Aftermarket Nipples and Spring for Ruger Old Army?

[Jack Crevalle]

Does anyone make after market nipples for the Ruger Old Army?

What about a stronger hammer spring?

I seem to get all kinds of FTFs and I've tried 3 different types of caps.

Thanks.
 

[mykeal]

Nipples: Treso part number 11-50-12, available at Track of the Wolf (under their part number PRA-A) or Jedediah Starr or The Possible Shop (they use part number 12-50-12).
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(fe4xn2fa43l5n555e4ly2f45))/categories/tableList.aspx?catId=14&subId=171&styleId=785&PageSize=25&Page=1
http://www.jedediah-starr.com/tresoaccessories11.pdf
http://www.possibleshop.com/nipples.htm

Treso's ROA nipples intentionally do not have the hex shoulder, so a regular nipple wrench can be used.

I don't know of anyone making a stronger mainspring for the ROA. Call Ruger and ask them.

This FTF - is it the cap that's failing to fire or the powder charge?

[Jack Crevalle]

Nipples: Treso part number 11-50-12, available at Track of the Wolf (under their part number PRA-A) or Jedediah Starr or The Possible Shop (they use part number 12-50-12).
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(fe4xn2fa43l5n555e4ly2f45))/categories/tableList.aspx?catId=14&subId=171&styleId=785&PageSize=25&Page=1
http://www.jedediah-starr.com/tresoaccessories11.pdf
http://www.possibleshop.com/nipples.htm

Treso's ROA nipples intentionally do not have the hex shoulder, so a regular nipple wrench can be used.

Which do you use/recommend? The Ampco or Track of the Wolf's SS nipples?

This FTF - is it the cap that's failing to fire or the powder charge?

The caps. I had one powder charge not go off (out of 30 shots) but I remedied that pretty easily with a nipple pick. The others I'd have one or two (mostly two) caps fail to go bang on the first go round.

I was seating them first with the capper and then pressing on each one with a flat side of the capper (steel) to make sure each was seated completely.

Thanks.


Thanks.

[mykeal]

Which do you use/recommend? The Ampco or Track of the Wolf's SS nipples?

Ampco.

The caps. I had one powder charge not go off (out of 30 shots) but I remedied that pretty easily with a nipple pick. The others I'd have one or two (mostly two) caps fail to go bang on the first go round.

I was seating them first with the capper and then pressing on each one with a flat side of the capper (steel) to make sure each was seated completely.

The tops of the nipples could be mushroomed from wear or dry firing. In that case the caps might still not fit down far enough - they would need to be deformed, actually reshaped to fit all the way down. If the caps have fired reliably in the past and this is a recent problem, that's likely the reason. You can usually tell by sliding a fingernail up the side of the nipple - if it catches on a small lip at the top, the nipple is mushroomed and caps will not work reliably. This lip is often too small to see easily, so the 'fingernail check' is the best way to tell.

[osceola]

According to Ruger, on a ROA the hammer never actually hits the nipple during dry fire.

[mykeal]

According to Ruger, on a ROA the hammer never actually hits the nipple during dry fire.

...if it's an OEM nipple. If it isn't, well, all bets are off.

[msmith]

I had this same problem with a brand new OA. Out of the box, it would only fire caps about 50% of the time. It only got worse and after about 3 or 4 cylinders it would only fire about 25% of the time. Ruger sent me some new nipples that did not help. Not wanting to have my gun tied up at Ruger for who knows how long to MAYBE get it fixed, I sent it to Dave Clements (Clements Custom Guns). I thought my mainspring seemed week, but according to him it was fine. He did, however, find that my hammer was too thick and left no clearance for dirt or debris. He relieved it 6 thousandths, to allow it to work with a little dirt, and relieved it to strike closer to the nipples. The latter, I believe was due to the fact that the cylinder was setting a hair futher forward than normal. The reason I think this is because I also sent a friend's cylider with my gun to have the chambers deepened. He tried both cylinders in my gun and his set back further than mine. Go figger. Anyway, he tested it with a couple dozen caps and it should be good to go. I'm hoping to get it back this week so that I can work up some conical loads for deer season.

[Jack Crevalle]

msmith,
           I'd be very interested in knowing how it does when you get it back.

I was using some German(?) caps a friend recommended at a shoot, made sure they were all seated and only had one FTF in 18 shots.

I bought the Ampco nipples recommended here but didn't have time to try them before the shoot.