Info. Wanted - Howell Smokeless Conversion Cylinder for the Ruger Old Army

[arcticap]

Does anyone have any information about a smokeless "209 percussion type" conversion cylinder for the Ruger Old Army that was manufactured and sold by Howell for a limited time?
EDIT - These were smokeless "percussion" cylinders that used 209 primers without any cartridge case.

266765

Howell patented a design for the cylinder, and IIRC they had made it for a while before discontinuing it.
Now I would like to learn more about it.

There's a thread in the Group Buy Discussion Forum about whether there's enough interest for a possible group buy. --->>> http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?406976-Smokeless-powder-cylinder-for-Ruger-Old-Army

But I can't find any information about the ones that were previously made or how well they worked.
Please post if you've heard or know anything about them.

[1Hawkeye]

Not to rain on the parade but they probably aren't around anymore because rugers are a .457" bore and. 45 colt is. 452" to .454 so they most likely weren't very accurate.

[pietro]

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Here's the back story (click/scroll): https://www.howellarms.com/about

I had a conversion cylinder in my stainless ROA, that shot about the same as when I loaded the BP cylinder with .457/.458 round balls.

The only real difference was in the cleaning, after shooting.

ALL conversion cylinders, regardless of manufacturer, for steel-frame only BP revolvers (not brassies) are safe to shoot only with "Cowboy" loads, and not standard or hi-performance .45 Colt loads.


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[45 Dragoon]

Nope, it's basically a Blackhawk barrel and 45C works very well in them.
The reason for a .457 ball is to gain in side barring surface (longer) to better engage the rifling. The over-sized ball /conical is "sized" at loading in the cylinder.

Mike

PS nothing wrong with shooting standard tier 1 loads in the Kirst conversions for the ROA ,Remington, Colt Army /Walkers/Dragoons.

[arcticap]

I edited the original post to make it more clear that this conversion cylinder uses 209 primers without any cartridge cases.
In Europe these are called Nitro Conversions.
It's loaded with loose smokeless powder without a cartridge case.

266767

There's a thread in the Group Buy Discussion forum to see if enough people are interested in buying 50 cylinders to make a group buy. --->>> http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?406976-Smokeless-powder-cylinder-for-Ruger-Old-Army

Does anyone have any information about these Howell Nitro Conversion cylinders?

[Ozark mike]

I imagine they were discontinued because a few idiots tried to compress smokless and ended up with shrapnel

[Outpost75]

Not to rain on the parade but they probably aren't around anymore because rugers are a .457" bore and. 45 colt is. 452" to .454 so they most likely weren't very accurate.

Ruger Army is NOT .457 bore!

The cylinder throats are .4525+0.0015"/-0.000.

A .457 ball is recommended for correct tight fit in the cylinder to prevent inertial dislodgement

Barrel bore and groove dimensions are identical to the NMB .45 Colt .443" bore and .451" groove +0.0015"/-0.000"

Walt Kirst .45 ACP conversion cylinder in my Ruger Old Army fired with National Match hardball off machine rest is more accurate than my 1967 National Match .45 pistol.

[45 Dragoon]

Tolja !! Lol

Mike

[indian joe]

I imagine they were discontinued because a few idiots tried to compress smokless and ended up with shrapnel

Yup! I tried to visualise how much bullseye or red dot would fit in there if they loaded a round ball right at the front of the chamber - all I could see was blood and bits of fingers............................

[Chemoman]

i had a ruger old army and had a conversion cylinder for it. it shot 45 long colt very very accurate. sold it to a fellow from pa. he had several other rugers and he said the one i sold him was the best of the bunch because of the accuracy.

[Outpost75]

Not to rain on the parade but they probably aren't around anymore because rugers are a .457" bore and. 45 colt is. 452" to .454 so they most likely weren't very accurate.

The Ruger Old Army is NOT .457 "bore."

Barrel rifling specs are exactly the same as for the Blackhawk .45 Colt and the percussion cylinder throats are .4525-.4535.

A .457 Ball diameter is recommended by Ruger to ensure a correct tight fit in the cylinder throats.