Ruger Old Army spare cylinder

bodieBill · November 11, 2008, 12:23 AM

Who has spare cylinders for the Ruger Old Army black powder revolver?

zippy13 · November 11, 2008, 02:01 AM

Good question!
I've seen references to factory fitted second cylinders; but, the Old Army is no longer available from Ruger. There's cylinders available for the ROA, but they're for metallic cartridge conversion.
I'll keep an eye on this thread to see if anyone has a line on BP extra cylinders.

arcticap · November 11, 2008, 02:11 AM

There's a TFL & THR member that started a business making them.

http://classicballistx.com/our_cylinder.html

He's posted about them several times including in these ads:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277950

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthrea...37#post3909537

robhof · November 11, 2008, 08:48 PM

I've got 2 of the classicballistx cylinders and they both fit like factory and shoot well. They're even deeper than the factory cylinder. the ROA cylinder won't give much over 35 gr of FFF if you use a wad, the classics will take 45 gr FFF with a wad.

zippy13 · November 12, 2008, 01:20 PM

arcticap - robhof
Thanks for the heads-up. The pics of the classicballistx cylinders show more modern machining techniques than the Ruger OEs. Let's hope the present "unavailability" of the Old Army isn't permanent. If they have totally canceled the OA line, then why is it still in the on-line catalog?

mykeal · November 12, 2008, 08:00 PM

Quote:

If they have totally canceled the OA line, then why is it still in the on-line catalog?

It's still in there, listed as 'Discontinued', because there are still people who don't know that it's been discontinued.

I won't say that it will never come back, but I doubt it very much. Ruger can make much more money with their production assets devoted to other guns; the Old Army return on investment simply wasn't high enough.

robhof · November 12, 2008, 09:02 PM

The returns went up nicely since being discontinued. I paid $225 for a new ROA in stainless from an online auction just 4 years ago and now a used one goes for $400+ so I just hope they keep making replacement parts for years to come, although mine's been shot often since purchase and no problems yet. The Italian guns seem to require spring replacements and general action work after a few years of use.

sundance44s · November 13, 2008, 02:13 PM

I`ve bought 2 ROA`S since they quit makeing them ..First thing I did was call Ruger and ask about parts ....here`s what I was told by the nice lady at Ruger ....they have plenty of all the parts ..and if the supply ever needed to be replenished they would make them .....These are tough pistols ..probally why there was no longer a need to make more ...I don`t know of anyone that has had problems with the parts breaking or wearing out in one ...There are still plenty of ROA`S out there new in the box .
I shoot often ..sometimes once a week ...the Rugers are giveing my Itilian make sweet hearts a much needed break .

If ya can`t find me ..it`s because I`m out playing with my ROA .

Smokin_Gun · November 24, 2008, 04:37 AM

And I'm usually with Sundance if you can't find me, with my ROA named "Tina" and a couple '58 Rems of course...only in the Mojave instead of the State with the Big River...
May think about an R&D Conversion and shoot BP .45 Colts for a "Few Dollars More."

SG

November 11, 2008, 12:23 AM	#1
bodieBill Member Join Date: March 9, 2005 Location: Southern California---no not LA Posts: 24	Ruger Old Army spare cylinder Who has spare cylinders for the Ruger Old Army black powder revolver?

November 11, 2008, 02:11 AM	#3
arcticap Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2005 Location: Central Connecticut Posts: 3,166	There's a TFL & THR member that started a business making them. http://classicballistx.com/our_cylinder.html He's posted about them several times including in these ads: http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277950 http://www.thehighroad.org/showthrea...37#post3909537 Last edited by arcticap; November 11, 2008 at 02:44 PM.

November 11, 2008, 08:48 PM	#4
robhof Senior Member Join Date: September 16, 2007 Posts: 712	robhof I've got 2 of the classicballistx cylinders and they both fit like factory and shoot well. They're even deeper than the factory cylinder. the ROA cylinder won't give much over 35 gr of FFF if you use a wad, the classics will take 45 gr FFF with a wad.

November 12, 2008, 09:02 PM	#7
robhof Senior Member Join Date: September 16, 2007 Posts: 712	robhof The returns went up nicely since being discontinued. I paid $225 for a new ROA in stainless from an online auction just 4 years ago and now a used one goes for $400+ so I just hope they keep making replacement parts for years to come, although mine's been shot often since purchase and no problems yet. The Italian guns seem to require spring replacements and general action work after a few years of use.

November 11, 2008, 02:01 AM	#2
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	Good question! I've seen references to factory fitted second cylinders; but, the Old Army is no longer available from Ruger. There's cylinders available for the ROA, but they're for metallic cartridge conversion. I'll keep an eye on this thread to see if anyone has a line on BP extra cylinders.

November 12, 2008, 01:20 PM	#5
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	arcticap - robhof Thanks for the heads-up. The pics of the classicballistx cylinders show more modern machining techniques than the Ruger OEs. Let's hope the present "unavailability" of the Old Army isn't permanent. If they have totally canceled the OA line, then why is it still in the on-line catalog?

November 13, 2008, 02:13 PM	#8
sundance44s Senior Member Join Date: February 6, 2006 Location: Hernando , Ms. Posts: 579	I`ve bought 2 ROA`S since they quit makeing them ..First thing I did was call Ruger and ask about parts ....here`s what I was told by the nice lady at Ruger ....they have plenty of all the parts ..and if the supply ever needed to be replenished they would make them .....These are tough pistols ..probally why there was no longer a need to make more ...I don`t know of anyone that has had problems with the parts breaking or wearing out in one ...There are still plenty of ROA`S out there new in the box . I shoot often ..sometimes once a week ...the Rugers are giveing my Itilian make sweet hearts a much needed break . If ya can`t find me ..it`s because I`m out playing with my ROA .

November 24, 2008, 04:37 AM	#9
Smokin_Gun Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2005 Location: Mojave Desert, CA Posts: 1,195	And I'm usually with Sundance if you can't find me, with my ROA named "Tina" and a couple '58 Rems of course...only in the Mojave instead of the State with the Big River... May think about an R&D Conversion and shoot BP .45 Colts for a "Few Dollars More." SG