ruger old army-tuning

[vica]

Hi,
I'm in the process of buying a new Ruger Old Army in stainless steel. I've seen one that had been "tuned" by replacing springs with Wolf springs, and target sights made by Williams Firesights fitted. One particular gun's cylinder sounded and felt like a Rolls Royce when spun,although I believe the sights needed a bit of modification to be fitted.Has anyone got any experience of this kind of 'tuning'. Any information would be helpful. Incidentally, this gun cost £595, or around $950, so you can see why there are still one or two new ones around.

[rhbrink]

Wow! I would shoot it first I've had mine a long time and about the only tuning that I did was to install a higher front sight and smoothed up the trigger some. Shoots way better than I can hold.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I have zero experience with the Ruger OA. But based on experience with other Ruger revolvers, the springs and sights can easily be replaced. So, if the tuning only requires replacing the springs and sights it should be a no brainer.

$950! Wow.

[Archer]

The one I've got needed no tuning
what so ever. It shoots just fine, and
accurate just the way it came.
$950 HOLY SMOKE, that's a chunk of change.

[DLCTEX]

Wow! I bought mine in slightly used condition (blued not stainless) for $160.:bigsmyl2: It has worked fine and shoots to POA without any modification. There is a modification that can be done to stop the cylinder lock from dragging that I may do though.

[Char-Gar]

The Ruger Old Army uses the old style lock work (a la Colt) and needs nothing more than some work on the full cock notch to reduce the trigger pull to a decent weight. Doing so is not rocket science once you work up the nerve to take a file to the pistol hammer.

I have two NIB Ruger OAs sitting in my safe. Maybe I ought to sell them accross the pond!

[NickSS]

I have a OA that I bought in 1973 and have fired thousands of rounds through it. I never did a thing to it and it is still going strong. I never felt the need to tune it as it has a great trigger pull already. By the way I have hit 5 inch steel plates at 100 yards with mine regularly and it will blow out the X ring and a 25 yard pistol target. about the only thing I have replaced on this pistol is the hand spring (lost one so had to get a replacement) and nipples from too much use.

[kingstrider]

I bought a stainless Old Army last year at a gun show for $300 which included the original yellow box with manual & nipple wrench and a box full of stuff including extra nipples, powder, flask, measure, round balls, nipple grease, bore butter etc. I've seen them as high as $475 at the gun shows but there's no way I'd pay close to a grand for one that had been "tuned" with off-the-shelf parts that I can easily add myself. I know Ruger discontinued the model but they made a boat load of them over several decades so its not like they are rare or anything.

[winelover]

I bought a stainless Old Army last year at a gun show for $300 which included the original yellow box with manual & nipple wrench and a box full of stuff including extra nipples, powder, flask, measure, round balls, nipple grease, bore butter etc. I've seen them as high as $475 at the gun shows but there's no way I'd pay close to a grand for one that had been "tuned" with off-the-shelf parts that I can easily add myself. I know Ruger discontinued the model but they made a boat load of them over several decades so its not like they are rare or anything.

Everyone seems to be missing the point. The original poster is from ENGLAND. Hand guns are banned in England. Apparently, black powder hand guns aren't. Consequently, $1000 may be a good deal on that side of the pond. You have to compare apples and apples.[smilie=b:

Winelover

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Everyone seems to be missing the point. The original poster is from ENGLAND. Hand guns are banned in England. Apparently, black powder hand guns aren't. Consequently, $1000 may be a good deal on that side of the pond. You have to compare apples and apples.[smilie=b:

Winelover

Excellent point. Back to the original topic I would say buy your Old Army, and should it need tuning it is not that big a deal to do your self. Contrary to what “epurts” will tell you, most Rugers are just fine out of the box.

[vica]

Interesting points,the general consensus seems to be that ROA's shoot pretty well out of the box.
Yes the price of this gun in England is pretty high,and I have seen ROA's on American websites that make me green with envy [as does all shooting stuff,which is a crazy price in the U.K. For example a one pound canister of powder is £32,about $52.]
After the 1997 Dunblane shootings our government banned handguns but allowed us to keep muzzleloaders, along with a very restrictive licensing system that means for example,that if I wish to sell a gun of one cal.and buy a replacement of the same cal., then I must first get permission from the licensing authority [the Police] before I do it. Our Olympic pistol shooters can only train in Belgium. The British Government treats all shooters as 1] criminals 2] madmen 3] terrorists and makes firearms laws accordingly.
Thats why I enjoy coming on this site to see how the other half lives, and feel very envious as a result.
Good shooting to all,

