Ruger Old Army loading stand...

[Cage Dodger]

Well, I finally got to fire my Old Army a few weeks ago. Let me tell you, it is my new favorite (as well as my first BP) gun. I used 25gr of 777 with 15gr corn meal, a Cabela's lubed felt wad and a Speer .457 ball, packed fairly tight.

Although groups were good at 25 yards, it seems to shoot a little high but I'll get used to it.

Reloading is as much fun as shooting. It slows down the pace to where you have time to think and place each shot more carefully.

I had several caps that didn't fire (in fact the first four... kind of scared me... thought I'd bought junk) but they fired the second time around so I figured maybe I didn't have them on tight enough. I pushed each cap on tightly with a small piece of wood after that and only had a couple of more that took a second strike.

I propped the pistol up in the front seat of the truck as I prepared each charge while reloading. I almost had a couple of spills (almost dropped my cigarette... just kidding) so I devised this little stand to free up a hand while reloading.

Although the finish is a bit rough, it holds the revolver securely. I tried wiggling it to see how much it would take to make it fall out and I shook it way harder than I thought it would take but it didn't fall out.

I can't wait till the next chance I get to go shooting, both to shoot the ROA and to try out my stand in the field.

Thanks for all the advice and Happy Shooting.

Cage :wink:

 

[Tater John]

:thumbsup: Nice display stand too!

There no doubt to me the O.A. with iron sights looks way better than adjustable sight models.

Got a flap holster for it?

Rusty

 

[Cage Dodger]

Yeah, I like the traditional look of the iron sights as well. The original Old Army with the adjustable sights just looks wrong to me, like turn signals on a horse or something.

I bought a western style open holster like this one at Cabela's.

It fits like it was made for it. The muzzle sits about half an inch inside the bottom. It is a very sturdy and well made holster. Now I'm thinking about getting someone who knows how to tool leather to put either a Ruger screaming chicken logo or "Old Army" on the front piece.

Cage :wink:

 

[renovato]

I'm impressed with the stand. That's one of the most well thought out designs I've seen yet.

 

[Cage Dodger]

Thanks for the compliment. I'm good at figuring stuff out, not so good at wood finishing. I measured everything twice and then measured again before cutting. I deliberately made the vertical piece 1/2" too long so I could fit it once I had carved out the pocket for the butt. I used a 1-1/2" hole saw then cut through the middle of the hole. I had to fit the top part of the stand to the revolver to clear the bump at the top of the grip frame and the hammer in the half-**** position. I'm sure one could be fitted to just about any C&B revolver.

Cage :wink:

 

[Bob Gular]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing. I'm off to the woodshop now.

 

Cage Dodger,
I use the same rig for my 1860 army.Holster/belt/cap pouch and flask holder from TOTW.I wet shaped it to the 1860 and it works great. Now off to the lumber store.

James Taylor

 

[mudd turtle]

IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET FROM RUGER ANOTHER CYLINDER FOR MY RUGER OLD ARMY. MUDD TURTLE.

 

[Tater John]

IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET FROM RUGER ANOTHER CYLINDER FOR MY RUGER OLD ARMY. MUDD TURTLE.

Very possible. They stopped manufacturing and production is all was my understanding. The O.A. is discountinued/Ruger still has parts. I called them about a re-barrel I was considering and it would have been no problem. Except I wanted to put a 5 1/2" on a 7 1/2" frame :haha: THAT they said they wouldn't do.

Rusty

 

[MSW]

Mud Turtle, if you want a new cap & ball cylinder, contact the folks at classicballistix (sp?). Their website is http://www.Classicballistx.com
and they're really great to deal with. If you want to shoot .45 Long Colt through the ROA, try Numrich (but have your credit card in hand, those guys are really expensive). You can also check e-bang or the other gun auctions.

 

[mudd turtle]

THANKS_MAN> muddturtle

 

[Tater John]

You motivated me. I wanted a display stand without the hinge on mine and made this this morning

Rusty

 

[Tater John]

Another excuse to play with the camera

Rusty