.38 caliber conversion on Ruger Old Army?

Maybe I have too much time on my hands right now or it has been the dismal weather of the past week here in New England but I was thinking about this idea .

Would it be possible to take a ROA and put on a barrel to accept .357/.358 dia bullets such as any cast bullet off the shelf like a 180 grain LBT. Then take the cylinder and machine some collets to fit the cylinder mouths. This would allow for a good powder charge and yet hold a .357 size bullet in the cylinder. The collets would have to be attached in a way so they don't fly out with the first shot. Maybe threaded and then silver soldered. One could machine a small lip at the bottom of the collet so that it would not allow a bullet to go all the way into the cylinder chamber. It would be a bottle necked chamber.

Anyone who is knowledgeable out there, would that be feasable? I am just thinking out loud on this topic.

Come on sunshine!!!

Anything is possible given enough time and energy but I don't know why you would want to do this.

Finding a barrel that would fit might be the biggest problem. I suspect the ROA barrel threads might be different than the threads on a modern barrels just to keep folks from doing some home gunsmithing that could violate Federal laws. (As I'm sure you know, there are Federal laws against making modern cartridge guns by unlicensed people).

I think you should consider buying one of Susie's neat French Black Powder Pistols to keep you out of trouble. They are expensive but a nice little flintlock pistol would be neat to own.

I'm not interested in a smokeless conversion, just a .38 caliber bp conversion. Would it be feasable to make a bottlenecked chamber on a BP cylinder?Is this idea stupid or is it workable?

You can build your own cartridge gun, just can't sell it. The best way to deel with the barrel is install a liner. TJ's has liners in 357 that are hammer forged. His # 859-635-5560. The liner is 1/2" OD so the barrel would need to be bored out or the liner turned down. With a good fit loctite will hold it in. Best way to hold the parts in the cylender is the tap the cylinder for a 1/2" fine thread and scrw it in.

Why go to all of this trouble when you can probably bore the cylender through and chamber it for .45 LC?

All you would have to macheine would be a spacer ring and floating firing pin.

IMO, the cylinder adapters would have to be either threaded in or brazed in place.

If threads were the chosen method, without knowing what the existing wall thickness from the chamber ID to the cylinder OD is, I don't know if there is room to put in a .500 dia thread.

I wouldn't feel that it is safe unless the current wall thickness is over .063.

Even if it were .063, that leaves a little less than .040 wall after threading it to a .500-20UNJF thread.
Unless the J series (controlled root radius) threads are used, the female thread is permitted to have a sharp corner where the sides of the thread meet at the major diameter.
This sharp corner is a stress riser which could lead to catastrophic failure when the gun is fired.

Of course you should understand that my .040 wall thickness after threading was a thickness just picked out of the air and it would really require a stress analysis to be done to see if it is safe.
It could be that it is too thin. :hmm:

Zonie said:

Come on sunshine!!!

Anything is possible given enough time and energy but I don't know why you would want to do this.

Finding a barrel that would fit might be the biggest problem. I suspect the ROA barrel threads might be different than the threads on a modern barrels just to keep folks from doing some home gunsmithing that could violate Federal laws. (As I'm sure you know, there are Federal laws against making modern cartridge guns by unlicensed people).

I think you should consider buying one of Susie's neat French Black Powder Pistols to keep you out of trouble. They are expensive but a nice little flintlock pistol would be neat to own.

Click to expand...

Not true, one can convert such as the cap and ball revolvers etc or make cartridge guns for oneself, just not for resale. Just make sure they have a serial number.

Here is one made just for the Ruger Old army:
[url] http://www.kirstkonverter.com/ruger.html[/url]

Here are others:
[url] http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=convert+cap+and+ball+revolvers+to+cartridge[/url]

ID-OD wall thickness is of no concern here.

One must refer to the ID-lock notch depth. That will be your critical thickness.

Your 1/2" hole for the threaded insert will no doubt intrude into the lock notch.

This is way more trouble than the finished product will be worth!!!

Cost of Ruger Old Army + cost of parts + cost of machiene work = way past the cost of a new Ruger Blackhawk .357 !!!

Any 36 navy is a whole lot cheaper to convert to .38 spl. I have converted several to .38 spl & .38 LC using only hand tools and my jewelers' laythe.

There are also excellent kits for conversion of 1858 Remingtons to .45 LC

Conversions are no longer enough of a novelty to make this a show stopper. Any cowboy action shoot is filled with them.

Wall thickness after threading will be about .058". The threads only need to go into the cylinder about 1/4" to hold the bushing in, the rest of the bushing/liner can be turned to the .454" diameter of the cylinder. This way the cylinder stop cuts will not be touched. If done right the liner will add strength to the cylinder. I would use a 1/2"X 28 tpi with loctite.
I have customers ask for things that are different all the time and will do it if it is safe. Some customers are a little out there like the guy that wanted to put a 50 BMG on a 10 gauge action.