range report 1851 Navy

[Barksdale123]

The Good:
Took my new 1851 Navy .36 cal to the range for the first time after cleaning the shipping goop off. Used 17 grains of pyrodex (fffg), the lubed wads and number 10 remmington caps. First time shooting black powder. Set an eight inch shoot and see target up at seven yards. Loved the sound, smoke and fire. Great experience. Action on the gun was really smooth. And yes, got some inquiries on the gun as well. Good times. My name is Barksdale and I am addicted to black powder.

The Bad:
Had a couple of caps go off with out the charge firng. Also had some of the caps fall off. One fired cap got caught in the hammer mechanism and the hammer would not move. I had to take the gun apart and pull the cylinder off to get the spent cap out. I put caps on the cylinders with no charge and fired them all, I also used the back of the powder measure the seat the caps better, After that no problems. The range I go to makes black powder shooters use the rifle range because the ventilation system is better. The rifle range is twice as expensive as the pistol range.

The ugly:

 

[dtvburns]

I had one of those. Shooting round balls was hard to do, mini balls where fairly accurate. It was hard to compress each cylinder the same to get an accurate group, made shooting even more fun! The flash and low powerful boom are fun, everyone always wanted to know what I was shooting.

Have fun!

 

[Officers'Wife]

If you give the caps a slight pinch they tend to stay on better and give more reliable ignition. Make a note that your next purchase be either a .44 Remington or Colt army if you don't like the back strap. And welcome to the wonderful world of having sulfur odor on your clothes.

 

[bonza]

I have found that after-market nipples are a better fit for most brands of percussion caps. I tend to stick with #11 caps though.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Cap fragments falling into the action and binding it up was and is a common problem with percussion revolvers. It makes you realize what an innovation the self-contained metallic cartridge was.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Cap fragments falling into the action and binding it up was and is a common problem with percussion revolvers. It makes you realize what an innovation the self-contained metallic cartridge was.

+1

C&B was a revolution over the single shot pistols of the day but not without problems. Cap jams and mis-fires were very common. I believe a Senator tried to shot then President Jackson only to have the revolver mis-fire, twice! The cartridge revolvers were as big of revolution that finally brought reliability to a hand held revolver.

 

[batjka]

1858 Remington caps never fall off. You might look into this one.

Also, you're using #10 caps. Try #11 and pinch them to the nipple. That should help alleviate the problem.

 

[ClemBert]

Had a couple of caps go off with out the charge firng. Also had some of the caps fall off.

This is a classic case of the nipple/cap combination not being a good one. You can read about it all day long on this and other websites. Your best bet is to buy some aftermarket Treso nipples and/or try to use Remington #11 caps. My personal experience is that with the right nipple/cap combination you don't have to pinch caps nor do you have to worry about the caps falling off. The caps fire every time. Now, the cap jamming problem is another story.

p.s. I have a theory that pinched caps probably aren't the best way to make sure the rear of the cylinder is sealed. Thus I would be concerned about chain fires starting from the nipple. But it is only a theory....I hope not to prove it.

 

[Acorn Mush]

Cap jams and mis-fires were very common. I believe a Senator tried to shot then President Jackson only to have the revolver mis-fire, twice!

Madcratebuilder, I found this info about the Jackson assassination attempt on Wikipedia:

Andrew Jackson

Illustration of Jackson's attempted assassinationJanuary 30, 1835: At the Capitol Building, a house painter named Richard Lawrence aimed two flintlock pistols at the President, but both misfired, one of them while Lawrence stood within 13 feet (4 m) of Jackson, and the other at point-blank range.[4] Lawrence was apprehended after Jackson beat him down with a cane. Lawrence was found not guilty by reason of insanity and confined to a mental institution until his death in 1861. The odds of two consecutive misfires were estimated at 1 in 1,925,000.

Not trying to hijack the thread but rather to merely add some clarification.

 

[Nate1778]

Also if the gun was on the first 6 rounds and did that there may have been some oil in the nipples preventing them from going off. If I have oiled gun (natural not gun oil) I'll fire 6 caps through the nipples before loading it. Burns the gunk out, as Bill Cosby would say.

 

[ClemBert]

Good point Nate. I read that too fast. I see now where the OP says the caps fired but the main charge did not. Does sound like either clogged nipples or oil contamination. A nipple pick goes a long way to make sure the flash holes aren't clogged. I also fire a cap on all chambers to clear out the oil residue from previous storage when I start off the day.