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Ruger Old Army at 100 yards

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Kodaman

Kodaman

32 Cal
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Messages
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Location
West Chester, PA
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!
 
Interesting that 35 grns is very accurate for you, it’s what I found mine does best with, starting at 25 grns of 3F as it was my baseline for a humane amount of oomph for hunting with a bullet. Weighed, my charge of Olde Eynsford is about 38 grns.
 
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!
Click to expand...
That's great! I spent last Sat. going 45 mi. to an auction, (it was beautiful thru Amish Country Lancaster, Pa.!) to bid and got a NIB ROA blue at going prices +. Then, yesterday, I see an unfired but boxless blue ROA at my LGS! For less than what I paid at auction, esp. with the fees. So I'm torn to buy the 2nd one! Thanks for this interesting info on your experience! Good tips.
 
Buy the 2nd one.....ha! have three ROA'S....1 blue/brass and the other 2 are stainless. I think the good stainless ones are going for over $1000 these days and if you can buy one in decent condition for $500 or $600....I would say that is pretty good. Normally I weigh everything or use a powder measure but for this outing, I just visually looked at each chamber and attempted to get each chamber level with the others leaving room for wad and ball but without much room to spare. It was quick but I wasn't rushing the experience. It was visually similar to the loading I was getting with weighed 35 grains and there wasn't much room left after seating the ball. I love how the chamber cuts a small ring of lead when seating the ball .....just a precision event. I remove the cylinder to load and can look down and see all the chambers at once. I have a manual press to seat the ball so don't use the gun lever and then insert the cylinder into the gun. Also shot a long gun muzzleloader with the Lyman Globe sight and Shaver inserts with a rear peep the same day and achieved a 2" group at 100 yards which is as good as my eyes can see... (so between my ROA and my long gun, yep...I had a great range day.) Looking at Colorado elk with a muzzleloader this fall and think my odds are decent for a tag. Single projectile and no scopes allowed in Colorado. As you know, Ruger stopped making ROA's so get them while you can. I don't think there is a finer handgun made.
 
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!
Click to expand...
Thats awesome. I've been looking into getting a BP pistol & it will be a ROA. One of my friends has 2 ROA's & had recently said he was gonna send me of them to try out for a while to see how I like it before buying one. Especially now, with the pricetag they are bringing in auctions is out of my reach.
 
I also have 3 stainless ROA, all purchased this past Spring for very reasonable prices ($400 for the stainless 5" cowboy version with fixed sights)! I have passed up a few others because I figure 3 is plenty now (and besides, I have already bought 15 other cap-and-ball percussion revolvers in the past 5 months, so I gotta stop somewhere)
 
hrt4me said:
I also have 3 stainless ROA, all purchased this past Spring for very reasonable prices ($400 for the stainless 5" cowboy version with fixed sights)! I have passed up a few others because I figure 3 is plenty now (and besides, I have already bought 15 other cap-and-ball percussion revolvers in the past 5 months, so I gotta stop somewhere)
Click to expand...

You have got a heckuva lot more money than I do!
 
rodwha said:
Interesting that 35 grns is very accurate for you, it’s what I found mine does best with, starting at 25 grns of 3F as it was my baseline for a humane amount of oomph for hunting with a bullet. Weighed, my charge of Olde Eynsford is about 38 grns.
Click to expand...
I have found the same thing in accuracy with full charges of 3F goex in several of my revolvers but the reason competitive shooters use low velocity charges of equal accuracy is the fatique factor that recoil exacts over long strings of fire. Recoil will exact some points from your score over a long string of shots because managing it tires you out mentally and physically.
If your a good shot with heavy loads you will be better with mild loads of equal accuracy over the course of a match.
 
Kodaman said:
Buy the 2nd one.....ha! have three ROA'S....1 blue/brass and the other 2 are stainless. I think the good stainless ones are going for over $1000 these days and if you can buy one in decent condition for $500 or $600....I would say that is pretty good. Normally I weigh everything or use a powder measure but for this outing, I just visually looked at each chamber and attempted to get each chamber level with the others leaving room for wad and ball but without much room to spare. It was quick but I wasn't rushing the experience. It was visually similar to the loading I was getting with weighed 35 grains and there wasn't much room left after seating the ball. I love how the chamber cuts a small ring of lead when seating the ball .....just a precision event. I remove the cylinder to load and can look down and see all the chambers at once. I have a manual press to seat the ball so don't use the gun lever and then insert the cylinder into the gun. Also shot a long gun muzzleloader with the Lyman Globe sight and Shaver inserts with a rear peep the same day and achieved a 2" group at 100 yards which is as good as my eyes can see... (so between my ROA and my long gun, yep...I had a great range day.) Looking at Colorado elk with a muzzleloader this fall and think my odds are decent for a tag. Single projectile and no scopes allowed in Colorado. As you know, Ruger stopped making ROA's so get them while you can. I don't think there is a finer handgun made.
Click to expand...
Interesting! I'd forgotten about the blue/brass; they must be early production? Before realizing I needed an ROA, I passed up a minty stainless at 500, and a nice blue for maybe 300 or so; then, a few months ago, I realized I needed one, lo and behold, two popped up almost same time. Well, I have one now, NIB, (I'm not a box collector!) and almost bought another last night at LGS, unfired no box. Your comments are good, thanks!
 
Not surprising--I get similar results at 100 meters shooting iron pigs with the Rogers and Spencer .44.
ABC_1764.JPG
 
hrt4me said:
I also have 3 stainless ROA, all purchased this past Spring for very reasonable prices ($400 for the stainless 5" cowboy version with fixed sights)! I have passed up a few others because I figure 3 is plenty now (and besides, I have already bought 15 other cap-and-ball percussion revolvers in the past 5 months, so I gotta stop somewhere)
Click to expand...
Please tell me how to stop!:) Would love to have the 5" version, didn't know about them!
 
Ninering62 said:
Thats awesome. I've been looking into getting a BP pistol & it will be a ROA. One of my friends has 2 ROA's & had recently said he was gonna send me of them to try out for a while to see how I like it before buying one. Especially now, with the pricetag they are bringing in auctions is out of my reach.
Click to expand...
I just saw one go for $675. at auction, with tax, tags, & title, it came out to $808.! There's demand out there!
 
My Pietta 1851 in .44 cal has always been more accurate than any modern pistol I have owned including a s&w 629. I have just always believed that the soft lead grabing the deep grooves and low pressures made for a more accurate round. In my mind I believe that high pressures can escape and push the round off. It's probably not true but that's what's in my mind. My 629 was a classic which means it was more accurate at the factory when fired than other 629s when tested so it was not lacking.
I think that's why so many old gun fighters liked the .36 cal. It's better to hit where aiming at with a .36 cal than miss with something bigger. I think it was wild bill or John weslin that said that the .44 was ok but would hit bone and splattered too much but the .36 was a straight to the hart killer.
 

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