Ruger Old Army Opinion

cheetah44 · January 29, 2007, 01:47 PM

I've been looking to buy a cap and ball revolver and after receiving several recommendations re: the Ruger Old Army here on this forum, decided to buy same. My friend tells me that he's heard that the Ruger is noted for having a grove diameter several thousandths, i.e. 2 or 3, over .45 caliber and therefore commercial balls and conical bullets don't shoot well out of it. Since I received so many recommendations I thought I could clear this up here on this forum. Anyone here heard of such a problem? Thanks

okiefarmer · January 29, 2007, 02:49 PM

Commercial balls and conicals of the wrong size will not shoot well out of anything, that is not rocket science, so I guess your friend may be right as far as stating a fact. Most ROAs mic around .448 to .450 on the grooves and about .442 on the lands I think, at the muzzle. LEE makes a special mold for the ROA, which makes it easier to start a conical in the cylinder. It has a slightly smaller base diameter of .448 - .450 that lets you push the base in with finger pressure, then use the lever for the remainder. I have never shot balls out of mine,I shoot balls only out of my '58 Remi though), but would think you would need something in the neighborhood of at least a .454 or .457 ball to get that shave ring, and still use the "butter". The upper bands on the LEE mold measure at .456. You didn't go wrong with the Ruger by any means. General rule of thumb is if it will fit in the cylinder, it will prolly go out the barrel. Pure lead is pretty conforming to size. I use straight WW and have never had an issue, and it shoots pretty accurate to boot.

HTH,
Okie out

mec · January 29, 2007, 03:41 PM

.454 balls tend to walk under recoil. For whatever reason, Ruger designed this gun for .457 balls. they work fine and are available from speer and hornady.

buffalo bullets has a .457 bullet for the rugers and Lee sells a 220 grain mould in that diameter specifically for the Ruger.

**4V50 Gary** · February 2, 2007, 12:36 AM

I've shot Speer .457 balls with no problems from my Old Army. Since then, I've casted my own.

cheetah44 · February 2, 2007, 08:25 AM

Thanks to all who replied. My intention is to cast my own round balls initially and then once I have some experience with the gun, maybe I'll cast some conicals if I can find a mould that suits. I've used Lee mould blocks in the past, and am not impressed with them. I suppose if that's all that's available then it would have to do, but I've not had great luck with the round ball mould in 50 cal. that I have. Just not the same as the Saeco's I have had for over 30 years and still going fine. Thanks again for all your replies and sage advice.

mike101 · February 13, 2007, 05:49 AM

.457 balls from Hornady or Speer, and conicals from the Lee mould work great. Lee even has a hollow-point mold for the Ruger, now.

**4V50 Gary** · February 13, 2007, 08:54 AM

Mike, what Lee conical do you recommend? I've never tried conicals in the Old Army.

mike101 · February 13, 2007, 09:09 AM

Hi Gary- I had to go find a url for you.
http://www.gunaccessories.com/Lee/Mo...lackPowder.asp
They didn't have the hollow point mould when I bought mine. That's probably what I would get now. These work great. The first 2 or 3 might have to go back in the pot, but then they turn out great.

**4V50 Gary** · February 13, 2007, 09:12 AM

Found it! Thanks? Now, do you size it or lube the grooves?

mike101 · February 13, 2007, 09:19 AM

Nope. Not necessary. Just load it on top of a wad or lube pill and you're all set. Buffalo Bullet Co. also makes conicals for BP Revovlers. They are pre-lubed, and come with wads. I haven't tried those yet, but I hear good things about their products.

The bullets from the Lee mould load pretty easily, too.

Mike

mike101 · February 13, 2007, 09:31 AM

Here's a url to Thunder Ridge for the Buffalo bullets. They carry the Lee moulds, also.
http://www.thunder-ridge-muzzleloadi...alo.htm#pistol

Mike

ZEKE/PA · February 15, 2007, 04:13 PM

I shoot a .457 Hornady round ball over 30 grs. of fffg with enough corn meal under the ball to tightly seat it about 1/8 inch from the chamber mouth.
With this load, the Old Army is the most accurate handgun that I own.
I often refer to the pistol as my "squirrel rifle".
I have killed exactly one deer with this setup.
Zeke

GASCHECK · February 16, 2007, 02:18 AM

I use a Hensley & Gibbs #362 conical bullet in my OA. Mikes .455" Very accurate over 40 grains of Pyrodex. (I load 40 so as not having to bother with filler, wads, etc.) Shoots better than most of my cartridge guns.
Hensley & Gibbs was sold to another Co., and I don't know if the mould is still available. It is a four cavity, and like all H&G, superb! I use range scrap.

Gascheck

DPris · February 28, 2007, 11:51 AM

Ruger uses the same exact bore diameters & twist rates in the Old Army as they do in the .45 Colt Blackhawks. They didn't specifically design the gun to take .457 balls, they just used the same barrel specs as the smokeless .45s and produced cylinders with chambers that were set up for the .457 balls to match up the best with those bores using soft lead. Ruger lists bore diameter as .451. The ball diameter was determined by the barrels.
One of mine will print two inches at 25 yards using regular commercial Hornady .457 balls.
Using a conversion cylinder with five commercial CAS-level lead cartridge loads, and Winchester 225-grain Silvertip jacketed hollowpoints, I got respectable groups at 25 yards a couple weeks back.
The bores are perfectly viable for some pretty good accuracy with a number of different loads.
Denis

mec · February 28, 2007, 12:06 PM

This is basically two groups from the OA checking out some lubricated wads. Shot from field position= sitting/ back rested/ knees for rest. Not steady enough to tell how good the revolver will actually shoot but good enough to determine it is plenty accurate.

January 29, 2007, 01:47 PM	#1
cheetah44 Junior Member Join Date: January 5, 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 14	Ruger Old Army Opinion I've been looking to buy a cap and ball revolver and after receiving several recommendations re: the Ruger Old Army here on this forum, decided to buy same. My friend tells me that he's heard that the Ruger is noted for having a grove diameter several thousandths, i.e. 2 or 3, over .45 caliber and therefore commercial balls and conical bullets don't shoot well out of it. Since I received so many recommendations I thought I could clear this up here on this forum. Anyone here heard of such a problem? Thanks

February 2, 2007, 12:36 AM	#4
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,840	I've shot Speer .457 balls with no problems from my Old Army. Since then, I've casted my own. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

February 2, 2007, 08:25 AM	#5
cheetah44 Junior Member Join Date: January 5, 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 14	Thanks Thanks to all who replied. My intention is to cast my own round balls initially and then once I have some experience with the gun, maybe I'll cast some conicals if I can find a mould that suits. I've used Lee mould blocks in the past, and am not impressed with them. I suppose if that's all that's available then it would have to do, but I've not had great luck with the round ball mould in 50 cal. that I have. Just not the same as the Saeco's I have had for over 30 years and still going fine. Thanks again for all your replies and sage advice.

February 13, 2007, 05:49 AM	#6
mike101 Junior Member Join Date: February 11, 2007 Location: Peoples' Republik of Lower Lautenbourg Posts: 5	.457 balls from Hornady or Speer, and conicals from the Lee mould work great. Lee even has a hollow-point mold for the Ruger, now. Last edited by mike101; February 13, 2007 at 09:13 AM.

February 13, 2007, 08:54 AM	#7
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,840	Mike, what Lee conical do you recommend? I've never tried conicals in the Old Army. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

January 29, 2007, 02:49 PM	#2
okiefarmer Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2006 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 381	Commercial balls and conicals of the wrong size will not shoot well out of anything, that is not rocket science, so I guess your friend may be right as far as stating a fact. Most ROAs mic around .448 to .450 on the grooves and about .442 on the lands I think, at the muzzle. LEE makes a special mold for the ROA, which makes it easier to start a conical in the cylinder. It has a slightly smaller base diameter of .448 - .450 that lets you push the base in with finger pressure, then use the lever for the remainder. I have never shot balls out of mine,I shoot balls only out of my '58 Remi though), but would think you would need something in the neighborhood of at least a .454 or .457 ball to get that shave ring, and still use the "butter". The upper bands on the LEE mold measure at .456. You didn't go wrong with the Ruger by any means. General rule of thumb is if it will fit in the cylinder, it will prolly go out the barrel. Pure lead is pretty conforming to size. I use straight WW and have never had an issue, and it shoots pretty accurate to boot. HTH, Okie out

January 29, 2007, 03:41 PM	#3
mec Junior member Join Date: December 6, 2001 Posts: 1,536	.454 balls tend to walk under recoil. For whatever reason, Ruger designed this gun for .457 balls. they work fine and are available from speer and hornady. buffalo bullets has a .457 bullet for the rugers and Lee sells a 220 grain mould in that diameter specifically for the Ruger.

