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Thread: Ignition problem with a Ruger Old Army

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Cheshunt
    Posts
    22

    Wow! that went horrible

    Who knew that a request for information would take that left hand turn! Anyway, to get back to my original question, when people say "fettling the nipples" what do they exactly mean? I am fairly certain that the hammer is still working as it should and that the nipples are the correct Ruger originals (they have the original nut type configuration, rather than the Colt type key. As an aside, does anyone else consider the Ruger nipple key that came with the Old Army the worst thing they make? I know I do. Talk about rounding them off!) So I really need to know what to do with the nipples to get this working again. I have bought a yoga mat and will be stamping out my own wads soon as per Steve's suggestion. Do you use any type of lube on those wads Steve? I am going to be doing some intensive testing bullet vs ball as soon as I sort the reliability issue out.
    I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
    Dave

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Stroud
    Posts
    66
    Quote Originally Posted by davefitz66 View Post
    Who knew that a request for information would take that left hand turn! Anyway, to get back to my original question, when people say "fettling the nipples" what do they exactly mean? I am fairly certain that the hammer is still working as it should and that the nipples are the correct Ruger originals (they have the original nut type configuration, rather than the Colt type key. As an aside, does anyone else consider the Ruger nipple key that came with the Old Army the worst thing they make? I know I do. Talk about rounding them off!) So I really need to know what to do with the nipples to get this working again. I have bought a yoga mat and will be stamping out my own wads soon as per Steve's suggestion. Do you use any type of lube on those wads Steve? I am going to be doing some intensive testing bullet vs ball as soon as I sort the reliability issue out.
    I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
    Dave
    Agree about the nipple key! I bought one of these...
    http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?...roducts_id=179
    ... which has worked well for me on ROA, Le Page, Jim Greathead underhammer, Colt revolver, etc, etc.
    No, I don't use lube on the wads.
    You will find much useful advice about the ROA on the web. A lot of it is written be highly experienced shooters but some is written by idiots so always use your own common sense and look for a consensus of opinion. ... although I'll admit that is sometimes hard to find!
    One thing I do recall from my reading a few years ago was a feeling that bullets were only better than ball at fairly high loads and that most who used them were hunting things other than paper targets! Never tried bullets myself.
    Steve

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Manchester
    Posts
    8,331
    Quote Originally Posted by davefitz66 View Post
    Who knew that a request for information would take that left hand turn! Anyway, to get back to my original question, when people say "fettling the nipples" what do they exactly mean? I am fairly certain that the hammer is still working as it should and that the nipples are the correct Ruger originals (they have the original nut type configuration, rather than the Colt type key. As an aside, does anyone else consider the Ruger nipple key that came with the Old Army the worst thing they make? I know I do. Talk about rounding them off!) So I really need to know what to do with the nipples to get this working again. I have bought a yoga mat and will be stamping out my own wads soon as per Steve's suggestion. Do you use any type of lube on those wads Steve? I am going to be doing some intensive testing bullet vs ball as soon as I sort the reliability issue out.
    I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
    Dave
    Are you using a "yoga mat" to cut out your wads?

    Why not just melt an inch of lead in a pan, tip it out when it has cooled, and use that. As it gets well used just melt it again.

    When someone says fettle the nipples they generally mean make sure there are no burrs on them. Hone off any excessive wear if it is not detrimental to the ignition, make sure the threads are clean and make sure the flash hole is clear.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Cheshunt
    Posts
    22

    Food for thought

    Hi again,
    2 band, I am actually cutting the wads out of the yoga mat as they will better fill the space in the cylinder. As I say I will be doing some research on what works best for me when I resolve the issues. I was using the home cast bullets from the Lee mould, but I have gone back to using balls now, as the recoil using a bullet and the recommended 777 load was a tooth rattler. I also have two of the Uberti Cattleman revolvers, a 7 and a half inch and a 5 and a half inch one. They are good fun to shoot, but for accuracy I would always go to the Rogers and Spencer. But at Bisley this year the shooter next to me had a great result with his Ruger Old Army at the advancing target and I wondered why I wasn't making better use of A fine gun. Any and all advice greatly appreciated by the way.
    Cheers
    Dave.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Tenterden, Kent
    Posts
    1,035
    A yoga mat?! A rubber and polyurethane yoga mat? Seriously.....?

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Enfield
    Posts
    396

    Hi

    Can you post pics when you start to fettle your nipples please ooh erh missus!

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Cambridge
    Posts
    75
    Have you tried caps on a empty cylinder to burn oil out and can you see the nipples are clear could be the problem not the caps

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Huntingdon
    Posts
    9,253
    Non-dead tac here.

    I have three sets of Butler Creek/Uncle Mikes stainless steel replacement ROA nipples, and two suitable wrenches.

    PM me for details if you are interested.

    Note that they ARE true replacements - hexagonal bolsters and all. I've been shooting mine for some ten years nw with no problems of any kind - CCI #11 caps, BTW.

    Here is a handy tint and hip, as I suspect that there are folks here who are trying to bolt down the nipples as though they are meant to hold down an airship in a hurricane.

    1. After cleaning them, just touch their threads to the edge of pot of Copperslip, or whatever you have over here like it.

    2. Turn the nipple into the threads and just hold the cylinder with a 'shaking hands with your bank manager' grip.

    3. When the cylinder starts to rotate - stop.

    4. That's enough torquing.

    tac

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Huntingdon
    Posts
    9,253
    Quote Originally Posted by kenj View Post
    Have you tried caps on a empty cylinder to burn oil out and can you see the nipples are clear could be the problem not the caps
    That is what you do before you ever start loading for a shooting session.

    tac

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Huntingdon
    Posts
    9,253
    Quote Originally Posted by davefitz66 View Post
    Who knew that a request for information would take that left hand turn! Anyway, to get back to my original question, when people say "fettling the nipples" what do they exactly mean? I am fairly certain that the hammer is still working as it should and that the nipples are the correct Ruger originals (they have the original nut type configuration, rather than the Colt type key. As an aside, does anyone else consider the Ruger nipple key that came with the Old Army the worst thing they make? I know I do. Talk about rounding them off!) So I really need to know what to do with the nipples to get this working again. I have bought a yoga mat and will be stamping out my own wads soon as per Steve's suggestion. Do you use any type of lube on those wads Steve? I am going to be doing some intensive testing bullet vs ball as soon as I sort the reliability issue out.
    I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
    Dave
    Yup. Don't be busting that hammer - there are positively no more.

    tac

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Huntingdon
    Posts
    9,253
    'kay, Gentlemen - ONE set of nipples left and TWO wrenches - get'em while you can.

    tac

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    West Lothian, Scotland
    Posts
    622

    Roa

    Nipples for me please.

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Huntingdon
    Posts
    9,253
    ...and that's all folks....

    tac

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Exeter
    Posts
    74
    Bit late to chip in but, You may find CCI are made from a thicker copper makig them a little tougher.
    The gap that prevents nipple damage does not help.
    The coil spring design seems a little less snappy than Remingtn or R & S.
    That and an oversize nipple should be enough to need a few hits before ignition.
    Batches vary too,getting good reliability is part of muzzle loading but is acheivable.

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Huntingdon
    Posts
    9,253
    CCI = Okay, but nothing special.

    Remington = more reliable for the reasons in the post above.

    RWS = Best of them all - buy ALL that you can.

    tac

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