BP Revolver

[AlBur]

Would welcome some advice.
Considering buying a BP Revolver. Leaning towards a Ruger Old Army in 0.45.
However would welcome input from the forum members as to alternatives.
What about these cylinders Bob Dunkley sells.
What is the best powder to use.
Is it okay to use lubed wads & no grease on the cylinders.
Where is the best place to buy caps,wads, balls & phials to pre measure powder before going to the range.

Thanks in advance
Al

[tacfoley]

[QUOTE=AlBur;5686693]Would welcome some advice.
Considering buying a BP Revolver. Leaning towards a Ruger Old Army in 0.45.

Good choice, providing that you can find one - there's a second-hand one in my local dealers, blued, for £595...you DO know that they have not been made for over three years?

However would welcome input from the forum members as to alternatives.

Sadly, if you want a .45, there are NO revolver alternatives, IF you have .45 on your ticket. Opinions differ, but some early ROA's - like mine - were correctly described as .44cal. Like ALL .44cal BP revolvers, they shoot a bullet that measures MORE than .44cal. As a result of this, they have latterly be re-assessed and named .45cal. For some reason that I cannot fathom, every other .44cal revolver on the market remains a .44...

What about these cylinders Bob Dunkley sells.

They seem to be easy enough to get, although they are, of course, an licenseable item - you can't just go ahead and try and buy one without it on your ticket.

What is the best powder to use.

Swiss is best, followed by Henry Krank's Fine pistol Powder - any FFg will be good - start at around 25gr and see how you get on, or take a minute and read the hundreds of posts on this subject, including the one above called 'loading tables'......

Is it okay to use lubed wads & no grease on the cylinders.

Not sure why anybody would want to use lubed wads on the cylinders, do you mean in the chambers? If so, Wonder-Wads [if you are rich] or make your own with a wad punch made from a suitable cartridge case and some kind of grease - I use TREX cooking fat for my rifles, but E45 [an emulsified skin cream-type stuff from Boots] on my handguns.. Again, read the many posts about using wads...

Where is the best place to buy caps,wads, balls & phials to pre measure powder before going to the range.

Your nearest dealer is probably Kranks, but you have to buy BP with two licenses and face-to-face, or you must stump up the HAZMAT handling charge.

As I noted, there are literally hundreds of posts on this forum about the very things that you are asking about, many of them on this same page. All you have to do is have a look around the site.

I'm assuming that you are in a gun club where BP handguns are shot? Ask your shooting buddies what THEY do.

tac

[airgunnut]

Would welcome some advice.
Considering buying a BP Revolver. Leaning towards a Ruger Old Army in 0.45.
However would welcome input from the forum members as to alternatives.
What about these cylinders Bob Dunkley sells.
What is the best powder to use.
Is it okay to use lubed wads & no grease on the cylinders.
Where is the best place to buy caps,wads, balls & phials to pre measure powder before going to the range.

Thanks in advance
Al

Is it okay to use lubed wads & no grease on the cylinders?
I don't use ether, I use porridge oats, I use Henry kranks fine black powder in my euroarms Rodger & spencer .44 then fill the chamber with oats then press a home cast ball in, a black powder shooter of 50 years told me about that one
As for pistols try looking on Henry kranks website
Different cylinders, if they are nitro proofed, hold off for the moment! I just got my black powder ticket and the firearms officer said the nitro cylinders are a bit of a gray area at the moment

[tim56]

Think Tac has about covered it, theres so many variables shooting a b/p revolver that a book could be written on it. In fact there must be lots of them already.
The Ruger is probably the best revolver of its type around and as said they stopped making them years ago so if you can find one, grab it as they seem to be going up in cost. The Rogers has a slightly larger grip so probably a good bet if you have big hands but you can get bigger aftermarket grips for the Ruger aswell.
The gent above doesnt use lube but i do. Some shoot only b/p, some shoot 777 or pyrodex. Some use a wad, some use a filler such as oats or semolina and some just fill it with powder for a bigger bang.
Best advice i would give is find a club that shoots black powder and get involved, you will soon get an idea what you want. Kranks isnt that far from you so well worth a visit as they stock most of what you will need. If you can get down to just south of Peterborough Fenland Rural sports keep a good selection of desirable items.
Keep us upto date with what you get. Tim

