Converted Ruger old army

M

matty

Inactive
Hello everyone from across the pond.
Here is a few photos of my ROA converted to shoot Nitro smokeless powder and proofed for 3.5g of Alliant Bullseye...Nice, Accurate and best of all very clean. Living in surpressed rip off Britain only allows us muzzle loading revolvers, I would swap it for a Glock 17 any day :rolleyes:
 

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Very nice thanks for sharing

ok pic #1 is really cool

Pic #2 is kinda confusing

pic #3 is very confusing.

How do the rounds go off with out firing pins. That converter cover looks like a washer no signs of pins or anything. So ya im confused.
 
sundance44s said:
Looks somewhat like a Kirst type conversion cylinder ..are you useing 45 LC Cartridges ?
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Took the words right out of my mouth, sure looks like a Kirst doesn't it...

As far as preferring a Glock 17, to each his own I preferr my Colt M1911A1 .45ACP but would feel quite well armed with my Pietta 1858 New Army too.
 
The beauty of this system is that firing caps are not needed, The ignition is provided by the use of shotgun primers. The conversion was done by a guy called Richard Kershaw, First the bullet/ball is seated, Then the cylinder is turned upside down and the smokeless powder poured in, Then a shotgun primer is added to the 6 holes, Then the plate containing the firing pin is connected to the cylinder and then slotted back into the gun. Now i can do all this twice as fast as loading a conventional BP gun and it is bloody accurate too. It gives a shooting experience not unlike the .38 revolvers we were allowed to shoot before some cock decided to shoot 16 schoolkids and handguns were banned in the UK :mad:
 
Let's see if I can help a little.

The Kershaw cartridge is created by first milling a ring off the back of the percussion cylinder that leaves the center containing the ratchet teeth intact. The depth of the material removed is to just short of the chamber depth, so that the end of the chamber is left intact with the nipple hole remaining in place. The second picture shows the result, along with a new ring that goes in place of the removed material. This new ring contains a single firing pin, seen at the top.

Short tubes, made from gun barrels, are inserted into the front of the cylinder; their length is such that the ball rests against the end of the tube and is just short of the chamber mouth. The ball is now resting on a smaller diameter combustion chamber. The tubes can be seen in the picture below.

The balls are seated in the chamber first. Then the cylinder is turned over and smokeless powder is loaded into the tubes through the holes where the nipples used to be. Shotgun primers are then loaded into the nipple cavities (I'm not exactly sure how those cavities are modified, but it suffices to hold the primers).

Finally, the new ring is installed on the back of the cylinder. The ring is stationary with respect to the frame; they cylinder rotates within the ring, so that the firing pin in the ring lines up with the primer on the chamber that's in battery. The third picture is one of the ring installed on the back of the cylinder, or how the hammer would view the assembly.
 

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ok this sounds so cool. Almost want to get one just to mess with. Next question what keeps the back ring from not moving around in circles. I can see where this can help out in the UK where you cant have a cartridge type gun. I think the neatest gun would have 3 cylinders. 1 black powder, 1 R&D to fire cartridge, 1 kirst cylinder.

then you would be able to truely shoot anything
 
I'm not sure what holds the ring from rotating with the cylinder. I think the flat on the bottom of the ring rests on the recoil shield or perhaps the bottom of the frame. I can't tell for sure in the first photo above.
 
The cylinder is made from scratch so the good news is that i can fire black powder if i wanted to as i have the original ROA cylinder. When the end cap is matched up with the cylinder and loaded back into the revolver then the cap is captured leaving just the cylinder free to rotate which is why the single firing pin can engage the rest of the primer caps/chambers, Other than that then yes that was a fairly accurate description of how the gun works. It's novel, Clean and BRILLIANT fun and a genius piece of engineering. Check out this website as it will explain in a better manner than i can.
www.nitromuzzleloaders.co.uk
 
HEY MATTY WHATS UP.

Hey dude, first i feel for you, and i know cause i grew
up in the uk, and when it comes to guns that place
sucks:mad:. I lived in a place called rochdale in lancs,
and that place sucked to:D, so i loaded up my truck
and moved to wyoming, mountains that is:D, hey
fooling with ya, nice pics guy. Can you buy bp and if
so how much a can, and what typ of bp can you get,
lets have some info from ya guy. Shoot safe.
 
