Ruger old army

[Kentuckyguy42]

Hi everyone I have a few questions on a Ruger old army. I was thinking of using triple 7 powder. Do I measure by volume or by weight and what's a good starting powder charge. What's everyones opinion on the felt wads are they necessary thanks

 

[rodwha]

Hi everyone I have a few questions on a Ruger old army. I was thinking of using triple 7 powder. Do I measure by volume or by weight and what's a good starting powder charge. What's everyones opinion on the felt wads are they necessary

Triple 7 weighs much less than black powder, which weights vary greatly as well. It’s also more compressible. Use a powder measure (volume) but these cannot be overloaded.

I like felt wads and use them as it helps keep the fouling soft. You can shoot without them like they did when they were used.

For accuracy it seems 18-25 grns tends to be the sweet spot. I started at 25 grns and worked up and found 35 grns to be ideal for mine. That 35 grn charge weighs 37.5 grns when I use 3F Olde Eynsford black powder. Standard Goex would probably weigh closer to 32 grns or so, it’s not nearly as dense or powerful.

 

[Dexterado]

Hi everyone I have a few questions on a Ruger old army. I was thinking of using triple 7 powder. Do I measure by volume or by weight and what's a good starting powder charge. What's everyones opinion on the felt wads are they necessary thanks

I can’t speak to the triple 7, but I feel like the felt wads work great for reducing fouling. I’ve always used them in mine.

 

[D Yager]

I have used Pyrodex,777, and black powder in my ROAs. T-7 doesn't like a lot of compression. Just enough to seat the ball/bullet firm. If you really want it to bark try it with 4f. It will surprise you.

 

[Smokerr]

I agree with rodwha on the loads. I keep mine under 1000 fps to avoid lead fouling as the balls are soft lead as are conical s though you can get harder stuff though that is more unmentionable cylinder area.

Lubed wads are a bit too expensive for me, I don't see any problem using them but it does add to the cost. I clean my ROA with a Nylon Brush out of a dish soap water mix. Slant it down and water stays out of the rest of it. That make fouling a non issue (I also use a nylon brush at the range every cylinder so I do clean it out some there as well)

I use a powder scale to establish what I have, but I use the Dispenser into the pan to see how THAT powder measure correlates to load. You can then use it to see across powders. Its really a help to have a Chronograph to see what the FPS vs the load is. That is a tough one, the Visual type are a pain to set up and the Radar type cost a lot. I have a LabRadar as I shoot target rifle a lot and want to know exactingly what my loads are doing. It does fine for BP and Unmentionable Cylinders if you use them.

777 is really potent. Far more than it seems to get credited with. Mixed feelings as you don't need as much for the same FPS and then you get into does filler work or not?