Ruger Old Army Stainless

[mahd776]

Been wanting a Ruger Old Army for awhile and a couple weeks ago broke down and ordered one from a dealer on gun broker. Stainless steel fixed sights 7.5 barrel new in the box. Got it a week ago Saturday and this past Saturday put it in a BP revolver loading/display stand on the end table next to the recliner. That evening I have the lamp on and it is shining down the muzzle end of the barrel and I can see red instead of shiney stainless. Get a bore light and it looks like rust the first inch or so of the muzzle. Bore cleaner and a brass brush take some of it out but there is still a red discoloration. Also when putting a patch on a jag through the barrel there is a noticable drag on the patch when going through that area. Looking at it with a bore light it does not look to be pitted but I am spooked now. I called Ruger and they said to send it in. Anyone else have this before?

[Pahoo]

Yes, it could be rust as the composition can allow for it. Have seen it on other Rugers that had not had the proper attention but only in "specks" and some went fairly deep. Sending it back is in order. Had a "strong conversation" with a fella one time and he was saying that a Ruger he was looking at, was not stainless steel cause a magnet was attracted to it. I then informed him that there was not one S.S. barrel that would not be attracted to a magnet. Not picking on Ruger as other manufaturer's will perform the same. You still have to protect S.S. as if it were regular steel. Keep in mind that there are many grades of S.S. and some will rust. Be safe.

[mykeal]

Could be rust. Could also be anti-rust preservative that dried out. That has been seen on NIB Rugers that sat in inventory for a long time. In either case, absolutely return the gun to Ruger for their disposition. Their customer service is generally excellent.

[mahd776]

Well looks like this one is headed back to the factory for a checkup. Cleaned the barrel again and still have red diccolration in the first inch or so of the muzzle. To see if it was by chance a dried preservative of somesort I soaked a patch in laquer thinner and swabbed that part of the bore. Did not touch it! Will be with Fed Ex tomorrow. Wonder if they will rebarrel or replace the whole gun.

[JJBlanche]

I just got a NIB Ruger today, and have a tiny bit of the same thing. Red...something. I know it isn't rust, but I dunno what it is. The factory certainly did a poor job of cleaning the thing after test firing, though. Ran some patches down the barrel, and the first two came out with much blackness. I've given the thing a total work-over, and am still seeing some of that red, and even some black, in the barrel. No pitting, no uneven surface (the thing has a mirror shine all the way down). It's just if I look in the muzzle from certain angles, I can see some black and red for the first inch. Hmmm...

[JJBlanche]

UPDATE: No. 13 and Bore Butter took all the factory crapola out of the bore. Dunno if it was fouling or storing grease or what, but its gone now.

[Erich]

Good to hear!

[mahd776]

I tried the # 13 and bore butter. No dice on mine. Now I have to find a way to ship it back to Ruger without paying a quarter of the price of the gun in shipping.

[Pahoo]

Refer to the replies to current post; Shipping Black Powder Revolver Feel this will address your concerns. Be safe !!

[mahd776]

Just to let everyone know the outcome of this. Revolver was sent back to Ruger mid February. Got it back a week ago with a new barrel and 5 new screws. Guess they replaced any screws they removed. Gun had been test fired all six chambers and was boxed up and returned to me uncleaned. What the hell? Suppose this was the reason it had rust in the barrel when purchased new? Do not understand the reasoning behind this unless just plain being lazy and not caring!

[Daniel Shays]

When I got a brand new Old Army I had to send it back twice for the same things. The grips still don't fit as well as I would expect still. I really don't like the gun. I loved it when I saw and held the older ones. This one is heavier, the cylinders were bored different sizes, it would not hold a compressed load in SOME cylinders, the grip frame stuck out and was painfully sharp, the sight caused it to shoot about 8" high at 25 yards using a .457 ball, and the groups were about 6-8". I have been shooting black for some time and shooting for longer. This was one crappy gun. That same day, shooting a friend's .357 Blackhawk, I was hitting dead on and in 2" groups with old random reloads at the same distance.

I suspect that since they are at the end of the line with these the care is just not there. I hope they do not shut down or downsize New Hampshire. I'd bet that since Bill has passed away they want to focus on the profitable CCW, government, and police markets.

BTW when I got the gun back, both times, it was filthy.

I have been discouraged about even trying to handle and shoot the thing again but I will need to take it for a good shooting to see if it is any better. If not then maybe I will just sell it and customize an Italian Remmie or Colt.

