Ruger old Army Bullets

C

c.robertson

New member
Now casting bullets from a Lee mold for the Ruger Old Army. Will/are these better (more accurate) than round balls in that revolver? I measured one by placing it in one of the chambers and it seemed to fit with no swaging up to the grease groove and then stop. In measuring the bullet it seems to be like Big John the coal miner, narrow at the hips (base) and broader at the shoulders (front). Are they? Or is it that I cannot use a caliber correctly.

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
That's the way they are designed so they start straight. You will probably find that round balls give better accuracy at close range and the conical will do better at long range.
 
Thanks Junkman.
Yeah, I forgot to say 220gr Conical bullet.

The Ruger OA is a new in yellow box high polish with fake ivory grips. Almost a crime to dirty it up. LOL (but I will)
 
I've found the round balls to be more accurate with lighter loads. Its something you will just have to play/experiment with.
 
Might be round balls more accurate but the bullets are just fine.
I used the hollow point mould because it would drop the bullets out easier. I don't believe the hollow expand more. Casting ease was the only reason I used it.
 
The Lee REAL bullet was never intended for use in revolvers. Only recently have folks been using it.
It has been used in single-shot pistols for many years, but not revolvers. Lacking a heel to get it started in the chamber, I wonder how well the REAL bullet works.
The Lee bullet designed for the revolver has a heel. That is, a reduced-diameter base that allows it to slip into the chamber mouth with ease. The bearing bands forward of the heel are progressively larger from rear to front, to aid seating it straight.
I've used the Lee bullet in my Uberti-made Remington .44 and it's been very accurate. Here are the particulars from shooting it at 20 yards, from a benchrest:

Goex FFFG – 26.4 grains from flask spout
Lee 200 gr. conical, cast of soft lead
Lubricated with Gatofeo No. 1 lube
Remington No. 11 cap, pinched
No wad beneath bullet
Group – 1-1/2 inches vertical, ¾ inch horizontal
All shots in black, about 1 inch to the right of aim

Round balls do equally well and, with my revolver, hit directly above the aligned front and rear sights. Because I'm only interested in putting holes in paper and tin cans, I don't use the conical bullets much.
 
That last one looks like a Lee bp conical. Its tapered and loads really easily.

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I had Clements deepen the cylinders so your mileage may vary. I also use BigLube 210gr bullets. I have found those to work really well, I prefer RWS 1075+ caps.

I also tried something that really throws things into a tizzy. I bought a jig that I use on my drill press that I can make hollow points. They work really well but due to the slowness of the operation and the variation that any hand operation causes. The weights varied a little too much if I tried to speed up. However, they were silly accurate when I hand picked them.

I may have found an answer. I shipped my BigLube 6 cavity mold off to have three cavities made to into hollow points.

But right now, my favorite triple is 7, RWS 1075's, HP BigLube's.

Also.....I always load using a hand loader....not the gun lever. I think it lets me put more consistent pressure on the load stack.

Oh, and my ROA is not stock.
 
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