More chainfire problems...

[m1a1driver]

I have a pietta 1860 army 44, I had a chainfire once before but that was my fault for forgetting the wad or grease. I cleaned and inspected the gun and its mechanically fine. Today I shot it again, using lubed felt wads, .454 diameter hornady swaged round balls, and remington #10 caps. First shot downrange was a chainfire, 3 chambers fired at once... I was like WTF!~? I used a lubricated wad too! Cocked hammer and fired it again...ANOTHER CHAINFIRE! I noticed the new lubricated wads are about half as thick as the ones they made before, but they were the same brand and for .44\.45 revolvers. I think maybe they didnt seat right on the powder.. I decided to stop using the wads and since it was cold today I used crisco over the balls. No problems for the rest of the range trip. Looks like i'll have to use grease instead of lubed felt wads from here on out.

[markw]

Friend of mine uses Crisco to prevent it, loads the cylinder and then covers it with Crisco. I'm not a bp guy so I was like wtf? