Another "shoot it or not".

[hunter63]

Bad news, the recent death of a favorite BIL, friend, hunting partner, cabin helper, and generally good "always there" guy.

Good news is I took procession of his Ruger Old Army BP .45 cal revolver.

This thing has been loaded for about 20 years, w/ 3 cylinders round balls, 3 cylinders bird shot (This was his "home protection piece for a long time).

I would really like to empty it out and clean it, and is real tempting to just cap it up and let'er fly.

Or try to pull the balls, and shot and empty the powder.
What do y'all think?

[JeffColorado]

If it were me, and I knew he knew what he was doing when he loaded it, 20 some years ago, and the gun looks in good shap, I'd give a try. Not sure if powder gets weaker or stronger with age? seems like I've read both ways - maybe put it in a vice and use a string to see how it goes.

[ArmySGT.]

Bad news, the recent death of a favorite BIL, friend, hunting partner, cabin helper, and generally good "always there" guy.

Good news is I took procession of his Ruger Old Army BP .45 cal revolver.

This thing has been loaded for about 20 years, w/ 3 cylinders round balls, 3 cylinders bird shot (This was his "home protection piece for a long time).

I would really like to empty it out and clean it, and is real tempting to just cap it up and let'er fly.

Or try to pull the balls, and shot and empty the powder.
What do y'all think?

There is a set up that fits a nozzle over the nipples, this blows the powder and ball out with CO2

Then it can be safely unloaded. Don't know if salts have been eating away at the cylinder from the inside for twenty years.

[High_Desert]

Sorry to hear the loss of a hunting partner. Good hunting partners are something to be cherished.

I like the CO2 idea, although Rugers are built like tanks.

HD

[docsoos]

Sorry to hear of your loss. :-[

Here's the setup that ArmySgt was speaking of:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?type=product&cmCat=Related_IPL_214462&id= 0006480214461a (http://LINKADDRESS)

I'm with him on the length of time that the BP sat in the cylinder; it may have corroded the walls of the cylinder over the long period of time, and severely weakened the steel, but hopefully not.

Better safe than sorry. Might be best to safely discharge the load, then clean and inspect the cylinder walls, before actually firing the weapon. Maybe a local gunsmith has one of these setups, and could discharge the loads for a few bucks, instead of purchasing one outright. But, if you shoot a lot of BP, it's really not that expensive, and may come in handy down the road.

DocSoos

[Wyobuckaroo]

Here is a thought.

Remove cylinder from frame.
Remove nipples. They should be about 1/4" in diameter.
Tap out bullets with a 3/16" diameter hard wood dowel.

Think it will work.
Wyo

[Mad_Professor]

If he REALLY CLEANED EVERYTHING and just left it loaded in a cool dry place it will be fine.

Otherwise look for corrosions, inside and out.

Id clean/put fresh loads in everything

[kenfagan]

i have a friend who got one a while back to keep in his truck until he turned 21. he loaded it and shot it about once a week, once he left it in longer than a week. he went to shoot it, shot, boom, shoot, boom, shoot, click, just the primer, so he shot again, BOOM! the barrel was buldged out to the size of a golf ball, the ball was pushed just enough by the primer to get in inside the barrel, and it exploded, so try it, but if it sounds funny for gods sake dont shoot it again. i would use the Co2 if it was me
ken

[flatwater]

I agree with the co2 method or driving it out. Unless your 100 percent sure of what he loaded it with and how much. Also check the barrel for any leading or dirt