[dualsport]

Anybody in the NorCal area looking for a new ROA, 'Sierra Outfitters' in Auburn, Cal. has 3 new ones, blue, 7.5", fixed sights, $499 each.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I'm from Australia (in case you hadn't noticed :D ) and I just bough two new ROAs, both SS with 5.5" Barrels. They were $AU895 each, Rugers are a tad over $AU900 here usually. I recently bought a pair of SASS Series Ruger NM Vaqueros in 357 for my wife who is a new shooter (she loves the ROAs and may end up using them :) )and they cost me $1950 for the pair. I am about to pick up a near new 7.5" SS ROA with target sights, it is $AU600 which is a pretty good price for a second hand in good condition.

ROAs have virtually walked out the door of the gunshops here in past years and were always hard to get and generally second hand guns are almost as expensive as new guns, especially if there is a pair of them.

Pietta Clones were $AU675 about 18months ago when I bough a set, but are up around $AU800 now.

One good thing though, our authorities in this state don't really care how many guns you buy or own, as long as you meet the criteria (and plonk down the $30) you get a permit. I have to have a special 'High Calibre' License to own +38 bores, but other than that I'm good to go. I have about 11 44s and 45s in SAs and never had an issue getting permits. They treat muzzle loading pistols and cap and balls as minor calibre and you don't require a special license for them.

PS, Try the ROA first, mine were really nice straight out of the box. The only 'tuning' I have ever done to the many Rugers I have owned was to dry fire on snap caps several hundred time (I don't know how you do this with a Cap and Ball Revolver) and drop one spring leg off the stud inside the handgrips, a poor man's trigger job. I bought a pair of Wolff spring sets a few years ago, but couldn't decide what pair of guns to fit them to and they are still sitting in my desk drawer. A lot of people grouse about Rugers, but I have generally found that they are good to go out of the box. I have no experience of the DA Rugers though.

Good luck and keep us posted. We like to see how these things work out.

[9.3X62AL]

After reading what Vica and FFD have to put up with to enjoy their sport--and the costs associated with same--even California's hoplophobic nonsense seems mild by comparison. Press on, friends--I admire your determination to pursue the craft in spite of the roadblocks placed in your way.

[cowboy]

Howdy from sunny Arizona!
To get back to the point of your post- I own a number of Ruger single actions, though not one Old Army model- not that the action work is any different on them. ( Have too many "large frame" Vaqueros, none of the smaller "New Vaqueros")
The ones I use for shooting in SASS competition are fitted with Wolff brand gunsprings, and, aside from real stag grips, very little else has been done to them. The trigger and hammer springs are of reduced tension, but not overtly so (important that the hammer should fall with enough force to set off even "hard" primers).
I'd found a pair for the misses that had been done by a professional gunsmith here in Phoenix ( the gentleman is also a speed shooting champion with western-style arms ), and these are so smooth I at first wanted to claim them for myself!
The differance in cost was around $350 more per gun for those two.
The ones with the springs changed out and little other work are dependable, easier to shoot accurately, and additional cost was modest- having replaced the springs myself, without TOO much bad language, although a special tool would have helped ( have that bit now! )
The wife's guns are so much smoother than those right out of the box, that they receive many compliments from those who have handled them. They are a dream
we were lucky to afford.
Best to you and your Old Army purchase. I am certain you shall enjoy it!
"cowboy"

[44man]

The Ruger OA is the only cap and ball that can be dry fired without deforming the nipples. The hammer will not hit them.
I took away value from mine by putting a Weigand base on it and mounting an Ultra Dot. What a great deer gun it has become. Since I will never sell it, who cares!
All it took was a trigger job, mine is 30 oz. With 41 gr of Swiss FFFG and a round ball at 1102 fps, it smacks deer to the ground right quick.

[JesterGrin_1]

I have a 1976 ROA Stainless Centennial that I have used since new and I have never found a need to mess with it in the least. Great Pistol. Too bad they no longer make them. It is will be a loss for many.

[Four Fingers of Death]

The Ruger OA is the only cap and ball that can be dry fired without deforming the nipples. The hammer will not hit them.
I took away value from mine by putting a Weigand base on it and mounting an Ultra Dot. What a great deer gun it has become. Since I will never sell it, who cares!
All it took was a trigger job, mine is 30 oz. With 41 gr of Swiss FFFG and a round ball at 1102 fps, it smacks deer to the ground right quick.

Wow! that would look strange, but better than not shooting if you can't see the sights.

