The Ruger Old Army is a black-powder percussion revolver introduced in 1972 by the Sturm, Ruger company and manufactured through 2008. Models were made with a 7.5" and a 5.5 inch barrel. 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 model, which was itself based upon the cartridge-firing Colt Peacemaker. 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;
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
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.
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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.
The barrel and cylinders were originally listed as being bored for
.44 caliber and later .45 caliber rounds. Yet all Old Army revolvers use
either:
- .457" Ball
- .454" Conical Bullets
All projectiles are made from pure lead. The Old Army was intended to
use either FFFG, Pyrodex P, or Triple Seven FFFG powder, and never to
use smokeless powder.
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Before 1972, all of Ruger's revolvers used a conventional unblocked direct-strike hammer mechanism, standard to the Colt Single Action Army and other single-action cartridge revolvers that Ruger modeled their Blackhawk after. This traditional configuration required the operator to carry the weapon with one chamber empty, and the hammer down on the empty chamber. This meant that the hammer had to be fully retracted to its armed locking position before a loaded chamber would be moved into firing position. The technique was widely accepted, endorsed by the gun industry and shooters alike. Despite this, a few injuries were attributed to Ruger revolvers being carried with all six chambers loaded. The subsequent litigation pressed Ruger into modifying the firing mechanism on all of their single-action cartridge revolvers to prevent accidental discharge from a partial hammer retraction.
Although Ruger continues to have their old three-screw cartridge revolvers on product recall with an offer of free safety 'upgrades', the Old Army retained the highly esteemed three-screw mechanism throughout its entire production lifespan. The transfer bar system is unnecessary, because the Old Army makes use of Remington's innovative notched cylinder concept, with deep safety recesses milled between each nipple, in which the hammer can safely rest. This innovation was not an original component of the 1858 patent, but was added in 1862 at the request of the U.S. Ordinance Department.
Although Ruger continues to have their old three-screw cartridge revolvers on product recall with an offer of free safety 'upgrades', the Old Army retained the highly esteemed three-screw mechanism throughout its entire production lifespan. The transfer bar system is unnecessary, because the Old Army makes use of Remington's innovative notched cylinder concept, with deep safety recesses milled between each nipple, in which the hammer can safely rest. This innovation was not an original component of the 1858 patent, but was added in 1862 at the request of the U.S. Ordinance Department.
Ruger released nine known major variants of the Old Army, all of which are now discontinued:
BP-7 (1972): Blued, 7.5" barrel, adj. sights, wood grips.
BP-7-B (1972): Like BP-7 but with brass grip frame and squared trigger guard; beware modified BP-7's with aftermarket grip frames.
KBP-7 (1976): Stainless, 7.5" barrel, adj. sights, wood grips.
BP-7F (1995): Blued, 7.5" barrel, fixed sights, wood grips.
KBP-7F (1995): Stainless, 7.5" barrel, fixed sights, wood grips.
BP-5 (????): Blued, 5.5" barrel, wood grips.
BP-5F (2002): Blued, 5.5" barrel, fixed sights, wood grips.
KBP-5 (????): Stainless, 5.5" barrel, adj. sights, wood grips.
KBP-5F-I (2002): Stainless, 5.5" barrel, fixed sights, ivory grips.
Other production variations include a '200th Year' USA bicentennial KBP-7 with scroll engraving and carved grip panels, and a change in 1985 from aluminum to steel grip frames on the blued models. Another change introduced to all of Ruger's firearms is the addition of their infamously verbose safety warning stamped on the side of the barrel, a warning which garners such adjectives from gun owners as 'ugly', 'nasty' and 'sissy'. The safety warning was added to Ruger's entire product line over the course of a few months, from late 1977 to early 1978. The BP-7 pictured in this article is a pre-warning example, manufactured in early 1977. Such pre-warning Rugers command a modest premium over otherwise identical post-warning examples. For more details on earlier Old Army variations, refer to the table below, originally published in The Ruger Collectors' Journal, June 1980.
BP-7 (1972): Blued, 7.5" barrel, adj. sights, wood grips.
