Proper loading for ruger old army

[alaskasmoker]

Hi All, went to the range today with my ruger old army. This is the third time I have shot this gun.

Ive gotten great accuracy out of it and sometimes really poor accuracy. Im guesssing Im not being consistant enough.

Im sure that Im pouring the exact amount of powder each time. 35 grains of goex 3f is what Im loading.

Then I put a ox yoke wad on that. Then a hornady round ball.

How much should I squish the ball down? Really tight or just enough to get it below the cylinder rim?

How important is cleaning to accuracy? I normally shoot 3-4 cylinders worth before I call it quits and clean it.

Oh and whats a good alternative to those felt wads by ox yoke? Is there anything better than them? they are hard to get down in the cylinder square.
Thanks!

 

[mykeal]

Consistent compression is somewhat significant in achieving consistent accuracy. The exact amount isn't as important as doing it the same way and the same amount each time.

I seat the ball firmly and then use one more firm push on the lever to compress the powder. The location of the ball with respect to the chamber mouth is not as important as getting good, consistent powder compression. It is true that the best accuracy is achieved with the ball as close to the chamber mouth as possible, but that's best done using filler material after the most accurate powder load is determined. I think consistently and accurately measuring the powder combined with consistent and firm force when loading are more important to results than where the ball sits in relation to the chamber mouth.

Not sure what you mean by fitting felt wads "in the cylinder square". If you mean the wads are tilted when first inserted in the chamber, be assured that they will straighten out when the ball is forced down on the wad and powder.

Ox Yoke wads are not the only ones around; many people make their own with 1/4 inch thick felt and various recipes for lube material. I've got 3 different brands I've gotten at various outfitters like Midway USA, Cabela's, Bass Pro and Dixie Gun Works. Usually a search on 'wads' or 'revolver wads' will turn up the choices on the internet sites.

Cleaning is more important in single shot pistols that shoot patched balls than in revolvers, although no gun will perform well and consistently if it's too fouled. You should get good results with 3 cylinders before light cleaning.

 

[TFoley]

I have just come back from the range this morning and read this first letter.

As this was a 'guest day', I took my ROA for the newbs to try out, and it had two boxes of Hornady swaged ball through it, plus the fifteen loose ones in the possibles bag.

Although the gun was wiped down after each cylinder-load, there was no time to clean it, a chore that I'm doing now, so it fired 215 shots without being cleaned.

I don't use wads of any kind, and use the same charge of Pyrodex plus topping off the load with a glop of E45 - a light, water-based skin preparation that many of us here in Europe use because of the ease of cleanup.

tac

 

[Frank44]

I have an Old Army that I havn't shot yet. Can I use conicals with a heavy charge of 777 directly on the powder, and a glob of Bore Butter over the front of the bullets? :hmm: Thanks for the post.
Frank

 

[mykeal]

Yes, but why?

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Consistant pressure on the charge will result in consistant velocity which will greatly help tighten-up the groups! :wink: mykeal has already covered this, and I concur.

A slightly fouled bore will also tighten-up the groups :thumbsup: . As a competition shooter I've found that every two cylinders (10-12 shots) is the ideal time to run a couple of cleaning patches soaked in Butch's Black Powder Bore Shine through the entire revolver and the chambers. Then a couple of dry patches, especially in the chambers, followed by capping-off at the line to dry-out the nipples and avoid missfires :wink: I actually stretch those numbers out to the magic 13 balls that I have to shoot during a NRA Black Powder Pistol Qualification Match, where the best 10 count for your score on each target.

As to the best charge: At our League the guys that have the Rugers shoot 30-35 grains with great success :wink:

As to using wonder-wads: We ALL use them, in every kind of weather, and yes they do straighten themselves out under pressure, so don't worry about one going into a chamber at a slight angle!

One more thing about groups: Tight groups start by doing EVERYTHING the SAME, right down to the placement of your feet, because this affects your head position and how you see the sights!

Hope that I've been helpful

Dave

 

[Frank44]

mykeal- I was trying to get away from Wonder Wads to save money. After reading all the posts again it looks like Wonde Wads.
Frank

 

[prowler]

:hmm: Why don't you just make your own over powder wads? It's quick, easy, and best of all, cheap. Just do a search and you will find all the information you need.

 

[alaskasmoker]

Ill give it a go again and use the tips you guys gave me. Im prettty confident this gun will deliver. I was having a pretty bad range day with most everything this weekend. It was about 0 degrees out and s tad uncomfortable.

 

[Brian the Brit]

Tac,

I hope your club is paying your open day expenses (?) as by a very rough calculation I reckon your day at the range helping newbies must have cost you more than £50 ($100 US) in balls, powder, wads and caps. That's a lot of personal outlay by anyone's standards.

I regularly attend my club's open days and let guests use my guns (at my own cost) but I tend to limit the ammo on purely financial grounds. (They literally form queues when they see my Martini-Henry and those brutes aren't cheap to feed.)

 

[TFoley]

On a Guest day - rather than calling it an open day, which it most certainly is not - I usually have a selection of rifles and a couple of black powder arms. As a full-time RO, I usually let one of the other RO's [over 60% of our club membership is NRA qualified] run the rifles, while I manage the BP stuff. In any case, each host is responsible for his guest on a one-to-one basis.

There are usually around 10-15 guests, who get to shoot any of my nine .22 rifles of different kinds, at least two of each .308Win, 7mm Mauser, or 7.5 Swiss - others attending do the same, so that the guests get the chance to shoot under-lever action, Martini-Henrys, Sharps, Sniders and many other kinds of action like the Blaser and straight-pull 'Black rifle' look-alikes.

We don't charge - either the guests or the club.

The look on the faces as the guests squeeze off their first ever BP revolver or pistol shot is payment enough for us. :grin:

tac

 

[Brian the Brit]

You are right, 'Guest Day' is the correct terminology. We have 12 per year (every second Sunday).

I usually take my Colt 1860, Enfield 2-band, M-H, plus a P14, Lee-Metford Cavalry Carbine, No 4, Sharps 45-90 or one of three .22s.

It is always the BP guns that attract the crowd though and, as you say, the facial expressions after that first shot are a joy to behold.

(I thought that we had chatted before - Tacolneston near Norwich? I used to live in Attleborough and Sprowston.)

Keep up the good work, mate.

Brian

 

[pulaski]

I'm no expert , but give this a try sometime . Grip your ROA with just enough to hold onto it and shoot 5 rounds .
Reload just like the first time , now grip the ROA with a real firm grip .
You should notice that it groups in a differant location .
Uncle Sams best , taught me the grip is the most important , controlable , part of shooting .
You may not have the best position but if the grip is allways the same you stand the best chance seeing tomorrow .
As to loading the ROA , I use 32g 3f ,wonder wad , 457 round ball seated to bottom of ram travel .
just my 2 cents