Loading Stand for a Ruger Old Army:

There is more than one way to skin a cat - and there certainly are more than a few ways to load a black-powder revolver. - For openers, you don't have to re-load the complete gun at all - as you can remove the cylinder and work with it on a 'cylinder stand' - replace it into the frame - only then capping it before firing.

Cylinder Stand From Magnumimports.co.nz (Upper Hutt Gunshop).

You can load with an over-powder wad, or directly seat the ball (or bullet)(or even a "buck'n'ball" ?) onto the powder and then 'seal' the loaded chamber with grease as both a lubricant and a flash-over seal.

If you look for plans and pictures - many of the loading-stands are modelled as a hinged unit that folds flat when not in use - but I reasoned that I'd still have to carry it around with all the other 'accoutrements' and "necessaries" - so maybe the support-stand could be built-in to a 'necessaries box' that would hold it all.

Box/Stand looks fairly solid.

So here it is - the result of a couple of days bush carpentry in my garage and living room - well most of the time spent was sitting thinking about it!

I tried to build it strong - screwed & glued, on the basis that it would be knocking about in my vehicle and on range - and despite using re-cycled scraps of timber from the firewood heap - I still spent some dollars on brass screws, epoxy glue and a drum sander to fit my power drill - used to cut the semi-circle seat for the curvy breach block - with the hammer-cut-out.

The glue is hardly dry and I'm already thinking that I might make a leather-padded roll on the back-end face of the box to use as a bench-rest for sighting-in ('Group Therapy') - it could work eh.

- But, on the other hand perhaps not - as the box part that I'd be shooting over would likely contain black-powder and paper cartridges that could be ignited? - more thought needed eh.

The only important measurements (for a ROA) are the 3.8 inch height of the stand with the 1.5 inch diameter cut-out and the slot for the half-cocked hammer - together with the 3.75 - 4 inch distance from the mid-line of the stand to the 'notch' cut in the base to hold the heel of the pistol grip frame. Every thing else can be made to suite whatever timber you have got to hand..

"Rough Enough" Bush Carpentry - but it'll work.
- I think the old timber might be Cedar.

- So which is going to get shot first - ancient or modern ? - The loading-storage combination works - but it would not need to be much smaller.

 Very different technologies for sure - both 9x19mm Glock and .44" cap'n'ball are interesting to shoot and both are capable of seriously accurate work on range.

Marty K.
After researching & writing 1,036 blogs I've got something NEW to try .. I've signed-up to Patreon. - In over five years I've not made one cent from this .. NOW you can send me a wee support $ - starting from $1. to get all this stuff from New Zealand - over a year that's nearly the price of one Shooting magazine. - Am I worth it?

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