Range Report: Ruger Old Army

[jackc]

Tried out my Ruger Old Army today. So far, I'm disappointed. Accuracy was never better than about 2" at 15 yards. However, I would frequently have 3 shots touching or almost touching and 3 that opened the group considerably. I'm thinking my loading consitency may well have something to do with it.

I had considerable trouble getting the same amount of cornmeal filler on top of the Buffalo Bullet wads I was using. After finishing, it occurred to me that I might get better results if I used a dowel or something to seat the wad on top of the powder charge. With 20 and 30 gr. charges of FFFg, the Ruger loading arm doesn't seat the wad on top of the powder.

Trying to compress the cornmeal with my fingers, I twice put too much in and the bullet wouldn't seat low enough to clear the forcing cone. In both instances I used a pocket knife to shave the lead off in order for the cylinder to turn freely.

Easiest load was the max charge of 40 grains. No need to bother with cornmeal as there was just enough room for powder, wad and ball. Accuracy was about the same as with the other loads, maybe even a little better.

Also, I must report that I was really upset with the CCI #10 caps that I purchased for this revolver. The #10s fit more snugly than 11s so that is the size I went for. Most of these caps had to be struck at least twice by the hammer before they fired. Ignition was wimpy as well. I walked back to the house and got a tin of Remington #11s and the problem went away. No misfires and very positive ignition.

To put it mildly, I am very upset with CCI right now.

I traded for this revolver and it seems to have been unfired until today. What's really funny about that is that I checked its date of manufacture on the Ruger web page and it was made in 1979! Anyway, I'm hoping that I will get better at loading it and it will "shoot in" a little more as we get acquainted.

Any tips, advice or comments from cap and ball shooters will be greatly appreciated.

Rocky Point Jack

 

[Cirus]

The CCI #10's are to small on my Old Army. They won't go off because they are not seated all the way on the nipple. The second time the hammer hits they will go off. I use the #11's and if they seem to loose I just give them a pinch. If I can find some Remingtons I'll try them.

 

[Runner]

Nock pliers for bowstrings. Use the number 11's and crimp them tight around the bottoms if you are going out in the field. The nock pliers work very well for this. Be careful! I never had a cap go off from doing this, but I guess it is possible.

 

[jdixon]

Regarding caps - as others have said with those mis-fires and double hits - you have a cap that is too small in diameter. Diameter is not the only consideration however; length of the cap can sometimes be a problem. The DGW catalog lists some popular caps and their sizes (page #660) as the following:
Alcan #10's .167 dia. .178 length
RWS 1075's .170 .170
Remington #11's .170 .190
Winchester #11's .175 .200
DGW's table doesn't list CCI's - but with a digital caliper I just checked some #11's I have here - inside diameter seems to be around 0.163, O.D. - 0.176, depth on the inside of the cap to the 0.117 and over-all length 0.165. Since you say you have to crimp the #11 CCI's try the RWS 1075 - it is just slightly smaller.
If you have a digital caliper or know someone who does, you may want to mic out your nipples to figure out exactly which cap would work the best. This would eliminate some trial and error.
DGW's catalog does say that a #10 cap is the correct one for a Ruger Old Army, along w/ a .457 round ball and a .45 revolver wad. (page #115)
As for filler - I have had good luck with wheat germ. Put in the powder charge, wad and seat the wad as far as the loading arm will allow, and then fill each chamber to the top with wheat germ. Wheat germ compresses quit a bit, squeeze a ball in on top then seat the entire combination one more time. This procedure is quick, doesn't require measurement of the filler and seems to place the ball high enough in the chamber for consistent accuracy.
As for your groups - next time you shoot take a grease pencil and mark each chamber on the revolver (1-6). Sometimes there is a bum chamber to blame, cut slightly wrong, doesn't line up correctly or some other minute problem. More likely however, your groups are a by-product of your loading practices which you do not have down yet. Give it time, enjoy getting familiar with the gun, it will surprise you once you figure out what it wants.

 

[jackc]

Thanks for the replies and advice. Now that I've had a chance to sleep on it I agree there is probably not a thing wrong with the CCI caps--they are just too small. I had read that the Ruger took #10s and the guy at the gunshop in OKC agreed that #10s were the correct size for the Ruger OA.

Oh well, it just goes to show nothing beats burning powder to find the truth about what works.

My 19 year old daughter showed up just as I was finishing my first day of testing and I loaded her up six chambers of 20 gr. and let her try it. She managed to hit a coke can at 15 yards and was really pleased with herself. This was her first time to shoot black powder and she really got a (figuritive) kick out of it.

Next weekend I will give the Ruger another try. I know something has to work! :thumbsup: