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Old May 15, 2011, 12:45 PM   #1
marksman8351
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New Old Army

So i recently acquired a ruger old army in immaculate condition its the .45 from someone at work who had it from when his father passed and wanted to get rid of it i offered him 50 bucks and that was that. so heres my question is there a good link to a site on how to load these things and clean them because i have almost no knowledge of black powders. also what tools would i need to take the gun down for cleaning, what supplies will i need for cleaning and what will i need to shoot/load this gun. Are there holsters that will fit this monster gun? (i know there are im just not sure of sizing) Did i get a good deal for 50 bucks if the gun looks like its never been shot? And my final newbie question if i live in new york can i hunt with this gun and if so can i use it during black powder/ rifle/ pistol/ specialty season? any advice or any of these questions answered is greatly appreciated.
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Old May 15, 2011, 12:47 PM   #2
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btw he gave me an old looking kit with loading tools that was wrapped i guess it was never used but it looks like its from the early 80's
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Old May 15, 2011, 01:00 PM   #3
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in short " YOU STOLE IT" nice score, they run about $400.oo used, is it blue or stainless? have the box?
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Old May 15, 2011, 01:12 PM   #4
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First of all....

...You ought to be horsewhipped for stealing from the guy. (Has someone got a horse?)

Read the postits at the top of this forum entitled, "So you want to...."

Here is a link to more info from an expert.

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/i...p/t-65820.html

Here is another

http://www.hackman-adams.com/guns/capandball.htm

Then a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDgtp7Nlsbg

There are plenty of sites that will describe with good photos or videos the optimal loading process. But many don't say much about safety. You should have hearing protection and eye protection.

Be careful.....One of the first sites that comes up is one in which several dangerous or incorrect techniques are presented.

1. Not measuring the powder. It is probably not a good idea to judge your powder charge by completely filling the chamber and troweling off the overflow. In your ROA, you probably want to start somewhere around 20 grains and then move up.

2. The site shows the shooter loading directly from a powder flask. Some consider this to be dangerous. Obvioulsy it is more dangerous that using a scoop type measure. (Remaining embers in a previously fired revolver could ignite the powder in the flask...It makes for a possibly messy clean up)
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Old May 15, 2011, 01:44 PM   #5
marksman8351
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its stainless and theres no box just the gun
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Old May 15, 2011, 01:58 PM   #6
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"As new" condition w/adjustable sights, $400 easy. With fixed sights, maybe even $600. Stainless, fixed sights, with a 5 1/2" barrel, maybe a bit more yet.
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Old May 15, 2011, 02:11 PM   #7
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Wow, what a deal. Tell you what, I think that my ROA may be my most accurate .45 . . . and I have come to regard it as just a wonderful good time to shoot. The following is sacrilege to many here, but - if you're worried about the stories you hear about cleaning after using black powder - Triple7 substitute is amazingly easy to clean up and doesn't seem to foul hardly at all.
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Old May 15, 2011, 02:19 PM   #8
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thats the powder that i have as well as a cva deluxe shooters kit and hornady balls .... im just trying to learn the basics and not blow my hand off in the meantime
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Old May 15, 2011, 02:43 PM   #9
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ok so as i have been reading this kit i have is for a regular rifle muzzleloader it comes with some rather large wads and some kind of grease im guessing i shouldnt put them in my gun and try and use the pre lubed wads?
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Old May 15, 2011, 03:29 PM   #10
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Yes, you did steal it. I'll double yer money right now.
For instructions, like all it's guns, just ask Ruger for an owners manual and they will send you one free.
Asking here is good also.
Enjoy, they are great guns.
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Old May 15, 2011, 04:32 PM   #11
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Here's a PDF link to the Ruger Old Army instruction manual right from the Ruger website:

https://ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/...ls/oldArmy.pdf
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Old May 15, 2011, 07:23 PM   #12
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Quote:
Yes, you did steal it. I'll double yer money right now.
I'll double your money plus ten cents.
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Old May 15, 2011, 07:40 PM   #13
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Heck, I'll triple it!

Plus $.10
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Old May 15, 2011, 08:23 PM   #14
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ok so the manual says that i should put my black powder in.... then place filler like corn meal ?!?!? im confused then it tells me to place the bullet in then put grease on top to make a seal? is there a neater way of doing this?
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Old May 15, 2011, 08:41 PM   #15
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marksman8351,

why bother yourself with such a messy & crude way of shooting ...i will gladly give you $200.00 for it sight unseen!

it is easy dude, pour in black powder, filler medium, ball/conial then grease or soft wax, cap it and blow some smoke down range.....

enjoy it!

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Old May 15, 2011, 08:54 PM   #16
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You can use a lubed wad under the ball and skip the over ball lube. Also if you use enough powder to compress it with the ball you don't need the filler. Triple 7 needs to reduced 15% by volume from real black.
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Old May 15, 2011, 08:58 PM   #17
4V50 Gary
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Sewerman offers $200.

I offer $200.05. I'm a big spender today.

