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Ruger Old Army at 100 yards

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I bought my ROA in 1975 at a little gun shop on the east side of Indianapolis. On my lunch break I would drive all the way to Plainfield to pick up cap and ball supplies at a sporting goods store. I worked in Indy, and would drive home a couple of times a month with the Mrs to visit her family and mine. My Dad and I would go out to the local gun range and he was so impressed with mine that he bought one a year or so later. Dad passed in 1996 and now I have two.

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Keep looking for an ROA. I have four of them bought over several years. (Not bragging, just really, really lucky.) All but one looked unfired. The most I paid was 500 bucks. Just a matter of luck being in the right place at the right time. Last year I found a well used but cared for Rogers and Spenser, which is almost as good as the ROA. Never shot any of them beyond 50 yards but it would be fun to try 100. Sounds like it would make for some enjoyable range sessions.

Jeff
 
Whitworth said:
Anyone who thinks cap and ball revolver's wont shoot with their center fire rivals is just plain foolish. My S&W Masterpiece does no better than my favorite .36 Navy, an Uberti made in 1965. YMMV
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Out of 6 shots at 100 yds with my Ruger SS 44, I put 1 on the target. Bang... ... ... ... ... thump. Too cool !!!
 
Kodaman said:
Don't post much but yesterday at the range ....was shooting one of my ROA's at a steel plate sized 12" x 15" at 100 yards. Sitting at a bench using a rest and darn if I wasn't hitting that plate with amazing regularity. Last string was 5 hits out of 6 shots. Not surprising because I know that these revolvers are accurate......but shooting a handgun roundball at that distance amazed me because I actually can't shoot that well with any of my .357 Magnum cartridge revolvers. FFFG....felt wad over powder and visually loading the cylinder out of the handgun ....leaving room for wad and powder. About 35 grains of powder and covered with a smear of Wonderlube. I was watching my buddy's head spinning around with each "ping" on the steel. Ha!
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a few years back, I could do that offhand with mine; not 5 of 6, but usually 1 or 2. Scared the manure out of the Glock fanciers.
 
B9man said:
Out of 6 shots at 100 yds with my Ruger SS 44, I put 1 on the target. Bang... ... ... ... ... thump. Too cool !!!
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My grandpa was a big fan of Elmer Keith. I think they knew some of the same people in the cattle business. Anyway, he cut some gongs from scrap iron and placed them in the Cottonwoods and Serviceberries out behind the house. When Grandma was alive you didn’t dare shoot off of that porch unless she was in town or at the neighbors... the furthest gong was 400 yards from an old willow tree behind the house, about 440 from the porch itself. Grandma passed when I was 12 and we had some fine times banging those gongs. It’s surprising how far you can hit with a cap pistol. (If you’ve learned where to hold on the Cottonwood tree.) I don’t believe I’ve hit a 24” gong at 400 with a cap gun but I have hit 12” gongs out to 200 before.

Now my grandchildren are trying some of this stuff too. My 10 year old is a natural athlete, gifted really, a gymnast and naturally very strong, but with a quiet mind and her vision is very keen. I told her she has a future as a Marine. (0321 naturally...) Sorry for the rambling, my mind wanders...
 
Rawhide67 said:
My ROA has been in the safe for many years. Don't know why, but I never seem to think about shooting it. 100 yards might be interesting. new thread? 100 yds with your cap and ball revolver?
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May be, that's why I see them usually "un-fired"; lots of people must've gotten them, then sat on them without using. They seem to be coming out of the woodwork now, there may be an upside to this "panic" we're in!
 
Aside from the fun of working up a reliable 100 yard load, it would be worth it to see the look on the semi-auto shooters. Bang ... clang. Bang ... clang. The sounds might interrupt their picking up brass. (Yeah! I can be a little devil.) ;)

Jeff
 
I bought my ROA in 1976 (stamped 1776-1976). In France it was very expensive in this time but it was possible to buy a ROA and have it in this time.
Now to have this revolver is forbidden without police authorization (sale or destroy this arm if no authorization) so I Don't use it to much and only when I'm sure of the surrounding people around...
The notch of the hammer is more than sick, but I can't change the hammer : forbidden to negotiate all or any parts of ROA in France.
Yep, and you know why : the law of 2013 saids that the ROA isn't a copy of a revolver that have existed before the year of 1900 and this law saids also that all the revolvers cap'n ball after 1900 in this case need police authorization if it have not exist before like Colt, Remington, R&S, Spiller & Burr etc...
What is a pity in this case is that it is my best weapon and certainly the one that shot the most and the best...

You guys don't know your luck to be other side of the pond... 😉

ROA_1976.jpg
 
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Guys, I was looking at my newly-purchased unfired blue ROA, placed it beside my R&S repro, and DANG, they're for intents and purposes, the SAME thing! Check it out! I'm guessing the ROA might have more perfect rifling or something, as many say they are accurate, but do that! They're so similar I decided not to buy a 2nd ROA at my LGS that's unfired. It's all fun!
 

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