[Mk VII]

It is poor customer care that they haven't cleaned it (tho' with BP it won't really matter much. Pyrodex is another matter).
Consider making a higher foresight. I did, using the original as a template for the contours of its underside. Get some Pachmayers for the grip.

[Daniel Shays]

MK VII,
Thanks for the input. I figure they owe me a proper sight and I like the SA grips. Apparently I forgot, it shot low. They put a new lower front sight on. If I keep it I'll get some fake stag grips, I always liked the look. The thing weighs as much as a rifle though. Okay, not quite.

How do you like the Pachmayers?

[Mk VII]

They work for me, when I'm using a two-handed grip. I usually use a reduced load to get more bangs for a buck and fill the rest of the chamber with semolina.
On rereading it I see you have the fixed sight one so a new front would be a more difficult proposition.

[Daniel Shays]

The really sad thing is that I have the adjustable sight. It was so bad that the rear sight could not be adjusted enough to compensate.

That gun is bull strong though.

It does not cost much for me to send it back from here. It would only cost a little more to drive over and drop it off at Ruger. Too bad they can't fix it on the spot.

What do you find to be the most accurate loading? I usually use 30- 40 gr. 30 seems to be the best I've found so far, but have not had the chance to experiment much with it back at Ruger so often. I should have more time soon though.

[Mk VII]

the spout I use throws about 17.5gns. Not much but enough, more smoke only overwhelms the indoor range ventilation faster. I use a second flask to throw the right amount of filler.

[Titanvk56]

I bought one used about a year and a half ago and had to send it in for a timing issue. They fixed it, test fired it and it was clean when I got it back.

[longshot1960]

I have 4 Ruger OA's. One 7 1/2" Adj. sights SS, two 7 1/2" fixed sights SS, and one 5 1/2" fixed sights SS. All showed the red coloration in the bores. After receiving them, as with any of the firearms I own, I cleaned them with a good bore solvent. Took them out to my shooting bench and fired them to see how they grouped. To my supprise, all 4 shot very good groups. The 5 1/2" fixed and the 7 1/2" adj. sights models shot the best. The two 7 1/2" fixed were not far off from the others. I used 777 FFFg with a 30 gr load, under the Speer .457..swagged round ball. Under the ball, I used a .462 dia. .30 thick veg.wad. At 15 yds, the OA's shot as good as or better than my 2 Ruger SS 44 mags. shooting 44 spc. loads at 850-900 fps! The only thing that I can see even close to being at fault with these OA's are that the diameters of chambers could be more uniform. On production pieces however, this is too costly and would only add to the cost of an already expensive to manufacture revolver. Take a look at all the other manufacturer's offerings, and there are good ones out there, but if you are going to get the best.........in my eyes, you can not come close to the strength and design of Bill Ruger's Old Army! I agree to the fact that some say this revolver is the greatest design Mr Ruger had developed. I own several other Ruger firearms, they are also very good also, but the OA.......wins in my book. I am glad to have these OA's in my collection. And with them getting harder to find, would suggest to anyone that wants the best BP revolver ever made, to get one. Ruger also has a good track record with me, of getting things fixed and back to you very quickly. I once broke the front sight off my 5 1/2" Vaquero 44 mag. This was 100% my fault!!!! I explained to them that I had taken a small hammer and tried to tap the front fixed blade sight to shift windage.This is when I learned that the correct way to do this is to index the BBL, and is a little more involved than taking a hammer to the blade. I shipped it to them. They fixed it and shipped it back within a week. I paid for the shipping,which was fine with me.

[45Marlin carbine]

I bought a new ROA (SS adjustable sight model)some years back, I had to get a replacement front blade
due to it shooting way too high, Ruger sent it out FOC. I really like mine and take it every camping trip I go on.

[longshot1960]

Never talked to anyone before about it...............But looking at what the adjustable sighted 7 1/2" bbl Old Army was to be used for, Target Shooting and Hunting, this is a revolver,that I feel, was designed to be used at 50 to 100 yds.! It handles all the powder you can stuff in it!!! 11-1200fps!!!! The sights I feel, reflect the original projected use, deer and med sized game hunting. Bill Ruger was an avid hunter and I feel his designs reflects this. The 6"-8" Kill zones on this size game would put the the top of the sight line 6'' to 8'' below center, at close range. I have always been told to hold the sight line on the bottom of an imaginary ball, 6" in diam. using open sights. At a close distance........10 to 20yds, this would seem that you would be shooting high if you were to be aiming at center target. What do you all think?