BP-7-B (1972): Like BP-7 but with brass grip frame and squared trigger guard; beware modified BP-7's with aftermarket grip frames.
KBP-7 (1976): Stainless, 7.5" barrel, adj. sights, wood grips.
BP-7F (1995): Blued, 7.5" barrel, fixed sights, wood grips.
KBP-7F (1995): Stainless, 7.5" barrel, fixed sights, wood grips.
BP-5 (????): Blued, 5.5" barrel, wood grips.
BP-5F (2002): Blued, 5.5" barrel, fixed sights, wood grips.
KBP-5 (????): Stainless, 5.5" barrel, adj. sights, wood grips.
KBP-5F-I (2002): Stainless, 5.5" barrel, fixed sights, ivory grips.
Other production variations include a '200th Year' USA bicentennial KBP-7 with scroll engraving and carved grip panels, and a change in 1985 from aluminum to steel grip frames on the blued models. Another change introduced to all of Ruger's firearms is the addition of their infamously verbose safety warning stamped on the side of the barrel, a warning which garners such adjectives from gun owners as 'ugly', 'nasty' and 'sissy'. The safety warning was added to Ruger's entire product line over the course of a few months, from late 1977 to early 1978. The BP-7 pictured in this article is a pre-warning example, manufactured in early 1977. Such pre-warning Rugers command a modest premium over otherwise identical post-warning examples. For more details on earlier Old Army variations, refer to the table below, originally published in The Ruger Collectors' Journal, June 1980.
As of January 2008, the
four actively produced variants of Old Army, the KBP-7, BP-7F, BP-5F and
KBP-5F-I, were terminated due to declining sales, and all remaining
'clean up' pieces were sold off by April 2009. Criticisms of the Old
Army include excessive size and heft, poor balance and a lack of
historical accuracy per 19th century revolver patterns and technologies.
The Old Army is typically loaded with .457 round lead ball and a maximum blackpowder or equivalent charge of 40+ gr. Because of its modern steel construction and inherent chamber volume, it is impossible to overload the Old Army when using blackpowder. Though the Old Army can anecdotally withstand extremely small smokeless charges, the author strongly advises against any field experiments to confirm this information. With a hot-running blackpowder substitute like Hodgdon 777, the Old Army can deliver muzzle energies in the range of 700 ft-lbs @ 1200 fps, twice the energy of a standard .45 ACP cartridge, and 20% more velocity.
The Old Army is typically loaded with .457 round lead ball and a maximum blackpowder or equivalent charge of 40+ gr. Because of its modern steel construction and inherent chamber volume, it is impossible to overload the Old Army when using blackpowder. Though the Old Army can anecdotally withstand extremely small smokeless charges, the author strongly advises against any field experiments to confirm this information. With a hot-running blackpowder substitute like Hodgdon 777, the Old Army can deliver muzzle energies in the range of 700 ft-lbs @ 1200 fps, twice the energy of a standard .45 ACP cartridge, and 20% more velocity.
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Ruger Old Army Black Powder Revolver Serial Number Lookup
Beginning Serial Number:
140-00001
140-04259
140-13723
140-20404
140-26251
140-30204
140-34506
140-39651
140-44201
140-46573
*145-33428
*145-46522
*145-50008
*145-51681
*145-52645
*145-55577
*145-57569
*145-60386
*145-63537
*145-65870
*145-66177
*145-66292
*145-70614 and 148-00504
*145-74645 and 148-01310
*145-80534 and 148-03084
*145-87525 and 148-04467
*145-88998 and 148-06385
*145-90793 and 148-06823
*145-92200 and 148-07285
*145-92762 and 148-07895
*145-93406 and 148-08025
*145-94109 and 148-08404
*145-94812 and 148-09305
*145-95380 and 148-10546
*145-95673 and 148-11409
*145-96199 and 148-11785
*145-96352 and 148-12112
Years of Production:
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
*Blued Old Army Serial Numbers rollmarked with Stainless Old Army Revolvers beginning in 1982
The above chart shows the approximate first serial number shipped for the indicated year. This number should be used as a point of reference only. It is not necessarily the very first serial number shipped, but it can be used to determine the approximate year your Ruger firearm was shipped.
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