[airgunnut]

You have to remember that all shooter have different loads and loading habits/routines, so when you find a loading method you like and is safe, stick with it, practice this loading method untill you do it without thinking, that way if somthing happens and you deviate from said loading routine, it will feel wrong and you will check before you pull the trigger (with my routine I count out 6 vials of black 6 balls and caps, even though I don't have to think about what to do next when loading I give it 100% concentration as 1 mistake can result in injury or hours cursing and swearing, trying to remove a ball fron the cylinder or barre!)

[tacfoley]

All good advice being offered here - me, I'd take notice.

Ken is your man.

However - please read this comment of mine again - AFAIK, the Ruger Old Army is the ONLY BP revolver classed as a .45cal. If this calibre is what you have on the FAC, then you will NOT be able to buy any BP handgun that is NOT a .45cal.

No matter how good the Rogers & Spencer, Spiller and Burr, Remington Model of 1858, Colts and so on might be, they are ALL classed as .44cal BP handguns.

Even the mighty Colt Walker is STILL classed, correctly, as a .44cal BP revolver.

tac

[AlBur]

Many Thanks for all of the comments. Much appreciated.
I did continue looking through the previous posts & of course there is an abundance of info including several answers to my questions.
Now getting up to speed. Have realised cannot afford the desirable Ruger Old army, even 2nd hand. Also now aware of the 0.44 calibre. Has not caused a problem because have not yet applied for a variation. Thanks for that piece of info.
Probably look at the Remington 1858 New Model Army. Though would prefer the target sighted model.
Kranks also sell a Uberti Colt. Remove the cylinder & load it up. Replace loaded cylinder in the frame, cap it & fire. Additional cylinders can be bought. As pointed out this would be an addon to the revolver. However these are not always in stock.

Cheers
Al.

[tacfoley]

Many Thanks for all of the comments. Much appreciated.
I did continue looking through the previous posts & of course there is an abundance of info including several answers to my questions.
Now getting up to speed. Have realised cannot afford the desirable Ruger Old army, even 2nd hand. Also now aware of the 0.44 calibre. Has not caused a problem because have not yet applied for a variation. Thanks for that piece of info.
Probably look at the Remington 1858 New Model Army. Though would prefer the target sighted model.
Kranks also sell a Uberti Colt. Remove the cylinder & load it up. Replace loaded cylinder in the frame, cap it & fire. Additional cylinders can be bought. As pointed out this would be an addon to the revolver. However these are not always in stock.

Cheers
Al.

Please note that any additional cylinder requires an entry permitting its acquisition on your FAC - just the same as having another barrel on a multi-calibre rifle.

Sure, you CAN remove the cylinder of a Colt design to load it, but to do that you'd need the loading stand, and TBH, it's a PITA. I load my revolvers straight into the chambers via pre-measured phials - I really can't be arsed to dismantle them to load them, and then mantle them up again.

Also please note that the Remington Model of 1858 is MUCH quicker to dismantle, should you need to do it, than the rather finicky Colt design that most of us here are familiar with.

tac

[AlBur]

Have been looking at a Ruger revolver which has been converted to use nitro & shotgun primers.
These are, or maybe were, modified by Richard (Dick) Kershaw.
I would like to get more information. Does anyone have any contact info for him please.

Regards
Al.

[AlBur]

Hi
Thanks for the input. As I do not know who actually did the conversion I contacted Alan Westlake & he said he had not carried out the conversion. He suggested Richard (Dick) Kershaw. Unfortunately I am unable to find any contact info for him. Of course he may no longer be in business. I was not aware that there were, or are, several people making these conversions.

