Spare/extra cylinder for Ruger Old Army...

[Mad Mucus]

G'day,

I'd like another new blue 7.5" fixed sight ROA to make a pair... at the moment budget and availability won't allow, so I'm thinking the mext best thing would be to get a second cylinder. That way I can load both cylinders on my loading stand and just exchange them on the firing line giving me 10-12 plinking shots, nearly as good as two pistols for now.

There are several new SS ones kicking around down here in Oz... are they interchangeable straight up, or would they need fitting? What would be involved?

Thanks,

Mucus

[Quincy1]

I got one a few (2) years agp and had to send gun to RUGER. Price was about
$110.00 + - fitted And I paid UPS both ways. This was almost as much as I paid for the gun but I bought it in 1977. $125.00 in them good old days.

I was told Ruger would not sell just this part cuz it has to be fitted unlike the Colt open tops or RENINGTON NEW ARMY.

i sent mine in W/O cylinder  and told them I lost origional one but I dont think they cared. They were very insistant that they install it. Works like a champ and I am pleased as punch with the whole deal.
Quincy1

[Mad Mucus]

Quincy1,
Good to know that a spare/extra cylinder can work well with correct fitment.

The reason I'd like to know what's involved in fitting a new cylinder(AUS$180 del),the proceedure... returning a gun to Ruger for an installation or warranty work is not a viable option for an Aussie. Handing the gun over to our Ruger distributor would just put it into the hands of a local gunsmith(more likely a gun enthusiast shopworker) to play with making the purchase of another pistol a  better cost option.

Thanks,

Mucus

[Quincy1]

Well, it apears to me, and I am not a machinist, that the front of cylinder would need to be machined to get the proper  fit  in relation to barrel. I speak of the area where the base pin comes out of cylinder. Problem being they won't sell the thing without doing this work for you. Ruger is VERY careful about mods done to thier guns.
I have a Ruger Bisley that I had a light main spring put in localy and when I sent that gun back for some front sight work it came back with all stock parts reinstaled to make the trigger pull like it was new.  They did not charge me for this but did the change back without my ok !

Still, all in all, the Old Army is one great precussion gun. Even after 30 years use!

Quincy1

[Mad Mucus]

..... Problem being they won't sell the thing without doing this work for you. Ruger is VERY careful about mods done to thier guns.

Mate, down here we can buy cylinders over the gunshop counter if they're available. We have to do our own fitting or pay someone else.

Mucus

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Generally speaking, cylinders need to be fitted to the gun. You may get lucky, and find one that drops right into an existing gun, but if you do, it is just a coincidence. That is why Ruger does not sell cylinders, they want to make sure it fits the gun.

Because of manufacturing tolderances, not all guns are the same. One gun may have the barrel screwed slightly farther into the frame than another. When a cylinder is fitted to a gun at the factory, the length of the cylinder may need to be trimmed to allow the proper amount of barrel/cylinder gap. Then, generally the hand is fitted to the cylinder. This means a slightly long hammer may be trimmed slightly to length to fit the existing cylinder. But if a second cylinder is aquired, it may or may not fit the existing 'window' in the frame. If the existing cylinder was trimmed to length, the new one may be too short or too long. If too short, the entire barrel may need to be turned in one thread and then both cylinders and the barrel may need trimming to fit into the space with the proper gap. Then there is the question of the hand. The original one may or may not fit the new cylinder. If not, one cylinder may need to have the ratchet teeth at the rear adjusted slightly to match the other cylinder, so that a common hand can be fitted. It can get very complicated. That's why Ruger does not sell cylinders. This is not stuff for the average kitchen table gunsmith to be messing with.

Again, you may get lucky, and another cylinder may drop right in, but there is a very good chance it won't.

[Pettifogger]

Rugers are mass produced and they don't do much, if any hand, fitting.  I have swapped a lot of Ruger cylinders and only a couple needed fitting.  There's a whole conversion cylinder cottage industry and if they all required hand fitting they wouldn't be selling many.  If you can get an extra cylinder, buy it and see if it fits.  If Ruger would sell extra cylinders I would have a pair for my ROAs.  As it is I did manage to find one and it drops right in both of my guns.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy Again

Yes, Rugers are mass produced, but there are some aspects that do need fitting. If you can interchange cylinders successfully back and forth between different guns, you got lucky. I have a whole passel of Rugers, and I cannot interchange cylinders between them. They do not fit properly. One gun won't even allow a different cylinder in at all because it won't fit by the barrel.

I stand by my remarks about manufacturing tolerances. The reason conversion cylinders can usually drop into any gun is because the conversion cylinder manufacturers tolerance their cylinders much more tightly than the OEM gun manufactrurers do. Extremely tight tolerancing on the cylinders allows them to in part make up for the variations from revolver to revolver. Tight tolerancing is part of the reason conversion cylinders are so expensive. Even so, R&D and Kirst do not guarantee their cylinders will just 'drop in' to any gun without fitting. Occaisionally you will run into a gun that simply will not accept the conversion cylinders. I had to send an old EuroArms Remmie to Taylors to have an R&D cylinder custom fitted to it. The stock cylinder did not index properly. They custom fit a new cylinder to the gun, without altering the gun at all. Basically, they have tooling which will cut the locking notches into an unfinished cylinder to perfectly match your gun. In addition, they trimmed the face of the cylinder so it fit into my gun with the proper barrel/cylinder gap. In this way, my cylinder was fitted to the gun, without altering the hand or the rear face of the barrel, so the original percussion cylinder would still pop back in and fit correctly.

[Pettifogger]

He said he is from Australia and that sending the gun to Ruger isn't an option.  He also said there are some cylinders available down there.  My suggestion was that he buy it.  I have had very good luck with ROA cylinders fitting different guns.  If he buys it and there is a fitment problem, I am sure he can deal with it.  He is from Australia and they are very resourceful down there.  Fitting an ROA cylinder isn't rocket science.