Rudger's old army

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2004 by John Taffin

The percussion revolver era lasted basically from the advent of the first successful revolver, Sam Colt's 1836 Paterson, to the Colt 1861 Navy and late model Remingtons. Legendary sixguns such as the Colt Walker, Dragoon. 1851 Navy and 1860 Army; the .36 and .44 Remingtons; and even such oddities as the LeMat, which added a shotgun barrel to the equation, were used b3 gunfighters, cowboys, lawmen, soldiers, anyone who had need for a powerful sixgun.

Although many of these would continue in use throughout the 19th-century, the era basically ended with the coming of the S&W .44 American in 1869 and the Colt Single Action Army in 1873

Firearms were relatively expensive, even more so than now, so there was no wholesale turn ill of cap and ball revolvers when the first metallic cartridge-firing sixguns arrived. Many percussion revolvers were converted to cartridge use both by the firearms manufacturers and local gun smiths, and most remaining examples show mush use. Some conversions were very versatile sixguns as one had the choice of reverting back to cap and ball use if metallic cartridges were in short supply.

Being able to spend the day shooting hundreds of rounds and then reloading the brass in the evening is a later 20th century phenomenon. In the previous century ammunition was very expensive and used sparingly. A Winchester catalog from the 1870s priced 1.000 rounds of .22 rimfire ammunition at $8. Today 1,000 rounds of .22 Long Rifle will run around $16 if one shops carefully.

To put this in perspective, in the 1870s one had to work more than a week to buy what now costs less than all hour's labor. You can bet the 1,000 rounds from the 1870s was not shot up in an afternoon, but rather was used sparingly for many years. For the careful shooter 1,000 rounds meant somewhere close to 1,000 rabbits, squirrels, etc for the supper table.

Frontloaders Today

The percussion era may have ended in the 1870s, how ever today there are probably more cap and ball revolvers in use than there were in the 19tb-century. Their shooting was mainly serious; ours is mainly for sport and enjoyment. Thanks to some forward thinking individuals such as the late Val Forgett of Navy Arms we now have replicas of most 19th-century percussion revolvers at our disposal.

Bill Ruger was also a black powder enthusiast and his appreciation of the Remington pocket revolver can be seen in the little .22 Bearcat. When it was decided Ruger would offer shooters a percussion revolver, looking back to the past for inspiration would be fine, however, it would have to be a thoroughly modern revolver. Inspired? Yes. A copy? No. What Ruger did come up with was not a replica of any 19th-century revolver; but rather a completely new design.

Bill Ruger wanted any cap and ball revolver that bore his name to be as strong as the Super Blackhawk and at least as accurate. He had no intention of building anything except a "top strap" revolver such as the Remington rather than the much weaker open-topped Colt style. Harry Sefried was the head of the project to come up with Ruger's 20th-century version of the 19th-century percussion revolver and they certainly did just that.

Based on the three-screw Rugers that were being produced at the time, the Old Army, as it would be known used the same basic action and grip frame. Unlike the 19th century revolvers. Ruger's version would have all coil springs--mainspring, hand spring, and bolt spring--as found on all Ruger single actions since that first .22 Single-Six relived in 1953.

The loading lever, rammer, and base pin of the Old Army are linked together and held in place by one large screw that is easily locked or unlocked by using a coin such as a penny. It exerts the best leverage in seating the ball over the powder of any percussion revolver ever produced. The Old Army also has an excellent locking latch under the barrel to secure the loading lever. I have never had the loading lever come loose under recoil in shooting any Old Army.

The Old Army was first produced in 1972 and until very recently was only available as a 7 1/2-inch blued or stainless steel version with adjustable sights, It is very popular not only for general shooting but is also a proven winner at the firing line in black powder matches.

One Tough Gun

I purchased one of the very early stainless steel Old Army revolvers as that finish makes cleanup after shooting black powder or a black powder substitute so much easier. That original revolver has been in use for over three decades now and is just as good as ever. The nipples have had to be replaced several times but it still performs better than I can.

I made a swap very early between my Mag-Na-Port Custom three-screw Super Blackhawk and the Old Army. The Super Blackhawk grip frame was larger than I needed on this smallish .44 Magnum, so I simply swapped grip frames and triggers with the Old Army. The handling qualities of both revolvers were greatly enhanced.

This is one percussion revolver that can be carried safely with six rounds as there are safety recesses between each chamber for resting the hammer. They should always be used unless the hammer is resting upon an empty chamber. Stainless steel nipples are set deeply into the cylinder to help prevent fragments of fired caps falling into the mechanism or behind the cylinder thus causing a jam. This has never occurred with any Old Army revolver I have used.