February 13, 2007, 09:09 AM	#8
mike101 Junior Member Join Date: February 11, 2007 Location: Peoples' Republik of Lower Lautenbourg Posts: 5	Hi Gary- I had to go find a url for you. http://www.gunaccessories.com/Lee/Mo...lackPowder.asp They didn't have the hollow point mould when I bought mine. That's probably what I would get now. These work great. The first 2 or 3 might have to go back in the pot, but then they turn out great.

February 13, 2007, 09:12 AM	#9
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,840	Found it! Thanks? Now, do you size it or lube the grooves? __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

February 13, 2007, 09:19 AM	#10
mike101 Junior Member Join Date: February 11, 2007 Location: Peoples' Republik of Lower Lautenbourg Posts: 5	Nope. Not necessary. Just load it on top of a wad or lube pill and you're all set. Buffalo Bullet Co. also makes conicals for BP Revovlers. They are pre-lubed, and come with wads. I haven't tried those yet, but I hear good things about their products. The bullets from the Lee mould load pretty easily, too. Mike

February 13, 2007, 09:31 AM	#11
mike101 Junior Member Join Date: February 11, 2007 Location: Peoples' Republik of Lower Lautenbourg Posts: 5	Here's a url to Thunder Ridge for the Buffalo bullets. They carry the Lee moulds, also. http://www.thunder-ridge-muzzleloadi...alo.htm#pistol Mike

February 15, 2007, 04:13 PM	#12
ZEKE/PA Member Join Date: November 10, 2005 Posts: 17	I shoot a .457 Hornady round ball over 30 grs. of fffg with enough corn meal under the ball to tightly seat it about 1/8 inch from the chamber mouth. With this load, the Old Army is the most accurate handgun that I own. I often refer to the pistol as my "squirrel rifle". I have killed exactly one deer with this setup. Zeke Last edited by ZEKE/PA; February 15, 2007 at 07:38 PM.

February 16, 2007, 02:18 AM	#13
GASCHECK Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2004 Posts: 218	Ruger Old Army I use a Hensley & Gibbs #362 conical bullet in my OA. Mikes .455" Very accurate over 40 grains of Pyrodex. (I load 40 so as not having to bother with filler, wads, etc.) Shoots better than most of my cartridge guns. Hensley & Gibbs was sold to another Co., and I don't know if the mould is still available. It is a four cavity, and like all H&G, superb! I use range scrap. Gascheck

February 28, 2007, 11:51 AM	#14
DPris Member Emeritus Join Date: August 19, 2004 Posts: 7,133	Ruger uses the same exact bore diameters & twist rates in the Old Army as they do in the .45 Colt Blackhawks. They didn't specifically design the gun to take .457 balls, they just used the same barrel specs as the smokeless .45s and produced cylinders with chambers that were set up for the .457 balls to match up the best with those bores using soft lead. Ruger lists bore diameter as .451. The ball diameter was determined by the barrels. One of mine will print two inches at 25 yards using regular commercial Hornady .457 balls. Using a conversion cylinder with five commercial CAS-level lead cartridge loads, and Winchester 225-grain Silvertip jacketed hollowpoints, I got respectable groups at 25 yards a couple weeks back. The bores are perfectly viable for some pretty good accuracy with a number of different loads. Denis

February 28, 2007, 12:06 PM	#15
mec Junior member Join Date: December 6, 2001 Posts: 1,536	This is basically two groups from the OA checking out some lubricated wads. Shot from field position= sitting/ back rested/ knees for rest. Not steady enough to tell how good the revolver will actually shoot but good enough to determine it is plenty accurate.