1858 new army misfire

[fordfan485]

I bought a 1858 Pietta reproduction of the remington 1858 new army revolver. I only shot about 15 balls thru it but had 3 misfires. Wondering what im doing wrong. Using about 20-25 grams of pryodex, then putting in the wad, then the bullet and then grease. The primers im using are remington no 11 caps. Had the occasional problem of them falling off when having the gun pointed up. Also not sure if i wasnt using enough powder becaus the ball was a good half an inch down the cylinder Any suggestions. o here is a pic. https://24.125.150.212/1858newarmy.jpg

 

[dwave]

My 1858 Pietta uses #10 caps. 11s might be too big, you can pinch them to make them fit. Try using Remington caps, they seem to fit really well and work great on my gun. I would try stuffing more powder into it, try 30 gr. My personal experience is that pyrodex doesn't work well if it is not compressed enough. Oh, and make sure there is no oil in the chambers before you shoot it if you haven't done that.

 

[fordfan485]

yea I was thinking the caps were too big, I got No. 11's because thats what the guy at the gunshop recommended. I also think I wasnt using enough powder even though i put in the amount recommended by the manual. Fun as hell to shoot when it did fire. I made a mess though w/ all that greese., thinking about making those paper cartridges the next time i go out.

 

[Burt Blade]

Does the gun fire if you try the misfired cap again? If so, the cap may not have been fully seated on the cone. Also, the hammer spring may be set too light. On the front of the grip frame there is an adjustment screw. Turn it clockwise (in) to increase the force applied to the hammer when it falls.

I use Remington #10 caps on my Remingtons. The CCI #11s are too big and the CCI #10s are too small.

 

[fordfan485]

Yes it does fire if i place a new cap on it, though on one peticular instance it took 3 caps till it fired on one chamber

 

[Smokin_Gun]

Are the Caps firing but not setting the chambers off?
If the caps aren't falling off, fire them twice if they go off they were tight and not seated on the cone far enough the first time. If they are falling off squeeze them a little before putting them on. Either hammer seat them pointed in a SAFE direction or use a wooden dowl to firmly PUSH them on, ONLY after placing a cap by hand ON ALL 6 CONES FIRST...

 

[RON in PA]

Try 28 GRAINS and the wad under your bullet. If your caps are a bit too big, just squeeze them a bit.

 

[Duncaninfrance]

Grease

On my Pietta 1858 I use Remington #10 caps and they are just fine.
I load with 27 grains FFFG, a lubed felt wad and a .457 ball. No problems and always goes BANG!
I don't use grease over the ball, there is no need to as long as your wad and ball are a TIGHT fit in the chamber. I only used grease the first time out with the gun and said "NEVER AGAIN" - what a mess.
Duncan

 

[Stickjockey]

You might also try Goex or another black powder. I know my 1860 hates Pyrodex.

 

[sundance44s]

sundance44s

Something else that could be the problem ... you need to pop caps on each nipple before you load the first time ..( just to dry the oil out of the flash holes and cylinder ) I use a Q tip swab and some alcohol in my cylinders to clean out the oil before i go to the range .. then i don`t have to pop the caps ...cause i`m cheap hahaha. .

 

[Cincinnati Slim]

Misfires

Howdy,

Nipples-n-caps, caps-n-nipples that's the fiddley part of cap and ball shootin' !

Ya jus have to experiment wit a bunch of differnt sizes and brands until you find wut werks wit yer particular shootin' iron. Now I got tired of using a bunch of differnt cap sizes and brands to keep my various revolvers happy. I replaced ALL the nipples wit TRESO brand items. Now all of 'em uses number 11 Remmies and NO PROBLEMO ! They all go BANG every time now and the cap fragments don't drop down into the machinery and jam up the works.

TRESO nipples are your friend.

Cincinnati Slim

 

[arcticap]

Nipple pick?

Using a nipple pick may be helpful to insure that the flash hole at the base of the nipple isn't clogged with fouling, dried lube etc... A thin piece of appropriately sized wire pushed down far enough should clear the hole if it's blocked, possibly a hat pin or thin spring wire will work if it will fit all of the way through.