RUGER OLD ARMY REVOLVER CAPS

gbrhino333

I BROUGHT A OLDER RUGER OLD ARMY THAT IN THE INSTRUCTIONS SAYS TO USE #11 CAPS. ON THE BLOGS RUGER OWNERS SAY THEY ARE USING #11 AND #10 MAGNUM CAPS. I TRIED THE #11 AND MOST OF THE TIME I HAVE TO HIT THEM TWICE WITH THE HAMMER. I PRESSED THEM ON THE NIPPLE WITH A WOODED DOWEL BUT THAT DON'T SEEM TO HELP MUCH. THE GUN IS MUCH MORE ACCURATE THAN I WOULD HAVE IMAGINE.

PA Shootist

Having gone through these problems with a couple different cap-and-ball revolvers, and one rifle, over the last year, I can offer what I have learned, some of it the hard, trial-and-error way, and I also have received good advice from others on this forum:

-Not all #11 caps are created equal! There is a significant variation between manufacturers in the dimensions for a snug fit. You might try a couple different brands, and sizes (10's and 11's) to find the ones that are "just right".

-If you are getting a misfire, you might check the nipples haven't been deformed from dry firing; that the cap is seating fully, and the hammer's energy isn't being wasted by having to drive the cap onto the nipple to seat it fully, and not enough energy is left over to fire it. IF the cap is too small inside diameter for your gun's nipples, it can be very difficult to push it to seat fully even with a push stick. The clue in your statement might be that the caps fire the second time; the first hammer blow seated them tightly onto the nipple.

-Too loose a cap is a problem also, as they might shake off from recoil (can't fire if they fell off!), and could possibly offer the chance for chain-fire across cylinders.

-There are premium-grade replacement nipples available, that are superior in the metals they are made of, in fit, finish, and design, one name mentioned is Treso.

festus

I use RWS #10 caps on mine. I have never had it to fail. I have tried remington brand but they seemed loose and i was afraid they would not stay on the nipple.

glabray

Try different brands and sizes of caps until you find the one that works. The cap MUST fit the nipple tight enough so that they stay in place but must go all the way onto the nipple so that the priming compound is in contact with the end of the nipple. You will probably find that the best fitting cap on a clean nipple is too tight after the gun has been fired several times and the nipple is dirty. Use a toothbrush to remove fouling from the nipples before loading.

tbrennan

I have shot cap and ball in fun shoots at the range, regular matches with my group of shooters and also have been a shooter with the N-SSA and have always used #11 caps from CCI or Remington with great success. The tip I wish to leave with you is that before putting the cap on the nipple give it a slight squeeze between your thumb and index finger nails to make the cap very slightly oval. This will make a loose cap stay as well as a snug cap. Never had one fail yet.

03lover

Something else to look for. Are your fired caps being split or broken into a couple of pieces? They should be. I have had experience with three Ruger Old Army revolvers. Two of the three, one mine and one owned by a friend had problems with misfires. The caps didn't appear to be struck hard enough by the hammer nose.

I checked my Ruger Old Army blued model and measured the length of the hammer nose from the ledge that is suppose to contact the frame when the hammer is in the fired position, intended to prevent the hammer nose from making firm contact with the nipple. This is intended to prevent damage to the nipple. My blued model never gives me any ignition problems with any #11 cap and always splits the cap indicating good contact.

My stainless steel model and my friends stainless steel model both had ignition problems. I found it had nothing to do with the type of caps we tried. The problem in both was being caused by the length of the hammer nose from that ledge, one both sides of the hammer to the nose tip was too short. Another tell tail sign was neither of the two stainless steel models would split the fired caps. The caps always remained intact.

The fix was to remove enough metal from the ledge on both sides of the hammer, so the length of the hammer nose matched that of my blued model. Problem fixed and the nipples are not being damaged by the hammer hitting them.

This is also an area to watch closely as the gun starts to get dirty from firing. As fouling can and does collect on the frame and hammer, the build up of fouling will start to cause misfires by preventing the hammer from going far enough forward during the firing cycle.

Please note, The Ruger Old Army is the only black powder cap & ball revolver I know of that uses this feature to prevent nipple damage and is said to be safe to dry fire.

rgabbard1

I use #11 CCI and have never had a misfire. I love this weapon so much, even better and more accurate than my Model 29 .44 Magnum,(The Dirty Harry Gun).

glabray

In my cap & ball days, I used to carry two different size/brands of caps. One that fit snugly when the gun was clean, and another that fit snugly after a few firings.