First time C&B shooter.

[Paul03]

Brother-in-law gave me a Pietta 1851 Navy .44 steel frame for Christmas. I've only shot rifles and my only target pistol is a Browning Buckmark Bullseye w/Bull barrel. I'm pretty good at 25 yards.
I've spent a lot of time reading this forum and have really learned a lot. I couldn't find powder locally so had to order, just receiving it a few days ago. I'm using Pyrodex P, #10 CCI caps and .454 balls. The balls seem the right size as I it's relatively easy to seat the ball and the #10 cap fits snug with no jams.
I've only fired about 60 rounds so far and I'm amazed at the balance and accuracy. I'm currently limited to 30', use one hand shooting and getting about 3" groups. With 23 grain load it shoots about 5" high, so I just aim low! Here's a pic of 12 rounds.
But I have one question at the moment. I had two misfires, cap 'popped', but did not ingite the powder. I replaced the caps and both fired ok. Is it possible I didn't have the cap seated or just a weak cap?
I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions as time goes on, but this forum is such a wealth of information that when I loaded it for the first time, I felt like I'd been doing it for years!
Just a word about myself, I'm 60 and retired in the mountains on Western North Carolina.
Well, thanks in advance....off to the store.

 

[flintlock62]

There could be a few basic problems. The CCI caps are sometimes inconsistant in potentcy, but it could be a seating problem. Remington and RWS caps are the best. You may have oil leftover from cleaning. Do you use petrolium based oil? Pyrodex is harder to ignite than black powder. That could be one of the reasons the CCI caps do not work as well as the aformentioned "hotter" caps.

 

[Chawbaccer]

Just a word of warning, when your cap goes off and the charge doesn't, continue holding the gun down range for a moment to make sure you don't have a hang fire.
I think you are pretty much on the right track there, good shooting.

 

[Foto Joe]

I now have a couple hundred rounds through my Confederate Navy and have had similar issues once in a while. I've found that if pre-fire caps only before I even load the gun (1 cylinder) then after each loaded cylinder is fired I run a nipple prick through the nipples while I'm waiting to make sure everything is cool enough to pour powder into.

On mine the CCI #10's are VERY tight and I've got one nipple that was apparently dry fired at the factory during testing and needs to be replaced. I can't find replacements in #10 but I've got six #11's coming from TrackoftheWolf.com soon, hopefully that will make this thing easier to cap. I can cap my Dragoon in a quarter of the time it takes me to do the Con. Navy.

 

[NCWanderer]

Paul03

Welcome to THR.
You're right.....if it concerns BP arms, you can find out about it here.
I've learned a lot here. I never get tired of reading the posts here, because there's always more to learn. Really....these guys are sharp!
NC

 

[Paul03]

Thanks for the replies, I'll need a lot of help in the future as I get more 'experience'! Chawbaccer, thanks for the advice; I do the same if I get a misfire with my .22 autoloader. I hate surprises! From what i've read here, I'm using olive oil as a lube. I went with the 10's as I kept hearing complaints about having to squeeze the caps of #11's to make them fit. I really like a 'learning curve' and I've got a lot to learn!
Another question, on my .22 autoloader, I ONLY use the brass cleaning brush about every 500 rounds or so. Then it takes around 50 rounds to get accurate again. When should I use the brass brush? It also has a fiber brush which I've used so far.
But I can sure see how you can get hooked on the fun of loading, the smoke, and the smell of sulfur!

 

[pohill]

Whenever the subject of which cap size to use comes up, I post this:
From an old Colt Industries pamphlet:
"Percussion caps are now made in sizes from nine to thirteen. Ten and eleven are the best numbers for the small and medium-sized arms, and twelve for the larger sizes, although, as different-sized nipples are sometimes met in specimens of the same model, no hard and fast rule can be given. It is better to have caps slightly too large than too small, as large caps can be pinched together at the bottom enough so they will stay on the nipples, but small ones must be driven down on the nipple by the blow of the hammer, and this process frequently cushions the blow to the extent of producing a misfire."

 

[Paul03]

Thanks, pohill. When I get a chance I'll get some #11's to compare/use. As I said, it's a learning curve and I think I've found the right place to get info.

 

[mykeal]

There's a sticky thread in this forum entitled "Black Powder Essentials". Much very worthwhile information in that thread; one of the threads inside it gives information on the various cap dimensions that you might find useful.

 

[Hellgate]

You've got a sweet shooter there. The pyrodex is sometimes harder to ignite unless the ball is seated onto the Pyro firmly. I have had delayed ignition with pyrodex using lubricating wads under the ball. I got a bunch of paBOOMs instead of just BOOMs when firing. Once I seated the balls HARD onto the powder all went well. I also run a nipple pick through the flash holes before capping.

 

[BCRider]

Nice shooting!

As for the cap if it went pop then it's not a seating issue. It's when it doesn't go pop that the cap may well have not been seated correctly.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Is it possible I didn't have the cap seated or just a weak cap?

Generally caps that do not ignite on the first hammer fall but do ignite on the second were not seated completely. I use a nipple stick, like a short chop stick to seat caps that have a snug fit. I prefer a snug fit over a loose fit as it reduces the chances of a chain fire.

Another question, on my .22 autoloader, I ONLY use the brass cleaning brush about every 500 rounds or so. Then it takes around 50 rounds to get accurate again. When should I use the brass brush? It also has a fiber brush which I've used so far

It's normal to need a few 'fouling rounds' after cleaning a rimfire barrel, but fifty seems like a lot. I generally shoot ten and call it good. I use a pull through about ever 250 rounds or so. I clean the chamber about every 100 rounds with a patch. I use a snake oil product called "Rimfire Glaze" It's a magic elixir that coats the inside of the barrel and gives you micro groups. It doesn't do a damn thing really, but make you feel better after disturbing the barrel. I have not run a cleaning brush through any of my .22 barrels in years, just the pull through, it does have some what of a brush, but not as aggressive as a dedicated brush.

I shoot three different 10/22's, two have a match chamber and the third is a modified Bentz chamber. I set the barrel back .070 and then reamed with a Bentz reamer. That gives you a slightly larger mouth than the standard bentz. It improves feeding and the gun is not picky about what I feed it.

Is there a reason your are scrubbing your barrel with a bronze brush?

 

[Paul03]

This is a REAL STUPID answer about the bronze brush: 'Because it came with the cleaning kit'! That's really my only answer! Actually I've stopped using it as even after 500 rounds there really doesn't seem to be a loss of accuracy. So I'm probably not going to use it on the .44. Wonder why it's included with the cleaning kit.