Blackpowder revolver

[drstrangelove]

I like the looks of the Ruger Old Army and have been considering getting one. I'm a little turned off by the whole idea of keeping the gun clean of corrosive powder soot, but the Gun just looks fun. For those that own them, do you find the loading process frustratingly slow, or a pleasure? How is cleanup? What kind of accuracy can I expect? What projectiles are best? Is there a plated projectile option? Stainless or blued? Scrubbing black powder is easy, scraping lead is not. I am spoiled by a SAA that shoots amazing... Should I steer clear, or into the dark side?

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[daved20319]

I had one years ago, blued. Cleaning wasn't any more of a chore than one of my pistols, accuracy was excellent, loading was fun, added to the experience. In fact, the only issue I had was the lag between the hammer hitting the percussion cap and the powder charge actually going off. If I'd kept it longer and done some experimenting with powder and caps, maybe I could have resolved that issue, but it was really off putting for me. Of course, I was also an impatient kid back then, still in my 20's, so that might have contributed to the problem . I've recently toyed with the idea of getting another, they feel fantastic in the hand, and look beautiful, too. Later.

Dave

 

[Bon Sauvage]

My dad bought me a stainless ROA about 1980. I've replaced the nipples many times but it just keeps chugging along. I prefer to shoot a round ball of pure lead, 3fg OE powder and a felt wad greased with a mixture of lambs tallow and bees wax. It has not suffered from any pb build up.

Clean up is easy. It is a top notch cap and ball revolver although not my personal favorite. An 1860 Army fits my hand so much better.

I say GO FOR IT!

 

[flashpan]

I enjoy my black guns (black powder) for target and hunting more than most of my others...and I own a few short and long guns. I also enjoy the slower pace of loading shooting and cleaning them Unless you are a purist and shoot real BP the substitutes work very well. You will be suprised how easy cleaning is if you use Triple 7. And you should not have leading issues at the traditional velocities of BP pistols. I just shoot round balls with accuracy better than I can hold at 25yds. Warning ... BP can be habit forming.
Makes me think of this movie.
" Are you going to pull those pistols or whistle Dixie" Evaryone knows this move title...right?

 

[drstrangelove]

The Outlaw Josey Wales

Great movie!

Thanks for the encouragement. I just may pull the proverbial trigger.

 

[CLT65]

I don't have a ROA, but I do have several Italian cap and ball revolvers. If cleanup of black powder revolvers is easy, I must be doing something wrong. I don't shoot mine all that often because loading is so slow and cleanup is a hassle.

No, it's really not that bad. I really enjoy it at times, depends on my frame of mind. I haven't had a tremendous amount of practice so I'm slower than I should be. When I'm shooting with friends, people want to shoot, and it gets slow waiting for me to load another cylinder full. We end up shooting 3 or 4 cylinders at most, then I have an extra half hour of cleaning when I get home because of the black powder. That said, I am a bit of a purist and only use black powder. The cleaning isn't hard, just slow and detailed to do it right. Nobody wants rusty nipples.

I would still encourage getting one. They really are fun old guns and really enjoyable if you don't mind the extra time loading and cleaning. You just can't go out and burn up a couple hundred rounds in an afternoon and throw it in the safe when you get home.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Question is, what the heck are ya waiting for! Rugers are the Gold Standard for the 1858 Remmy pattern Revolvers, if thats the style your after. Both Piettia and Uberti make excellent replicas in traditional finishes, though some recommend avoiding the brass trigger framed versions, I have never seen one fail! I carry one of three pairs, the Rugers are my every day woods carry, while the Uberties are for fun! Loading isn't any more difficult then others, and remember, your ancestors had to do it, sometimes in a big hurry, ( that's why the second and sometimes third pistol) Clean up isn't that big of a chore, as long as you make sure to do it right after you shoot. I dont see leading as much of an issue unless you shoot it a LOT, and they do very well with MiniBall bullets, especially using the 220 gr Colt Bullet Mold ( available from Lyman by special order, 1855 Colt Patent) and the Rugers can take up to 270 gr Conical bullets with out issue! Accuracy has always been very good, especially with the "Normal" 7 inch barrels, you will be hard pressed to get modern revolvers to shoot as good. I also use Musket caps on mine, makes for a hotter fire, and less burn time through the powder charge!
Finally, Don't forget, you can also get conversion cylinders to allow you to shoot .45 Colt ( or if you have a .38, .38 special)
while not cheap, they do make for a lot of fun as long as you keep to the old cowboy load pressures with the Colt, DO NOT USE RIFLE SPEC LOADS!

 

[CLT65]

I forgot to mention, I use pure lead balls and lubed felt wads in my Ubertis, and have never had even the tiniest amount of leading.

