Ruger Old Army vs Remington 1858

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Bruce, Glad no offence taken and certainly none intended.

As far as power goes, as CERTUS has explained in some detail our interest in switching/converting to smokeless stems mainly from the fact that most of the indoor ranges in the UK will not allow Black Powder but a conversion to smokeless allows us to shoot Black outdoors if we wish and smokeless indoors. What's not to like?

Power may be a factor in the US I appreciate, where you are able to use Handguns of all types and powers in a much wider context, but in the UK, for 25yd 'plinking' as it is referred to, the loads that have been promulgated here for both the ROA and the Remington .44, pretty much fill the bill.

I spent a very enjoyable day on a desert range outside Phoenix, shooting everything from a WW II MG 42, M 1, AR 15, Kalashnikov, Glock etc. a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Enjoy your freedom, here we have to make the best of what we have

Happy shooting/development

Steamjohn
 
Gentlemen, no harm done. It's easy to misunderstand somebody you don't know when you read a few lines on an internet forum, and I've been guilty of that myself. Steamjohn, I'm mostly English myself, although I was born in the Colonies, and I appreciate your service in the Royal Navy. As for the Ruger, I'm intrigued with the idea of smokeless powder in them, although in the back of my mind I doubt any real improvement over Triple 7 could ever be obtained safely. If one needs more power a cartridge handgun would be the order of the day. Or, a conversion to .50 caliber, which I currently have underway. I'll be sharing that project with the brotherhood when it's finished.

Hello Bruce,
I'm glad this little misunderstanding has been resolved with no hard feelings on either side. If there is one hard lesson we have learned here in the UK, it is to stick together no matter what we choose to shoot or risk the gradual erosion of the many branches of the sport we love to the point of near extinction.
Brian
 
@Certus I'm a new Ruger Old Army owner and was wondering what your ( and those who own both ) opionions are about the accuracy potential between a ROA and a Pietta 1858, both with adjustable target sights?
 
@Certus I'm a new Ruger Old Army owner and was wondering what your ( and those who own both ) opionions are about the accuracy potential between a ROA and a Pietta 1858, both with adjustable target sights?
Hi,
The Ruger Old Army represents a far more rugged and modern approach to muzzle loading revolvers, but as a result is much heavier and consequently harder to hold steady in a one handed, precision hold.
As adjustable sights are only permitted in a single, specifically related competition in the UK, I use the Ruger for informal target shooting with a two handed hold and the Uberti !858 Remington for more serious competition shooting.
When I was a bit younger and consequently a bit stronger, I also shot a Uberti Colt Dragoon one handed with some success and would liken the weight to that of a Ruger Old Army. Although I wouldn't describe myself as a purist, I prefer shooting the spirit of the original revolvers with fixed sights and at the 25yd range UK competitions are conducted at, I would always choose the Remington over the Ruger both for both their relative simplicity and accuracy for my particular requirements.
Regards
Brian
 
Following the UK ban on the ownership of breech-loading pistols and revolvers in 1997, the only such weapons we could legally own were muzzle-loading. There were and still are extremely strict laws regarding the purchase and storage of black powder which requires the separate issue of an Explosive Certificate separate from a Firearms Certificate to possess the guns themselves. This involves an additional inspection by the police authority during which security and storage facilities must meet stringent requirements. A specific storage box and separation distances are mandatory which is not the case with black powder. In addition to this, the use of black powder firearms is not permitted in many indoor clubs due to the cost of air extraction facilities being prohibitive. The cost of black powder and nitro powder in the UK are broadly similar, but black powder cannot be purchased without the authority of an Explosive Certificate.
Due to the above some shooters turned to so called long barreled breech loading pistols and revolvers which were legally allowed due to them having 12" barrels and a rod sticking out from the grip to make the overall length to classify them as rifles.
A few manufacturers in the UK offered nitro conversion revolvers based on standard muzzle loading replicas with the cylinders modified to use 209 shotgun primers as standard percussion caps are not hot enough to reliably ignite nitro powder. It was also necessary to have the gun reproofed which together with the cost of modification, doubles the cost of the purchase. However, this means the revolver looks and handles in the same way as the black powder model it is based on and can be used both indoors and outdoors. There is also no need for immediate cleaning after use and the cost is therefore justified from a long term ownership perspective.

I am fortunate enough to be able to shoot at both indoor ranges meaning that I can use my black powder revolvers outdoors and my nitro conversion revolvers indoors during the winter when the weather isn't always that brilliant.

Hope this answers your questions.

Brian
 

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