BTW, I already have three ROAs so I don't really need anymore. You can take my offer or leave it.
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Old May 15, 2011, 09:18 PM   #18
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I'll give ya 12.95 for it.
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Old May 15, 2011, 09:34 PM   #19
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ok so if im using triple seven fffg and hornady ammo can i still use cornmeal filler and a grease on top instead of using prelubed wads?
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Old May 15, 2011, 09:39 PM   #20
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Yes. I've shot my ROA with nothing but cornmeal as a filler material.
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Old May 15, 2011, 09:47 PM   #21
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Yes, but too much grease can get messy.
Another way would be to simply load the powder, wad and ball.
Or powder, filler, wad, ball.
Or powder, wad, filler, ball.
Or powder, filler, ball, grease.
Or powder, ball, grease.
See there's a lot of different ways to load and they all work.
Did I mention powder, filler, ball?

777 powder doesn't usually require much grease because it burns cleaner.
Some folks will only put a little grease in one chamber or two, but not all.
Or just grease the cylinder pin.
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Old May 15, 2011, 09:50 PM   #22
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thanks im kind of looking for the cheapest way to shoot it im not looking for any of that fancy city boy stuff like wads but when i got it he had this 777 so i just took it. eventually it would be cool to make my own balls aswell
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Old May 15, 2011, 09:55 PM   #23
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Watch this ROA loading video.
He only uses a small bead of Vaseline around the ball whereas some folks load the entire top of the chamber with grease.
Just powder, ball and a little lube.
The filler and wads are optional.
He probably loads with about 30 grains equivalent of 777 powder.
Make sure to use .457 balls.
Always keep your hands away from anywhere near the front of the cylinder during firing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ9LgfNcqJk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkkThYWJpRE

Last edited by arcticap; May 15, 2011 at 10:06 PM.
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Old May 16, 2011, 12:30 AM   #24
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For the least of a greasy mess, just load your black powder, then fill over the powder with at least 1/4 inch of corn meal filler. Take care to make sure the corn meal is level and completely more than covers the powder charge. This acts as a fire break to prevent a chain fire from the cylinder's front. Then seat the ball on top of the LEVEL corn meal without using a lubed wad under the ball nor grease over the ball.

No grease nor greasy mess at all to have to deal with.

Unfortunately grease mixed with BP fouling makes a mess and will get all over your fingers and hands when you reload and also grabs grains of powder as you reload a chamber and you will wind up with some powder grains NOT in the chamber but stuck to the forcing cone and cylinder face that you will constantly have to wipe off on reloading. If you use that method you will have to carry a rag with you and use it constantly and your rag, revolver and hands will be black grease/fouling sticky and dirty and you will have a greasy handgrip hold too.

I used to use lubed wads and also as an alternative just greased over the ball. But after shooting a few times with just the corn meal as a filler/fire break (to prevent cylinder front chainfires) I never use grease anymore. Each to their own method, but my way is MUCH cleaner with no greasy mess and no cost for expensive lubed felt wads either. I was always taught and believed that lubed wads and or grease helped soften black powder fouling and kept your cylinder's arbor lubed and longer from binding due to fouling.

But my experience has found the opposite to be the case. Not only was the grease a royal mess but it caught and held the black powder fouling and quickly became a black greasy mess that after a cylinder or two of firing seemed to actually INCREASE the fouling gum up problem on the cylinder arbor shaft. Although my cylinder may sometimes bind up a tad quicker without using grease, it isn't worth the mess to me since I can easily remove my cylinder and wipe off the non greasy fouling from the arbor shaft and be back in business very quickly. With my '58 Remy quick removable cylinder just a few seconds actually. Just a little longer with my Colts.

So yes, I and everyone else shooting BP usually does carry a rag, but with my way, my rag may get a little dirty relatively dry fouling on it from wiping off the arbor shaft to unbind the cylinder after firing a cylinder or two, but at least my rag doesn't get all greasy....and neither do my hands nor my revolver. Much cleaner way to shoot.....in my opinion.

As long as I have cornmeal in my possibles bag, I never use grease. (But I do carry a tin of grease with me just in case I DO run out of cornmeal while shooting, which hasn't ever happened yet).

Plus when you get finished shooting, you can use the corn meal to fry up some corn dodgers or batter your game for the pan


.
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Last edited by Bill Akins; May 16, 2011 at 01:20 AM.
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Old May 16, 2011, 09:08 AM   #25
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As you are finding out, there are a LOT of "Right" ways to do this. I am surprised that nobody has yet mentioned compression and T7, as in DON'T. I don't use the stuff but a lot of folks swear by it and from what I've read it doesn't not like to be compressed, just make sure the airspace is removed between ball and powder.

As stated earlier, most Black Powder shooters will have a rag (usually more than one) with them. I will add that I found a wonderful invention a year or so ago, "Baby Wipes". Just the cheap ones that if they dry out you can just pour a little water in the box and rejuninate them. They're a great way to keep your hands relatively clean so you don't have to take a bottle of 409 to your steering wheel before your wife gets in the car.
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