 

[drstrangelove]

Well I went and did it. Unfired 7.5" SS Ruger Old Army for five bills. I thought that was a great deal. Only complaint is it didn't come with a holster. Any suggestions? The flap holster from Ruger is presently unobtainium and priced accordingly.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Question is, what the heck are ya waiting for! Rugers are the Gold Standard for the 1858 Remmy pattern Revolvers, if thats the style your after. Both Piettia and Uberti make excellent replicas in traditional finishes, though some recommend avoiding the brass trigger framed versions, I have never seen one fail! I carry one of three pairs, the Rugers are my every day woods carry, while the Uberties are for fun! Loading isn't any more difficult then others, and remember, your ancestors had to do it, sometimes in a big hurry, ( that's why the second and sometimes third pistol) Clean up isn't that big of a chore, as long as you make sure to do it right after you shoot. I dont see leading as much of an issue unless you shoot it a LOT, and they do very well with MiniBall bullets, especially using the 220 gr Colt Bullet Mold ( available from Lyman by special order, 1855 Colt Patent) and the Rugers can take up to 270 gr Conical bullets with out issue! Accuracy has always been very good, especially with the "Normal" 7 inch barrels, you will be hard pressed to get modern revolvers to shoot as good. I also use Musket caps on mine, makes for a hotter fire, and less burn time through the powder charge!
Finally, Don't forget, you can also get conversion cylinders to allow you to shoot .45 Colt ( or if you have a .38, .38 special)
while not cheap, they do make for a lot of fun as long as you keep to the old cowboy load pressures with the Colt, DO NOT USE RIFLE SPEC LOADS!
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Oh, that stainless Ruger is nice. Now I wish I had never seen it. I grew up with a Pietta that looks like the first one in your picture. I loved mine and many jackrabbit were laid to rest with that pistol. I say to the op, buy one if you really want to have a good time. Be aware though, they produce some smoke and a smell that takes a little to get used to. Seeing your pistols brings me back to my childhood when I packed my smith model 29-2 or my old cap and ball. Great times!!!!

 

[Bon Sauvage]

Well I went and did it. Unfired 7.5" SS Ruger Old Army for five bills. I thought that was a great deal. Only complaint is it didn't come with a holster. Any suggestions? The flap holster from Ruger is presently unobtainium and priced accordingly.

El Paso Saddlery.........Check under 'Military' for flap holsters.

 

[DunRanull]

There is a lot that can be done with a Ruger Old Army, esp if you go stainless. Once I had sold mine got to missing it quite a bit. Due to massive price increases, went ahead and got a couple of Ubertis, one stainless and one white. One of these days it is my intention to brown the "white", while the stainless is easier to clean up (ymmv)... Extra cylinders can be had to give you more shots between reloading the cylinders. Carrying extra cylinders wasnt unheard of when these pistols were state of the art.
The Old Army can be loaded heavier that the Ubertis (take more powder and heavier conical balls). Mine was a 7.5" barrel and I had no compunction about carrying it as a "woods gun". Eventually had to sell it to help finance college expenses and have never replaced it- but dream of getting a 5.5" stainless (which were unavailable when I purchased mine) ROA when I find one in my "affordable" range. My mind is hazy on what loads I was pushing but they were definitely hotter than what my Ubertis hold.
The ROA will take a .457 ball, or conical, and I used everything from pure plumber's lead to wheel weights for my casting (using a Lee mold). The larger diameter conical can be lubed with beeswax and make cylinder-greasing unnecessary (My experience, YMMV!). Some company was marketing a colt-style/shaped grip-frame, which many found to have a better feel than the original Ruger frames. Dunno if they are still made. With the replacement frame and extra cylinders and molds and etcetera, one can stack up the bucks pretty fast!

 

[tac]

I bought my ROA on March 2nd 1986 - my birthday anniversary. Since then I've shot half a gazillion ball and conicals [a needless waste of lead, IMO] with all the subs and Swiss #2.

Trust me on this one, the real BP is the leg articulations of the hive insect.

I'm on my forth set of nipples - this set are Uncle Mike's from Joe and Suzi in Springfield, OR, and I'm very satisfied with them. I found, however, that even the Treso set I had before often engendered a minute lag ere the charge went off - the Uncle Mikes, on the other claw, are an instant ka-Boom with the Swiss stuff.

Just remember, folks, notwithstanding the very small production run for a special gun store a couple of years back, these wonder-guns have been OOP since 2008, and as we found out a couple of years after they stopped being made, there are positively NO spares that are not common with the BLUED Blackhawks. Bust a bit at your peril. I actually bought the last four rear frame screws - two for me and two for a pal. Make sure ALL the screws are tight before you let loose - they can self-undo.

However, with care, they'll last longer than the Pyramids - remember that Ruger reportedly test-fired one of these guns with NITRO instead of BP, and nothing happened...

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I like the looks of the Ruger Old Army and have been considering getting one. I'm a little turned off by the whole idea of keeping the gun clean of corrosive powder soot, but the Gun just looks fun. For those that own them, do you find the loading process frustratingly slow, or a pleasure? How is cleanup? What kind of accuracy can I expect? What projectiles are best? Is there a plated projectile option? Stainless or blued? Scrubbing black powder is easy, scraping lead is not. I am spoiled by a SAA that shoots amazing... Should I steer clear, or into the dark side?

