Loading cap and ball revolver

[Kevin M]

Ok I just got done reading the posts about chain firing in your revolvers. Well it gave me the desire to dig out my old guns and shoot them again. I load them with bp and then depending on the charge I fill the rest of the chamber with cornmeal then the bullet. If I put a lubed wonderwad between powder and ball do I not need to wipe in lube over the bullet? Also if I go with just the lube over the top of the bullet how do you guys carry your lube? I am going to try the stiffer mix of lube mentioned in the thread, but I have tried everything from a platic film bottle with a popsicle stick to apply it to a syringe. When I am out in the field I just don't want a mess. What did they use in the past to carry and apply lube? I know they had spare cylinders, but they had to reload them sometime.

 

[dboone]

I use lube at the range because of continued firing, but otherwise I just use the right size ball to seal the chamber
and that usaully takes care of the problems and don't forget not to use caps that fall off because thats would be another place chain firing happens.(I think its the most usual place it happens is from the nipple end not the front in.

 

[Kevin M]

If carrying a spare cylinder, how many of you carry it loaded and capped and how many just loaded and then cap it when you put it in the revolver?

 

[peter]

1858 Remington .44 (pietta), Goex 3f, wonder wads, .451 balls. Used to bind after a cylinder full or two. I now lube cylinder pin with Gorilla Grease and have shot over a hundred rounds without a problem. I dont like the mess crisco makes, and wonder wads work just fine for me.

 

[peter]

I installed a loaded and capped cylinder only once, as I was trying to get it in I realized just how easy it would be to make a small boo boo and have an accidental discharge with the cylinder only partialy installed. I might be a wimp, but I kinda like having full use of my digits.

 

[Kevin M]

I can just see me having a loaded and capped cylinder on my belt in the leather case and getting on my horse and doing a trot and setting the thing off and shooting myself in the leg or worse. I knew the answer before I asked the question I guess.

 

[Bob Riegl]

I have shot all of my 8 revolvers which are all Uberti and one Armi---from .31 to .44 Walker. I have used the lubed felt wads over the powder---rammed in place with the ball---I haven't had any bad experiences to this date ( God watch over me now). I think poor fitting nipples are the cause of most problems. I have found that most of these import repro's have nipples that are too large and are tough to fit #11's easily---I have removed them and trimmed them on my Unimat lathe so the caps fit properly. I have seen the results of someone trying to force or tap a cap on a recalcitrant nipple---now that ain't purdy---the guy lost a piece of his thumb and destroyed the gun---luckily nothing else happened to him. The round left the cylinder without the need of the barrel and took off a good chunk of the frame with it and lit the following chamber off as well. :m2c:

 

As we have very hot weather here in Southern Nevada, I don't use over the ball grease (it's a complete mess, believe me). I used Ox Yoke Wonder Wads under the ball, but the price fo this stuff is as high as for an egg during the California gold-rush.

My solution: I bought 1000 unlubed felt wads from www.buffaloarms.com for $20.00 and bathe them in 50% Crisco and 50% regular candle wax (paraffin). There is a more sophisticated recipie up from gatofeo, I'll try this the next time.

Works as good as "Wonder Wads" at $6.50 for 100 in .36

By the way, Ox Yoke doesn't exist anymore and no other company bought them.

 

[brubincam]

carry crisco in an empty cap can apply with one finger then wipe finger in the grass...no mess...if you think you will need more lube carry extra cans of crisco...lube cylinder pin before installing cylinder so it doesnt bind

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

I typically use a syringe to store and apply the "Crisco" or other substitute lube, I've never had but one chain fire about 25 yrs ago. It appeared to have happened from the blast at the front and a loose fitting ball though...

I've used CVA revovler lube in a squeeze tube as well.

Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

I typically use a syringe to store and apply the "Crisco" or other substitute lube, I've never had but one chain fire about 25 yrs ago. It appeared to have happened from the blast at the front and a loose fitting ball though...

I've used CVA revolver lube in a squeeze tube as well.

Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[SAJones]

My first BP gun was a Navy Arms 1851. Didn't know much about shooting them, so never used grease, wads, or anything else. Had a fixed spout powder flask for 15 grains, & used 00 buckshot. Shot about 800 rounds w/ it that summer, no chain fires. In fact, of the dozen or so revolvers I have or have shot, only one chain fired. A cheap Italian 1851, which I got rid of as soon as I could. Actually, most chain fires are from fire from the nipple setting off another not well covered nearby nipple. This from a couple folks w/ a lot more experience than I. Hard to believe, but if the ball fits even a bit snug, it would be hard for the flash to get by.

 

[musketman]

Here is a cut away view of a revolver's chamber loaded...

 

[crockett]

Thirty years ago I got my first C n B revolver. Loaded from a flask, added the ball, filled the end of the cylinder with grease, put on the nipple. Shot that way for years but it always seemed non-PC. I agree, hot weather and greased chambers don't go well together. The grease can get into your holster. Elmer Keith in his book Sixguns had a chapter on shooting C n B revolvers. He used old worn out cowboy hats and cut/punched out felt wads that he then soaked in a tallow/beeswax combination. He put in powder, as much as possible, the wad, the ball, all loaded under at least some compression, and then of course the cap. I immediately switched to that method and never looked back. I now use wonderwads, prelubed and a slightly less charge of powder, about 18 grains of FFFg because the wonderwads are thicker than the cowboy hat felt. The ball is seated just under the chamber and I put a little mark on the ram so all balls are seated to the same depth, probably more a psychological help than anything else. You can carry such a gun in hot weather with no problem.
I have read that Robert E. Lee greased the ends of his Colt Navy revolver and seven years after the Civil War someone fired the gun and all chambers went off without a hitch. That "grease" may have had a high percentage of beeswax or something of the type to deal with hot weather. In any event wads seem to work very well. In the thread on chain firing it was found the grease can burn out of the cylinder ends- seems like an argument for using lubed wads.

 

[ValleyForge]

On behalf of the Society for Preservation of Male Sopranos, I urge you to carry a loaded, capped spare cylinder. It's the easiest way I can think of to turn yourself into an accidental eunuch.....

Don't do it! It might make sense in battle, but out on the range it's a whole lot safer to keep the caps off 'till you're ready to shoot.

Unless, of course, you've always wanted to sing "O Mio Babbino Caro" in the proper octave.....