It never occured to me about the transfer bar, but if you hold the trigger down, won't the transfer bar or whatever you call it allow the hammer to fall completely?

[44man]

Wow! that would look strange, but better than not shooting if you can't see the sights.

It never occured to me about the transfer bar, but if you hold the trigger down, won't the transfer bar or whatever you call it allow the hammer to fall completely?
No transfer bar but it is safe to carry fully loaded. You let the hammer down in the slots between nipples.
The only problem with the red dot is it makes it harder to clean. I pull off the grip panels and wash in the laundry tub. I can't toss the whole gun in the sink anymore. [smilie=1:

[Four Fingers of Death]

No transfer bar but it is safe to carry fully loaded. You let the hammer down in the slots between nipples.
The only problem with the red dot is it makes it harder to clean. I pull off the grip panels and wash in the laundry tub. I can't toss the whole gun in the sink anymore. [smilie=1:

I mentioned that I dry fired the rugers to 'smooth them in' I do this by cocking the hammer and pulling the trigger with my thumb across the hammer's path. It drops a tad and stops on the middle of my thumb, allowing me to fire it rapidly and safely to 'run it in.' I don't know how you'd go about this with a ROA.

As to the cleaning, maybe you could take an ammo tin or similar and make up a set of hangers/brackets which keep all but the optics out of the water and let it soak.

I am moving the compressor, air tank and fittings from my old Landrover to my Nissan soon and will be able to soak the ROAs overnight and blow em' clean in the morning.

The theory is, a squirt f moose milk down the bores of the rifle and shotgun, a pass or two with the bore snake (oil on a piece of flannel at the rear of the snake on the second pass), wipe the front of the bolt, whatever, take the grips off the steenkeng pistolas and dunk them in the can, Lock the lot up and do what travelling cowboys do at night. In the morning, A quick bore snake with the flannel at the front of the snake, brush out the barrels and cylinders, boresnake the barrels blow then dry, oil and refit the grips.

Thats the theory anyway!

[rhbrink]

As for dry firing a trick that I learned years ago is to buy a eraser and cut and trim it to fit into the slot where the hammer falls and let the hammer drop on the eraser. Have to get it just right so the action dosen't cycle. Don't know if it'll work on all types of handguns but does work on single actions and some hammer guns.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

I prefer the C&B Colt clones. As to dry firing I take a bit of live rubber stock, make it roughly 3/16" square and a bit longer. This should fit tightly under the hammer in the milled curve of the frame.

After the hammer drops, the correct thickness keeps it off the nipples but allows re-cocking. works on single actions and open tops too. Width keeps it wedged in till you take it out. Probably works on Rugers too. BvT

[Lloyd Smale]

im nervous about any gun that was TUNED unless i know who did it. Ive seen to many hack jobs with actions and triggers by know it all home smiths that did nothing but make a good gun unsafe or unreliable. I surely wouldnt pay extra because someone had unknown action work done on it.

[vica]

Well I've seen the gun for the first time,but have to wait for the "variation" from the police before I can take posession.note; I'm only allowed to use it at an officially approved range . However it looks good straight out of the box much nicer than the 1858 Italian job I have now. Trigger pull is excellent. Now to find a mould and work up some loads using BP substitute,and see if I can improve accuracy with these 65 yr old eyes.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Well I've seen the gun for the first time,but have to wait for the "variation" from the police before I can take posession.note; I'm only allowed to use it at an officially approved range . However it looks good straight out of the box much nicer than the 1858 Italian job I have now. Trigger pull is excellent. Now to find a mould and work up some loads using BP substitute,and see if I can improve accuracy with these 65 yr old eyes.

Same with us, only allowed to use the handguns at an approved range at approved targets. Some guys use theirs for soft skin silouette apparently.

If you want a recommendation for a mould, I have a Big Lube ROA mould, nice conical boolit, carrys lotza grease! Do a search for Darstardly Dan or Big Lube Bullet Moulds, Dan has stopped using Lee and his current supplier is providing wonderful moulds. He also ia sellign a 457 round ball mould as well. Good stuff, great guy, brilliant service, most of his stuff is usually in stock.

I have his Mav Dutchman 44, ROA 45, 45/70 big lube moulds.

[JDUBS]

I know this is an old post, but I wouldnt dream of changing anything on my ROA. All I had done was the timing for the Kirst converter. LOVE it!

[CLAYPOOL]

Live is short...sell all that you own in those 2 places and apply to enter the U.S.A. Become American...