How about a Lemat reproduction? Nine cylinders plus One extra barrel to clean (20 gauge) might take a while to clean ha ha. But sure looks like fun.

Pietta LeMat Cavalry .44-Cal. Black-Powder Revolver : Cabela's

 

[tac]

Seems to me that after reading all the collective wisdom here that it might be moot [great word, that, eh?] to address the original post contents.

So, after eating a very nice omelette and imbibing a couple of mugs of Timmy's Joe, let's have a re-examination.

My comments will be written in italics, to save any confunglement.

I like the looks of the Ruger Old Army and have been considering getting one. I'm a little turned off by the whole idea of keeping the gun clean of corrosive powder soot, but the Gun just looks fun.

Yes, shooting any black powder firearm, long or short, IS indeed great fun, as many of us here can testify. After all, it's in the genetic makeup - until the latter end of the 19th century, with the invention of the metallic cartridge, if you wanted to shoot, that's all there was. That 'corrosive soot' was part and parcel of daily life to everybody who partook of any kind of shooting, and they got on with it.

for those that own them, do you find the loading process frustratingly slow,

It's like this, Sir. If you take the whole process of loading down to its basics, powder, ball, a wad in there somewhere, gloop over the open end etc, it's slow, it's messy, it's a pain, But hey, it what there was to do, and you had to do it. Unless, of course, you bought or made those neat little prepared paper cartridges, which is what I do. Drop 'em in, squeeze 'em up, cap and shoot. Sure it's slow by comparison with dropping in six metallic cartridges, but do you buy a bottle of pre-mixed Martini's - or make/shake 'em yourself?

or a pleasure?

If you want to shoot a front loader, it's what you have to do to do it. Pleasure? Nope. Necessity? Yup.

How is cleanup?

How do you think? You've just fired off, in a ROA, 180gr of black powder, of which around 30% remains somewhere on the gun in the form of black crud. Unless you are shooting the gun just once, and throwing it away, you have to clean it and yes, it's a mess. But it's one that YOU made, right? If you didn't shoot it and have the fun of doing so, then it would still be squeaky clean, right? It takes me around 15 minutes to clean up my ROA, and apart from a few scratches, that I could, if I was really bothered, get rid of with the gentle application of some fine steel wool, it looks much the same as it did when I took it out of the box to shoot it, on March 3rd 1986.

What kind of accuracy can I expect?

How good a shot are you? and at what ranges? this thing is a three-pound lump of handgun - it's unwieldy, it's unbalanced, and as it comes it has a grip that only Danny DeVito could love, but many of us shoot them as accurately as we would any other kind of a handgun.

What projectiles are best?

The original projectiles are .457" round ball - IMO, after trying out conicals for a laff - balls are best. Lee even make a dedicated ROA mould in two versions. One that is a double ball, and another that it a one ball, one conical. Pure lead is a must - any degree of hardening, like using ex-wheel weights, makes loading a pain, as the poor old loading lever has to force that hard ball into a chamber that is around .002" - 003" too small, in order to make a good gas seal. THAT is part of the design, not a fault, and production of a little ring of lead on loading is a requirement.

Is there a plated projectile option?

How do you plate a ball? One that is going to be forced into a too-small hole and get the plating scraped off? and then into a forcing cone where it will develop a 'belt'? I've never heard of such a thing, but I'm prepared to be enlightened by somebody who has.

Stainless or blued?

Your choice.

Scrubbing black powder is easy,

So what's the problem?

scraping lead is not.

I don't understand this, sorry.

I am spoiled by a SAA that shoots amazing...

'kay.

Should I steer clear, or into the dark side?

Bearing in mind that where YOU live, you can just walk into a LGS and walk out with any BP gun of your choice, I'd recommend it for the fun and experience, but in the end, it's all up to you. If you decide that it's not for you, then selling an ROA on is a breeze.

 

[drstrangelove]

Thank you

 

[Open_Wire]

El Paso Saddlery.........Check under 'Military' for flap holsters.

I have an El Paso Saddlery flap holster for my Smith 57. I love it.

 

[tac]

Remember that Cabela's often do deals on stuff like Pietta - their Remington Model 1858 New Model Army is a kind of old-fashioned Ruger Old Army....kinda.

 

[thorborg]

Soon as you have the gun then it's on to; you said it; holster.
But maybe before that, powder, caps, patches, lead, lube, maybe now the holster?
Then a sweet Flask / horn, better powder measure, or two because this other one you found later is cooler and I gotta have it .
Nipple cleaners, Special cleaning fluids, shooting gloves to keep your hands from turning black, upright loading stand (Na, I can make that), bullet molds, leather bag. You think I need to replace the nipples?
By now you are getting tired of the cardboard box starting to collapse so you have to come up with something better.
But Hey! in my mind, life doesn't get much better and every one from kids to grandma will want to shoot it!
Have fun

 

[Open_Wire]

El Paso Saddlery.........Check under 'Military' for flap holsters.

Takes some time to break it in and mold around the gun, I just left mine holstered for almost a month, and it fits like a glove now.