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Since 1972, Sturm,
Ruger, & Co. has been producing what has become known as
the finest percussion revolver ever made: The Old Army.
Taking many
styling details from the old Remington cap and ball
sixguns, Ruger totally modernized the design with better
materials and manufacturing techniques into a strong, accurate,
and reliable percussion sixgun. Ruger combined their wonderful
three-screw revolver action with a cap and ball cylinder to
create a modern percussion sixgun that is still manufactured
today.
Interestingly,
when Ruger changed their single action revolver design to the
New Model lockwork in 1973, they left the Old Army with the
original three-screw lockwork that many sixgunners prefer. The
Old Army has notches between each chamber of the cylinder to
allow for safely resting the hammer out of contact with the
percussion caps.
After thirty years
of production, the Old Army has become the cap and ball sixgun
to beat at Cowboy Action Shooting events, and is tops in both
accuracy and reliability. The original Old Army revolvers were
made of blue steel and wore Ruger’s excellent adjustable rear
sight. In 1975 Ruger began offering the Old Army in stainless
steel, and in 1994 they introduced the sixgun with their Vaquero
style fixed sights, in both blued steel and stainless.
In its various
model configurations, the Old Army had only been produced with a
7-½ inch barrel length, until now. Ruger has just introduced
the Old Army with a shorter, handier, 5-½ inch barrel; which is
the subject of this article.
The gun received
here for testing is the stainless version with fixed sights and
simulated ivory grip panels. Ruger’s fixed sight stainless
single action revolvers are finished in a mirror-bright style
that resembles a fine nickel finish for an authentic nineteenth
century look, but with all of the advantages of modern stainless
steel. With the Old Army, the bright stainless finish cleans up
much easier than the satin stainless finish of the adjustable
sight model, which is a real advantage after a day of shooting
black powder or Pyrodex.
While I have
always liked the Old Army revolvers, the fixed sight versions
just seem to look better to me, and the test gun pictured here
with the fixed sights and stainless finish is indeed one great
looking sixgun. The balance and handling qualities of the 5-½
inch barreled Old Army are excellent. It carries well on the hip
and clears leather quickly, with the hammer falling naturally
under the thumb for repeat shots, and the trigger pull on the
test gun released at a comfortable four and one-half pounds.
Gathering the
necessary materials for shooting a cap and ball sixgun, I
carried the new Old Army to the shooting bench to see how she
performed. In the past, I have had problems finding the proper
size percussion caps to fit the nipples on an Old Army revolver.
Number 10 caps were a bit too small, and would not properly seat
on the nipple, resulting in an occasional misfire. Number 11
caps were a bit too large on some earlier Old Armies, having to
be slightly pinched before placing on the nipple, to assure that
the cap did not fall off. Evidently, Ruger has addressed this
problem, as number 11 caps fit precisely on the nipples of this
Old Army, resulting in positive ignition with caps that stayed
in place until fired.
The Old Army was
fired using Goex black powder, Clean Shot,
and Pyrodex, and with cast round balls and Hornady
swaged round balls, each of .457 inch diameter. The .457
balls were a perfect fit in the chambers, leaving just a slight
ring of shaved lead upon the seating of the ball over the
powder. Between the powder and ball, I used an Ox Yoke Wonder
Wad for lubrication and sealing of the chamber. No other
lubricant or grease was used to seal the chambers. The Ox Yoke
wads worked perfectly without the usual mess associated with a
greasy over-the-bullet lube. Velocities from the 5-½ inch
barrel were slightly over 800 feet per second with a full
charge of either black powder or Pyrodex. The Old Army shot to
point of aim at 25 yards, with a well-centered group which
averaged just under four inches for five shots. The sixgun
functioned flawlessly throughout the testing, without any
indication of a hang fire. The percussion caps split and fell
off just as they should, and fouling proved to be no problem for
proper functioning. As with any cap and ball sixgun, soap and
hot water cleaning is needed, but was an easy five-minute job
thanks to the easy disassembly and smooth stainless finish of
the Old Army.
For Cowboy Action
Shooters, I believe that the 5-½ inch Old Army should prove to
be very popular. It is a gun that has an enormous fun-factor,
with the look and feel of the Old West.
Check out the full line of Ruger products
here.
The new 5-½ inch
Old Army is a useful addition to Ruger's fine line of cap and
ball sixguns.
Jeff Quinn
  
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Click pictures for a larger version.

Ruger's Old Army cap-and-ball sixguns are widely
regarded as the finest ever made. Their latest version is this
brightly-polished stainless steel 5-1/2" model.

The Old Army is supplied with Ruger's standard plastic
box, cable lock, and a nipple wrench.

The new Old Army is one fine-looking sixgun, with
ivory-colored grip panels and a brightly-polished stainless
steel reminiscent of the nickel-plated revolvers of the 19th
century.

With percussion caps, lead balls, wads and powder
measure, the Old Army is ready for a fun day at the range.

.457" round balls were a perfect fit for the Old
Army, as were standard #11 percussion caps. The gun performed
flawlessly during testing, with no hang fires or failures of
any kind.

Author fires the Old Army as brother Greg looks
on. Jeff has long been an admirer of Ruger's Old Army
revolvers, and this latest version is the best yet!
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