Conical Bullet For Ruger Old Army Revolver.

[Abasmajor]

I'll be frank with you, even though my name is tac, unless you are going hunting with your ROA, and UK that's a HUGE NOPE! you really are wasting your money by shooting a conical in it. The Lee mould that I have makes one of each - ball and conical - and TBH, conicals were something I tried way back when I got my ROA, in 1986.

And not since...

However, if you are happy to send to the USA for your bullets, and pay the shipping charges or cast your own, good luck - it's your gun.

To be honest it was really a hypothetical question as I don't have any issues with round ball, but theoretically anyway a conical bullet would seem to be more efficient given that it has is more engagement with the rifled barrel. My ROA has been converted to shoot smokeless powder so I just wondered whether a conical bullet might perform better than a standard .457 round ball in the Ruger.
Brian

[loiner1965]

To be honest it was really a hypothetical question as I don't have any issues with round ball, but theoretically anyway a conical bullet would seem to be more efficient given that it has is more engagement with the rifled barrel. My ROA has been converted to shoot smokeless powder so I just wondered whether a conical bullet might perform better than a standard .457 round ball in the Ruger.
Brian

think i have a lee .457 hollow point mold for the ruger.....
edit.....its a .456 220gn hollow point mold by lee designed for the ruger old army
you can borrow it by all means

[andrew375]

I used the Lee conical mould for over a year when I first got the pistol. I thought I was shooting pretty good until I gave ball a try and straight away my average group size halved. I never went back to conical.

[Abasmajor]

Thanks for the responses that have confirmed my suspicions that there would probably be no benefit from using a conical bullet rather than a round ball in the ROA.
Brian

[tacfoley]

Thanks for the responses that have confirmed my suspicions that there would probably be no benefit from using a conical bullet rather than a round ball in the ROA.
Brian

Sure there is, IF you have the chambers opened out, as a lot of people over there have done, AND stuff that cylinder with 40gr of 3Fg, and need it to shoot hogs in the chest at ten feet or less.

Over here, though, killing paper, I've stuck to the ball except when a guest, who may have heard of a conical, wants to try. Usually just one shot is enough.

[enfield2band]

I've tried conicals in a Uberti Police and they move forwards out of the chamber with the recoil. I had to check them everytime after a couple of shots. They were tight to squeeze in and I did not expect them to move under the recoil. I find ball much easier to load, not as much strain on the loading lever, and they are more accurate.

[Turnup]

No-one at my muzzle loading club who have tried conicals have had any success. The general view is that the twist rate suitable for a ball (typically 1 in 40") is just too low for a conical.

[tacfoley]

Yup, the conical requires that maximum or almost maximum loads be used, there is, after all, a lot more surface engagement on the conical than there is with the 'belt' around the ball.

As for shooting it with a nitro load, I'm not sure about that, as I was always of the mind that the nitro conversion was designed to shoot ball, rather than conicals. You might like to talk to Mr Westlake about that, if he is the one who converted your ROA.