The Ruger Old Army is a
black-powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
revolver introduced in 1972 by the
Sturm, Ruger
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and Pres ...
company and manufactured through 2008. Models were made with a 7.5" and a 5.5 inch barrel.
Design
The Ruger Old Army revolver is unusual in that, unlike most percussion revolvers on the market, it was not based on a historical design, but was a modification of Ruger's
Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to:
Animals
* Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856
* Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus''
* Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii''
* Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urub ...
model, which was itself based upon the cartridge-firing
Colt Peacemaker
The Colt Single Action Army (also known as the SAA, Model P, Peacemaker, or M1873) is a single-action revolver handgun. It was designed in 1872 for the U.S. government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Compa ...
.
The Old Army revolver accordingly incorporates many modern design features, though employing antiquated black-powder component loading.
This design was built around the Blackhawk, but it takes its styling cues from the
Spiller and Burr cap and ball pistol. This is due to the frame being longer in front to accommodate the loading lever and pivot pin. Earlier models listed as .44 caliber, later as .45, but all use a .457” round balls or .454” conical bullets of pure lead.
Unlike the Blackhawk, the Old Army did not make use of Ruger's
transfer bar safety
Close-up shot of a safety of an M16A2 rifle
In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling.
Safeties can generally be divided into subtypes su ...
; instead the revolver relied upon a series of safety notches between each chamber on the cylinder like some models of the remington/colt or other black powder revolvers of the mid-19th century had.
The revolver was tested by loading each chamber to capacity with Bullseye
smokeless powder
Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared to ...
and a lead ball. While this might result in catastrophic failure in other firearms, the Old Army proved to be strong enough to handle the pressure.
Variants
The Old Army was made in blued steel and stainless steel. Originally fitted with adjustable sights, fixed-sight models were first offered in 1994. A 5-½ inch barrel was introduced in 2002. Some versions were sold with polymer ivory grips.
References
{{Ruger
Ruger revolvers
Black-powder pistols
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1972