Ruger .45 Old Army: Need The Stuff

[Occam]

It's been a long time since I've lit up a BP revolver, and it was a Walker in .44, eons ago. I'm sure I still have some prehistoric supplies rattling around.

But I got bit by a too good to resist deal, and have an essentially like-new 7-inch stainless Old Army coming my way later this week. Would love to get it going this weekend, but have to start from scratch.

I've got some 10 and 11 caps around, but no .457 balls or any notion of what people are actually using for propellant these days, with what kind of charge, and loaded up how, exactly. Would love to hear:

1) Current favorite recipes for that revolver in .45

2) Guidance on where to hunt down powder and balls in the beltway+ zone.

3) Any thoughts about minimal other needs (lube, patches?) and clean up on a stainless BP revolver - I've never had one, and it would be nice to keep this pretty thing pretty-ish.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TheRealJimDavis]

I run .457 Hornady lead round balls over 40 grains of fff black powder. Coat the top of the cylinders with bore butter and go to town. I don’t know where to find black powder these days.

 

[TheRealJimDavis]

Oh, and I clean it in the kitchen sink with dish soap and hot water. Then oil it up.

 

[Occam]

I run .457 Hornady lead round balls over 40 grains of fff black powder. Coat the top of the cylinders with bore butter and go to town. I don’t know where to find black powder these days.

I like simple!

 

[Blacksmith101]

I like simple!

Cartridge Conversion Revolvers | Best Cartridge Conversion Cylinder

 

[dannyp]

a little out of your way but the saint in essex has everything you need .

 

[K31]

I like Wonderwads under my balls. Don't judge me.

I generally just use Hodgdon Triple 7.

I clean by removing the cylinder, lever, etc. I also remove the nipples and set them aside. I fill a small bucket with hot water and add Ivory soap shavings. Agitate to melt the savings.

I immerse the pistol, except the grip, into the soapy water. I scrub the outside with a rag or toothbrush. I run a nylon brush on a pistol rod, with a patch on the end down, the bore.

I run the pistol same same brush/patch combo down each of the cylinders.

I clean the threads in the cylinder with Q-tips and the nipples with a rag making sure to chase the threads.

I rinse everything with hot water, again, not immersing the pistol grip.

Surface dry with a clean dry rag and let air dry.

Grease the threads in the cylinder and put the nipples back. Reassemble the rest.

 

[dannyp]

I like Wonderwads under my balls. Don't judge me.

I generally just Hodgdon Triple 7.

I clean by removing the cylinder, lever, etc. I also remove the nipples and set them aside. I fill a small bucket with hot water and add Ivory soap shavings. Agitate to melt the savings.

I immerse the pistol, except the grip, into the soapy water. I scrub the outside with a rag or toothbrush. I run a nylon brush on a pistol rod, with a patch on the end down, the bore.

I run the pistol same same brush/patch combo down each of the cylinders.

I clean the threads in the cylinder with Q-tips and the nipples with a rag making sure to chase the threads.

I rinse everything with hot water, again, not immersing the pistol grip.

Surface dry with a clean dry rag and let air dry.

Grease the threads in the cylinder and put the nipples back. Reassemble the rest.

i use them also , i think they're great . scored some goex in the middle of the pandemic , you need to shoot your pistol alot to burn up a pound of powder .

 

[Occam]

What's the shelf life on Goex? I've found a mostly-full can of FFF I've had stored away for 15 years (cool, dry storage).

 

[K31]

What's the shelf life on Goex? I've found a mostly-full can of FFF I've had stored away for 15 years (cool, dry storage).

Some BP munitions from the civil war exploded (and killed people) decades later.

 

[Occam]

Some BP munitions from the civil war exploded (and killed people) decades later.

Thinking perhaps a little more along the lines of whether or not it would perform about as expected, grain/scoop-wise, after being in suspended animation roughly since Clinton was in office.

 

[Allen65]

Thinking perhaps a little more along the lines of whether or not it would perform about as expected, grain/scoop-wise, after being in suspended animation roughly since Clinton was in office.

BP, unlike smokeless, does not chemically degrade over time unless it is exposed to water or is allowed to absorb atmospheric moisture. So basically an indefinite shelf life as long as the sealed container remains intact.

 

[The Saint]

BP's my game...glad to help however I can if you need it.

 

[Occam]

BP's my game...glad to help however I can if you need it.

Thanks! If I'm feeling like a beltway-to-beltway (and beyond!) excursion, you're going to see me. Probably sooner than later.

 

[The Saint]

Rugers are the top tier in my eyes, at least for the workingman's budget.

For powders...I've switched almost purely over to American Pioneer Powder over the last year or so. After I used APP in shotshells and muzzleloaders (and now cartridge) and saw my accuracy stay the same with literally 1/2 the cleanup time...that was all I needed. I still have some Pyrodex to use up, but once it's gone I don't know if I'll continue using it.

35grains Pyro was my load forever and does what I need in a Ruger Old Army. I use the SlixRam from Slixshot to just throw the ball right on top of the powder, and then a little bit of bore butter on top each chaber mouth. The SlixRam drops right in instead of your regular ram for Ruger Old Army models specifically, and allows you to use low charges and get good compression without fillers...worth the $20 easily. Rugers without wads and fillers with light charges don't allow the ram to compress the ball against the charge well enough, so the ram fixes it...and modifies nothing permanently. People don't really know about them, but when I show them they always end up leaving with one in tow.

Like I said...I could talk about this stuff for hours...haha

 

[Occam]

OK, ready to go pollute the environment this weekend. This shiny beauty from thirty odd years ago has never been fired. Nature abhors a virgin.

 

[K31]

Like many whores out there she lied about her body count.

 

[temccoy]

It's been a long time since I've lit up a BP revolver, and it was a Walker in .44, eons ago. I'm sure I still have some prehistoric supplies rattling around.

But I got bit by a too good to resist deal, and have an essentially like-new 7-inch stainless Old Army coming my way later this week. Would love to get it going this weekend, but have to start from scratch.

I've got some 10 and 11 caps around, but no .457 balls or any notion of what people are actually using for propellant these days, with what kind of charge, and loaded up how, exactly. Would love to hear:

1) Current favorite recipes for that revolver in .45

2) Guidance on where to hunt down powder and balls in the beltway+ zone.

3) Any thoughts about minimal other needs (lube, patches?) and clean up on a stainless BP revolver - I've never had one, and it would be nice to keep this pretty thing pretty-ish.

Thanks in advance!

Hello - I have supplies (bullets, balls, powder, etc) if you are interested. I sold my Old Army, but still have the food for it. Please let me know if you are interested. Thanks.

 

[Occam]

A virgin no longer!

 

[Blacksmith101]

What did the target look like?

But more important Did You Have Fun?