[Titanvk56]

And with them getting harder to find, would suggest to anyone that wants the best BP revolver ever made, to get one.

Yup...I bought my 2nd one yesterday off Gunbroker; NIB SS, 7 1/2 barrel with fixed sights. Tried my local dealers first but they couldn't find any.

At a close distance........10 to 20yds, this would seem that you would be shooting high if you were to be aiming at center target.

Seems like mine shoots a couple inches high at 25 yards.

[longshot1960]

My 7 1/2" with adj sights will print 1 1/2"-2 1/2" groups at 25 yds, at 800fps.I have found that loading 30 grs 777 FFFg by holding a piece of thin cardboard,[ such as what blister packs are backed up with],and giving it a shake, shrinks the groups. I do the same for each chamber.[One good solid shake] This instead of the tip of your finger gives you a more uniform load.I then place the veg wad [.462 dia. .30 thick], over powder and ram it down to set on top of load. Then I seat the ball and compress.I do not use any lube over ball. From what I understand, this is to help lube the bore when shooting dry burning powders more than preventing cross fires. More so in the Rugers because of the safety notch between each chamber. Ignition usually jumps at the nipple end. 777 shoots very wet. This stuff seems to make water!! Using the wad is sort of insurance to prevent the ignition of the other chambers and more importantly keeping the powder evenly compressed. I have been reloading cased cartridges for almost 20 yrs now and by taking the same ideals of consistant and uniform loads equal accuracy to the BP pays off. I really can't complain about grps like this using round balls. I bought a Lee connicle 220 grn .456 dia. mold about a month ago, and am waiting to cast in order see what is possible with these. From what I have read in various publications, The OAs prefer the .456-.457 bullets.

[mykeal]

I look forward every day to reading the forums - learn something new every time.

I have found that loading 30 grs 777 FFFg by holding a piece of thin cardboard,[ such as what blister packs are backed up with],and giving it a shake, shrinks the groups. I do the same for each chamber.[One good solid shake] This instead of the tip of your finger gives you a more uniform load.

This one I can't quite get my head around - shaking a thin piece of cardboard shrinks your groups? As opposed to shaking the tip of your finger? Somehow I don't have the whole picture here.

I do not use any lube over ball. From what I understand, this is to help lube the bore when shooting dry burning powders more than preventing cross fires. More so in the Rugers because of the safety notch between each chamber. Ignition usually jumps at the nipple end.

I don't understand. Do you mean to say that the Ruger safety notch creates a condition in which "cross fires" are more likely to occur than in other bp revolver designs, and that using a lubed wad mitigates that condition somehow? Do you have some data supporting the claim "ignition usually jumps at the nipple end" (I'm looking for data here, not anecdotes)?

777 shoots very wet. This stuff seems to make water!!

I've been shooting 777 for years and never noticed this. What should I be looking for - water in the bore or chamber?

[longshot1960]

Using a rigid surface over the spout helps to keep the charge consitant. The pressure of your finger can vary and human skin is elastic. Also sweat on your hands can allow powder to stick to it, again not allowing you to get consitant charges.The back of a Ruger has safety notches in it allowing you to load 6 chambers. You drop the hammer into these notches, in case you drop it ,the hammer is in a safe mode away from a loaded chamber. The notches also act as a spark dam giving more protection in case a cap adajacient to the chamber fired comes loose or falls off completely. If you have the projectiles sized right, .457 for the ruger.You should notice the ring of lead that is cut off when seating the ball.This forms a very good seal.It would be very hard for any spark to get by. AS for the moisture produced with 777 FFFg. I shoot through a muffler I built using 2- 55 gallon drums connected end to end. A 8" round pc of pipe runs down the center with 250 square ft of fiberglass insulation packed in the drums. This is mounted to the outside of my block garage. I cut 1/2 block out of wall and made a sleeve to connect the muffler . When shooting through the muffler, it eliminates the high velosity crack that is pressent when you hit mach 1 the speed of sound. That is what makes this ear splitting crack. Breaking the sound barrier. When I fire my BP Ruger through the tube there is quite a bit of moisture present in the tube. You can check with Hodgdon on this, I think it is this way by design.I don't claim to be any kind of expert on shooting these great revolvers. These are just a few things I have noticed. Everyone should load in a fashion they feel that is safe.

[longshot1960]

After rereading my earlier post about the likelyhood of a crossfire in the ROA, I used the term ''more'' Where LESS should have been used. This concerns the safety notches being a design that helps prevent this event. sorry for any confusion.