Ruger Old Army Shooters

[INDY45]

I just got my hands on a Ruger Old Army in stainless and was wondering if there are any fellow shooters out there. What loads, bullets and wadding do use when loading your pistol.

 

[randygun]

yep you can buy mold by lee that shoots a conical great bullett

 

[GONZO!!!]

I had one for a lot of years...I used to fill the cylinder full of Pyrodex and tamp it down wih an Ox Yoke Wonderwad...it's about 50+ grains..the Ruger can handle it...makes it a hard hitting load ...love the smoke cloud it puts out (about the size of Chicago LOL). Shooting that hot of a load over and over will put the cylinder out of timing if you do it all day long. I once shot a bowling pin match wih it at my club in Oklahoma...no one could see the table and pins because of the smoke! Enjoy it...it's a ton of fun to shoot.

 

[tmkr]

I had one until a straight line wind got ahold of it,blew it into Lake Michigan.(I don't have a boat)I shot 40 grains of FFFG black powder,a wonder wad ,then a .457 round ball.Then smear a little bore butter or crisco on top of the ball for lube.
Shoot it on a still day.no wind,and you will have to walk around the smoke cloud to see if you hit the target. they are a ball to shoot!

 

[warren5421]

I shot ROAs for several years in SASS. I used 36 gr of anyof the following: 777, FFg, and FFFg. Use a .45 wonder wad, and a .458 or .457round pure lead balls. You can load black powder or 777 in the chamber as fullas you can and get a wad and the round ball in the chamber deep enough that thecylinder can turn when you pull the hammer back. DO NOT DROP THE HAMMER ON A CAPPED CHAMBER IF YOUHAVE A LOADED CHAMBER THAT IS NOT CAPPED!!! You can get a chain fire, more than one chamberfiring. Using a lubed wad behind the ball means you don't have to lube thefront of the ball. "HAVE FUN"

 

[Uncle Lee]

I shot one for years with 777 and black powder but my old hands got to where it hurt too much to load it even with a loading stand.
So I got a R&D 45 Long Colt conversion cylinder, now I just shoot cartridge loads in it.

 

[tmkr]

I shot ROAs for several years in SASS. I used 36 gr of anyof the following: 777, FFg, and FFFg. Use a .45 wonder wad, and a .458 or .457round pure lead balls. You can load black powder or 777 in the chamber as fullas you can and get a wad and the round ball in the chamber deep enough that thecylinder can turn when you pull the hammer back. DO NOT DROP THE HAMMER ON A CAPPED CHAMBER IF YOUHAVE A LOADED CHAMBER THAT IS NOT CAPPED!!! You can get a chain fire, more than one chamberfiring. Using a lubed wad behind the ball means you don't have to lube thefront of the ball. "HAVE FUN"

It would seem to me you would want lube in front of the ball to lube the barrel prior to the ball passing thru although lube anywhere would be beneficial.

 

[FordBronco]

Wonder wads in front of either goex or pyrodex powder, then a .454 - .457 lead ball on top. You can "butter" the cylinder with lube or crisco, but since the wonder wads are lubed I did not find much difference in the accuracy or fouling with or without.

I can not remember how much powder my charger is throwing as I set the spount up for the Ruger (i.e. cut it to length to throw the correct charge).

 

[Uncle Lee]

The lube is not as much to lube the bullet as it is to keep the powder fouling soft. Keep the fouling soft and the next bullet will push most of it out.