Percussion cap jamming

[warriorbear]

I have several cap and ball revolvers with which I have a common problem. That is; small pieces of cap falling into the gun's works and jamming up the action. I have, on occaision, had to completely disassemble the gun to get the pieces out. Is there an old gunfighters trick to avoid this? If not, it would explain their short lifespan.

 

[P95Carry]

Welcome.

I have had this problem too - and most likely everyone shooting cap'n'ball has. I never found a dead on reliable way to stop it occuring - but fancy modern caps are that much thinner than perhaps the early ones were, and so more prone to do this. They do make some very irksome small pieces at times.

If shooting at a relaxed rate - then I used to have a habit of tilting the gun 90º as I cocked hammer for next shot - and so could shake and eyeball the spent cap going clear. Under stress of course - not gonna help

Be interested to hear of any other ideas.

 

[MutinousDoug]

I think the Treso nipples try to address your problem by reducing the size of the flash-hole. This is to prevent back pressure of the BP charge from expanding the skirt of the cap so it falls off when fired. Downside is you may have to scrape the cap off the nipple when you re-load.
Don't own any so I can't tell you if they work as advertized.

 

[Cincinnati Slim]

Cap Jams

Howdy All,

Yep, Treso or Thunder Ridge Muzzleloading Nipples will help. The small flash hole cuts way down on "blowback" making the cap less prone to dropping off prematurely.
The TRM stainless jobs like Remington #11 caps. Mine fit great.
Remmies ain't near as likely as Colts to eat cap fragments. I cut a loading port for a cartridge conversion loading gate through the right side recoil shield. Makes capping easier and provides an easy exit for cap fragments. The big fat hammer slot on Colts provides an easy path into the gun's innards. Some folks glop Bore Butter or thick grease into that area to catch the fragments. I never much liked that approach. Once the revolver gets hot the goo runs out around the trigger.
I do believe the modern caps are a LOT thinnner than the antique oneswere.

Can anybody confirm this ?

Cheers,

Slim

 

[Franco2shoot]

Gunfighters trick

I was watching the History Channel discussion of Bad guys and Texas rangers, and the in-advertantly disclosed the gunfighter trick. They were talking about this one particular outlaw that was being tracked by a rather famous Ranger, and they said that the Ranger and discovered that his prey had a habit of jumping up with his pistol pointing straight up as he cocked for the next shot. The jolt of landing on the ground as the cylinder rotated ensured that the percussion cap remnants did not obstruct his next shot. The Ranger elected to poke his head up and shoot, as Mr. Bad guy vaulted upwards. Outlaw was dropped like a bad habit in the encounter.

Translating this at you local range may not be practical( I'ld like to see ya try, would be worth the price of admission heheheeh). I find that tilting my Remington and Colt clockwise while pulling the hammer back helps, but does not gaurentee non fouling.

KKKKFL

 

[pohill]

I've found that my revolvers with a stronger mainspring do not allow the spent caps to fall off the nipples. My Remington was no better or worse than the Colts. My 1861 .36 (Signature Series) Colt has never, ever had a cap fall where it shouldn't...why, I don't know, other than the mainspring is like a mousetrap. I've also found that using Lube Pills instead of grease (Crisco, Bore Butter, etc) cuts down on caps that jam - they tend to stick to smeared Bore Butter or Crisco.

 

[Smokin_Gun]

Hey Poohill how come Sophia(1858 Uberti Rem) don't have a problem with CCI#10 seated or CCI#11 squeezed on? I don't have cap problems with her...must be cause I named her...HeeHee!

 

[pohill]

Poohill...funny one, Smokin' Bun.
I said, "My Remington was no better or worse than the Colts." And that's a fact, Jack. Remmies eat caps, too. Truth is, I miss my Remmie. I need a .44 fix real soon. I got a Walker and an 1860...the rest are .36.

 

[Howdy Doody]

There are some gunsmiths that install what they call cap guards. I have some on a pair of 51 Navy revolvers and it will never jam on a cap, although I still need to address the front of the cylinder binding if not cleaned/lubed after about 20 shots.
The cap guards are installed into a slot cut for them in the hammer slot and soldered in. The hammers are narrowed to fit the narrower slot and still wide enough to light of a cap reliably. Treso nipples with #10 Remington caps helps prevent blowback also.

 

[BigG]

I read that the exagerated motions, as seen in the old cowboy movies, that looked like the guy "throwing his bullets" at the target - lifting his hand straight up and then bringing the gun down on target for each shot, originated in the practice of turning the gun up as you cocked it to let the cap fragments fall out. YMMV

 

[sundance44s]

Sundance44s

I have one of each make of 1858 remmie ...My remmies don`t eat caps . Only problem i`ve ever had with the remmie and caps... the hot spent caps sometimes fall between the palm of my grip hand and the grip ...and are they hot ! now i to the right twist with my grip hand while cocking ..it stopped that burning sensation ..

 

[fineredmist]

1 - make sure the hammer face is perfectly free of any grease or oil.
2 - after firing a round rotate the pistol so it is cylinder down and then cock the hammer, the broken cap will drop to the ground (works 99.9% of the time)

 

[mec]

1 - make sure the hammer face is perfectly free of any grease or oil.
2 - after firing a round rotate the pistol so it is cylinder down and then cock the hammer, the broken cap will drop to the ground (works 99.9% of the time)

I find that that works a lot better than the "gunfighter flip". Sometimes, it helps to deepen the groove in the breach to the right of the hammer and give the cocked revolver a little side flip to throw off the cap that has made it through to the capping cut in the frame.

I saw a fancy shooter rapid firing a pair of colt types on the History channel. You could see him dip the barrels as he cocked the revolvers.

 

[Cincinnati Slim]

Doin' the dip ?

Howdy,

I tried to use the "muzzle up while cocking" trick with my Colts and it made 'em eat caps WORSE ! They was slidin' down the face of the cocked hammer right into the gun's innards. I Found the "muzzle-dip/right-tip" works best. Looks funny but it does help. The other thing is if you have cut a loading channel for a gated cartridge converter in the right recoil shield when you put the percussion cylinder back in the capper fits real easy and cap jams are reduced. Big 'ol exit for 'em to fall out. Unfortunately they usually land right on yer trigger finger. Ouch ! (sizzle,sizzle )

Slim

 

[Imaginos]

Dodge City Reload

I believe the historically correct answer to a jam was a second pistol.

Saw an "expert" on the History Channel's "Wild West Tech" program demonstrating the firing of two pistols. He was pointing the muzzles up when cocking. He specifically stated that this was to allow cap debris to fall out so the guns didn't jam.

I have tried it with my Remmie and my Old Army, and I can't find any difference in the number of jams. Next time out I'll give the "Gangsta Flip" a try.