I like the idea of shooting a revolver without getting up to the elbows in black sticky grease. Hence my interest in this particular revolver.
Would welcome some info please.
Do you use conical bullets or balls.
What weight of bullet & ball diameter do you find gives you the best accuracy.
What is your loading procedure. The cylinder of this Ruger has a max weight of Unique stamped on it. How close are you to the max. powder weight for your revolver are you loading for best grouping at 25 metres.
Do you use an overpowder wad.

Thanks
Al.

[AlBur]

The Ruger Old Army I wish to buy is 0.45 calibre. Ball size is 0.454 which weighs approx. 140 grains.
The cylinder is stamped Max 4.3 grains Unique with 240 grain lead bullet.

What would you recommend as a sensible load using the 140 grain ball with Unique powder behind it.

Thanks for any assistance.

Al.

[tacfoley]

The Ruger Old Army I wish to buy is 0.45 calibre. Ball size is 0.454 which weighs approx. 140 grains.
The cylinder is stamped Max 4.3 grains Unique with 240 grain lead bullet.

What would you recommend as a sensible load using the 140 grain ball with Unique powder behind it.

Thanks for any assistance.

Al.

Is the nitro that much different, then? Every ROA I've ever seen takes a .457" ball - as designed by Ruger, and with the mould made by Lee. Like it reads on the box - 'For the Ruger Old Army'.

tac

[tim56]

Interesting that this revolver is still a 45 using round ball as opposed to a 38/357 conversion. Iv had three of these fine revolvers and still own two, all fire a .457" ball which makes me wonder if the nitro conversion requires a less tight ball fit. Is the gun stamped .454" or is this what the seller has told you.? Iv been thinking about having my stainless target one converted for a long while but would prefer to keep the black powder capability. If its a case of a new cylinder being made by Westlake or Kershaws and them getting the gun proofed for nitro but still being able to use the original b/p cylinder all the better. Iv now ordered myself one of the Armscor nitro revolvers but still intrested to hear how you get on with the Ruger, so keep us upto date. Tim
Additional. Ball v Bullet. Tried bullets in all three of mine and they were fiddly to load, shot higher than ball and wernt any more accurate so have stuck to ball since.

[AlBur]

Hi
Still trying to determine who carried out the nitro conversion to this particular revolver.
It was not A. Westlake & I am awaiting a response from R. (Dick) Kershaw).

Previous owner has been using 0.457 balls with Unique powder. 0.457 Lee balls weigh approx. 143 grains.

Would welcome any suggestions as to whom could have done the conversion.
The revolver was shipped from Ruger in 1975.
The markings on the cylinder are the nitro proof marks & a crossed swords stamp with letters HD3 around them.
Also engraved on the cylinder are the words Max svce 4.3 grains all Unique 200 grain RNL Bullet.

Lee have a bullet for the ROA but it is a 0.456 bullet weighing 220 grains.

Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks
Al.

[tacfoley]

Hi
Still trying to determine who carried out the nitro conversion to this particular revolver.
It was not A. Westlake & I am awaiting a response from R. (Dick) Kershaw).

Previous owner has been using 0.457 balls with Unique powder. 0.457 Lee balls weigh approx. 143 grains.

Would welcome any suggestions as to whom could have done the conversion.
The revolver was shipped from Ruger in 1975.
The markings on the cylinder are the nitro proof marks & a crossed swords stamp with letters HD3 around them.
Also engraved on the cylinder are the words Max svce 4.3 grains all Unique 200 grain RNL Bullet.

Lee have a bullet for the ROA but it is a 0.456 bullet weighing 220 grains.

Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks
Al.

I'm puzzled, me. All this information and you don't appear to have tried anything out? I'd be on the range every day until I found out what made it shoot.

Why don't you ask the previous owner what he used for a projectile? And as for the powder load, surely trying out a few loads - less than the stamped max charge load - would be better than wondering?

Get out there shooting the darn thing!
tac