagine this is the place where they will be. So here I am!
My plan is to stay on board the forum, and with luck eventually develop some contacts amongst other ROA shooters (and some other Rugers I have), but for now I have a few questions about this revolver that I’d like to discuss. So, if there are any ROA shooters out there who have some spare time on their hands and don’t mind sharing a bit of advice, here are a few things I was wondering about:
(1) BALL SIZE: I understand that the Ruger Old Army operates “best” with .457 round balls. Apparently anything any smaller will not fit tight enough to give optimal results. Is this true? I was thinking of buying Hornady swaged balls in .457 dia. Thoughts?
(2) POWDER & CHARGE: I am told the ROA works very well with a charge of about 25 to 28 grains of “real” FFF black powder. Apparently 777 also works well, but I’m kind of a traditionalist on the black powder. Any thoughts on this – any advantages to either one of these powders?
(3) WADS: I was told to use a pre-lubed felt wad about 1/8” thick between the powder charge and the ball. I understand Ox-Yoke makes such a product, although I have been told that even their pre-lubed “Wonder Wads” could use a bit more lube to do the job correctly. Some articles I have read suggest adding more lube to the Ox-Yoke wads to get the desired amount of lube on them. Any thoughts on this – and if I should use extra lube what is the most recommended?
(4) GREASE: If you use the wads between the powder charge and the ball, do you still fill the end of each cylinder to prevent chain firing? Theoretically a tight fitting ball and the felt wad should prevent that – at least from the open end of the cylinder. Loose fittings caps could be another story, but that has nothing to do with grease. Comments?
(5) CAPS: There are different makes of caps (Remington, etc) and different sizes of caps (#10 and #11). Is there a “general consensus” amongst ROA shooters as to which type and size the ROA usually likes best? I’ve been told #11 caps work well as a general rule, but I also read somewhere that the ROA liked #10 caps if they were Remington caps. I know I can try out different types and sizes, but thought I might as well get a head start by seeing what most of you shooting these revolvers use.
(6) GRIPS: I’d like to get a different set of grips for the revolver. I was told that any grips designed for the Ruger Blackhawk – will also fit the Ruger Old Army. Is this the case?
That should be enough to kick this off, and if I can get answers to the above it will get me started shooting. Of course, if anybody has any other thoughts or advice on the ROA I’d appreciate hearing what you have to say.
Thanks for your time gentlemen. I appreciate your assistance and expertise.
