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Author Topic: Ruger Old Army for deer?  (Read 2161 times)

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Offline Jeff Vicars

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Ruger Old Army for deer?
« on: March 11, 2003, 05:29:55 AM »
I just chronographed some loads with 3f 777. Using 40 gr. by volume and a 211 gr. bullet produced 1140 fps. 44 gr.(33.8 gr. by weight) with the same bullet gave 1165 fps. IMHO this is more than enough horsepower to kill deer cleanly. Those of you that hunt with short barreled 357, 41, 44, and 45 Colt revolvers chronograph the loads you a using and compare.
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Offline J.Solo

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Ruger Old Army for deer?
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2003, 05:29:01 PM »
Jeff:

What 211 grain bullet are you using and where can I get some?

I just weighed some Hornady .457" round balls and they only weigh 145 grains. I'm not sure a 145 grain bullet would be enough for deer. I have hunted deer for over 10 years with a Freedom Arms .454 Casull and would now like to take a deer with My Ruger Old Army. I also picked up a Rem. 700 Stainless BP .50 cal. rifle to go along with the Old Army. Naturally I would have to keep my pistol shots to about 35-40 yards with Black Powder.
Thanks for the information in advance.

J.Solo
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Offline Mike C

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mould
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2003, 01:14:20 AM »
Lee makes a conical bullet mould just for the old army but it is a sort of round nose.  I have an old semi wad cutter mould that throws a pure lead bullet at just about .455 which is perfect in the old army.  I need to try some 777 in mine!

Mike C
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Offline Jeff Vicars

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Ruger Old Army for deer?
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2003, 04:31:21 AM »
The bullets I used are from the Lee mould. Mike C. what is the weight of your bullets?
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Offline Buster

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Ruger Old Army for deer?
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2003, 02:49:44 PM »
this sounds fun but unfortunately all BP pistols are illegal in my state (NC) for hunting.  I think even small game but I know they are for deer.
Seems like the state Wildlife folks have not chronoed the Old Army/777/211 :eek:

I'll have to look in the regs to make sure I can carry my .36 Rem for a finishing gun.  May not be able to do that!  :cry:
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Offline Gregory

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Ruger Old Army for deer?
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2003, 11:44:20 AM »
Jeff
You load calculates to just over 600 ft-lbs. of muzzle energy per my "Load from a Disk" program.  Should be plenty for deer at moderate ranges.
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Offline Jeff Vicars

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Ruger Old Army for deer?
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2003, 04:05:36 AM »
I agree, I'm going to try it out this Fall. I put a 30mm 1X Tasco scope, and Hogue grips on my Old Army. It should work well.
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Offline Bug

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Alternative Solution
« Reply #7 on: June 05, 2003, 02:07:59 AM »
Hey, guys. Not to throw too big a wrench in the works, but something you may not have thought of... Try using jacketed hollow points for the .45ACP! It will depend a lot on your chamber throat diameters, but this is a trick I read years ago in some gun rag. I was impressed with the results they reported, so I just HAD to try it. And it worked! If memory serves, the best bullet I found was a Sierra(?) 200gr .4515. At the time, I also had a T/C Cherokee in .45. I would glue those plastic wads (the flat-ended ones for a minnie) on the base of the bullet, for fumble free loading. Had a ball with those, but finally got it out of my system,,,,,,Bug.
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Offline osceola

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Ruger Old Army for deer?
« Reply #8 on: June 05, 2003, 08:14:18 AM »
The ROA will not hold a .4515 or .452 pill consistantly.  They will slide forward under slight motion and they don't group well from my experience.  LEE makes a Hollow Point single cavity mould in 200 gr that works great:LEE-90493.  35gr of 777 3f w/ a wonder wad will Crony at 980 fps with a standard deviation of 20 fps and make a 2 inch group at 25 yds---I hold shots to under 40 yds, the energy is there and they pass cleanly through.  Be Safe.
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Offline Ed Harris

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« Reply #9 on: December 18, 2003, 06:52:39 AM »
I've had very good results with the Lee 250-gr. REAL bullet in my Old Army using 30 grs. of Pyrodex P with an Ox Yoke Wonder wad.  This requires heavy compression to seat the bullet, but shoots very well.  If you use the Pyrodex pellets you don't have room for the wad.  Velocity is about 900 f.p.s. and I get 2" groups at 25 yards.

This load does require a higher front sight than the factory one.  I welded mine up .12 higher than the original and filed it in to zero with my heavy 250-gr. hunting load at 50 yards with the sight bottomed out.  That enables me to crank the sight up to zero at 25 yards for roundballs without running out of elevation or making the rear sight loose.
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Offline Black Jaque Janaviac

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Ruger Old Army for deer?
« Reply #10 on: December 18, 2003, 11:59:02 AM »
Tell me about it, Wisconsin always puts in some dad-burned "commercially available cartridge" language that makes bp pistols illegal for deer.   Even though my .54 Plains Pistol can throw a 225 grain ball over 1100 fps!
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Offline Lloyd Smale

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Ruger Old Army for deer?
« Reply #11 on: December 18, 2003, 12:17:30 PM »
ive got a project going on right now. After talking to dave clemments about his new 5 shot .50 cal project he told me that for a cheaper route he could lengthen the chambers of the existing cyl he said theres pleanty of meat there and that he could get 40+ grains of 777 with the lee bullet. My cyl is on its way back right now and I have Dan at mountain molds cutting me a mold with one cavity a 240wfn and one a 240swc both with two lube groves and no crimp grove as casted out of pure at .457 should be an interesting project. Ps if your interested Dave only charges $50 for the chamber work
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