Ruger old army, DISCUSS!

[45 Dragoon]

Snazzy!!!

Mike

[Tnfalconer]

That's just round one of construction!

[birch]

That kicks all sorts of @##.

[contender1]

"I bought a SS Ruger OA in 1993 and while I appreciated it's design and strength the beast was just too heavy for me to shoot one handed. I think maybe Ruger was afraid some idiot would pour a chamber full of Bullseye in an OA and let her rip."

Bill designed the ROA around the idea of the Remington BP handgun. Look at the two designs. The longer bbl is to allow BP to burn properly & give good velocities. The heavier frame is a result of using similar sizes as the Blackhawk line.

[45 Dragoon]

Contender1,
There's more Rogers&Spencer than Remie in there. . . . .

Mike

[contender1]

True,, but he was an admirer of the Remington"s looks & top strap,,,, and said so on several occasions. I got that info from a guy who worked on the ROA a bit with him.

[smkummer]

Your loading lever may be too short to be useful. If so, you will need to load the cylinder outside of the gun frame with a special tool.

[Plastikosmd]

Here is my 50 cal conversion w shorted barrel. Fun gun, set next to an original colt for comparison

[Dan Cash]

Your loading lever may be too short to be useful. If so, you will need to load the cylinder outside of the gun frame with a special tool.

Should not be a problem. If too short as is, make a telescoping forward lever portion that will slide forward when unlatched for ramming.

[Tnfalconer]

I will be loading on a press with a spare cylinder in reserve. No issue at all. I actually prefer it to loading with the lever.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Very cool! Looking forward to more pictures. Mike Beliveau (Youtube channel duelist1954) has a similar snub nosed cap and ball gun, but I think he started with a Remington Army model revolver. Everything I have read about Goon's Gun Works indicates he is the best in the business for cap gun work.

[45 Dragoon]

A big ol THANKS there 2ndAmendmentNut!!

Mike

[gandydancer]

I had an old worn out 357 Ruger flat top rebuilt to 44 special with a 4 & 5'8ths barrel with a Birds head grip it was a great shooter But I hated that Birds Head grip. Had it changed to a Bisley grip. My son still has it. It was built by Andy Horvath in the early 90's. Joe Bowman the master of triggernometry & trick shooter used it at Blue Trail Range in wallingford Ct at one of his shows in the 90's He liked it so well he tried to buy it from me, Joe was a great showman he will be missed,

[Tnfalconer]

I really like the bisley grip as well, I especially like the fall on the hammers. I have worked a little more on the old army with a new fixed front sight added and am now working on the hammer. I'll remove the cocking lever from a Ruger bisley hammer and cut it into the stock old army hammer. The reduction that I did on the plow grip of the old army feels really good in my hand. A new set of slim grips will finish it off. I'm making a jig to cut down the hammer now so I can repeat the process on a second gun if I need to. The radius on the bisley cocking lever is 13/16" so it's a pretty straight forward thing. Mill a 13/16 curve into the Old army hammer and remove the cocking lever of the bisley. Weld or solder them together. I will admit that my silver solder skills are somewhat lacking but my clean up and finishing skills are improving....HA! The front sight I chose to use was a 3/16x 1" woodruff key. The shape is nearly perfect with only a light cut needed for a straighter approach angle on the front. I will work on it a little more this afternoon and get some more pics for you guys. I tried to bevel the cylinder a little as well and let me tell you, that is some hard, HARD steel they use there. I put a slight bevel to it and left it alone.