Mate you are really lucky moving to the USA, Mind you if i lived in Rochdale the i reckon i would be in Wyoming by now also :D How long have you lived in the States for now and how old were you when you moved? We can aquire any type of black powder Not sure on price but it's a pain to keep as you need special storage for it and also a licence to aquire and keep. I shoot smokeless so don't need a licence for that. Triple 7 is becoming popular over here as a substitute. What is it like being a shooter in the USA? Can you shoot just about anywhere there is space or do you have to go to a club. Our rules are so strict, We can't even unbox our guns on the firing point unless told to do so and holsters are a no no. :mad: In fact i will probably be selling up and just fishing now instead as it's too much hastle, The government clearly don't want us to own guns, Can i become a US citizen guys??
 
Hey bro.
Ok i have lived here in the good old usa for about
er let me see now,:rolleyes:,about 25 years now ,
and i live in mesa arizona, yep my wife and i go out
in the desert and shoot target, but only in the winter
time, its to dam hot in the summer time, so we BBQ
at the same time. We take out 44s 45s bp as well as
smokeles, i load my owen bullets just for targets so i
down load them, i allso have a conversion cylinder
for my 58 remmy, and last week i got me a new
smoker 36 cal 58 remmy ( i just love them there remmys):cool:
you need to get your self one they look so cool to,
If you look on show your revolvers you will see a
couple of mine out there:D. What state do you
live in, i might know of it:confused:. temp to day
is 90 but thats the desert for you, i better get
some more bullets going down range before it gets
to hot:eek:. I will take my new 36 out for its
seconed test run need to file the bore sight down
a tad, it shoots to low. OK shoot safe:D
 
There is a range date next friday so will post some photos then. Wish it was the 90's over here, It's pi***ng it down here and gale force winds and freezing cold.....Good old England :cool:
 
The government clearly don't want us to own guns, Can i become a US citizen guys??


Pretty much the same here in the US :(
 
Pretty much the same here in the US
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While I appreciate as much as anybody the fervor of the anti-gun politicians here in the US, you have no idea how very, very wrong that statement is. You need to walk a mile in his shoes before you make a statement like that. I have, and I am very thankful for what we have here in the US. I know first hand what it's like in the UK and other countries, and that experience brings home just why it is so very important to keep up our guard, and fight the Brady types with every ounce of energy available. It most certainly is NOT the same here in the US as it is in the UK, and we had better get over thinking that it is before it happens here.
 
While I appreciate as much as anybody the fervor of the anti-gun politicians here in the US, you have no idea how very, very wrong that statement is. You need to walk a mile in his shoes before you make a statement like that. I have, and I am very thankful for what we have here in the US. I know first hand what it's like in the UK and other countries, and that experience brings home just why it is so very important to keep up our guard, and fight the Brady types with every ounce of energy available. It most certainly is NOT the same here in the US as it is in the UK, and we had better get over thinking that it is before it happens here.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%
I have only been to Canada & Mexico on vacations but have never lived for any length of time in another country but I respect those that do live there where their rights are put aside for their country's thought of a better way.

I thank God that I live in a country that still has the right to keep & bear arms & I hope that it stays this way for well past my childrens generation.
 
Coming from the uk mysellf:eek:, i totally 100% agree
with mykeal statment, there is no question about it, if it
was left to them so called do gooders, we will be all
MURDERD :mad: in our beds while we sleep.
Its not a good thing to be complacernt:(
 
When the government took away our handguns it was supposedly for the good of the country and to reduce violent crime. The UK streets are now some of the most violent in Europe, Gun crime is at an all time high, Children as young as 11 have been caught supplying and carrying handguns but hey at least the law abiding shooting community can't have them, God only knows how many paper targets we would murder. It was a knee jerk reaction following on from Dunblane and the government had to be seen to be doing something about it, They needed a scapegoat fast. Yes Thomas Hamilton was a licenced firearms holder but did you know that his club had informed the police that they felt there was something not quite right about Hamilton and that he should have his licence and firearms revoked......The police ignored the club with terrible results, In fact Hamilton was granted a licence even though he had some mental history. Do you also know that we are the only country in Europe to have this draconian handgun ban, The other countries are trusted by their government to bear arms.
Keep your guard up my friends as you really don't want to end up in my position and never give up the fight as we ALL should have the right to own and shoot firearms in a safe and controlled manner. :)
 
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