Very wierd experience at the range today

[Afy]

Well.. shooting the walker with .457 Hornady balls. Using about 42 grains of BP, cous cous, and a lube pill (beeswax/crisco/parafin).

Each ball cut a ring while going in. However on a couple of occasions the lube was stuck on the rammer and actually managed to pull the ball back out... very strange... this happened on two different chambers... has never happened before even with .454 balls...

Was it that the lube was sticky enough to pull the ball back out? Or do I send the walker back for repair?

 

[Chawbaccer]

I don't use lube pills myself, but from what I understand is that they go under the ball.

 

[dwave]

Use them under the ball, it is better. Anyways, its possible that you created a vacuum that pulled the ball out.

 

[pohill]

That has happened to my Walker, too. It has to do with the shape and depth of the rammer where it fits over the ball. Put the lube pill under the ball and it should not happen again.

For what it's worth, I use .454 roundballs.

 

[Plastic Cowboy]

Unlike the ram on other C&B revolvers which are shaped to fit a roundball, the ram on a walker is shaped like a cone because it was designed for pointy Picket bullets. I wonder if that could have caused enough vacuume to draw the ball out? With the amount of force needed to ram the ball home, I find this hard to believe but I guess anything is possible!

I do know that lube pills are meant to go between the powder and ball though!!

 

[arcticap]

Afy, if this has never happened to you before your started to use the lube pills, than I doubt that your chambers are oversized. I suggest that you wipe off the rammer and/or dry patch each chamber occassionally prior to ramming.
Maybe the additional force required to ram the .457 balls is contributing to making the rammer & lube retract the ball.
Were your balls getting idented by the ram?

 

[____hoot____]

cooold and sticky!

 

[rifle]

If yer puttin the lube pill under the ball and get lube on the plunger from it splashin out with the ignition of the chambers it could be the cold weather making the ball stick to the plunger. Balls can stick to plungers when the edge of the plunger is too sharp too and may need stoned. Try seeing what happens if you spit on or wet the end of the plunger. Try seeing what happens if the sharp is stoned off the edge of the plunger. It could be a very fine film of lube is still on the chamber walls too and makes it easier fer the ball to be pulled back out. Since a sharp edged plunger can imbed itself into the lead and pull a ball out without lube in the plunger end or making the chamber walls slicked up then getting the sharp edge off the plunger may help as could a bigger size ball making fer a longer friction surface on the sides of the balls. You may try putting a dab of JB Weld in the bottom of the plunger hole too so the ball can't be pressed into the plunger hole so far. If the JB Weld works then a dab of weld in the bottom of the plunger hole will do.

 

[Afy]

Tried it again today...
Only happens if I try and put the lube pill on top of the ball. Vacumn seems logical... considering the ball atuclly has its perimeter shaved off...

Stupid me... but it is great having all of the expertise to draw on...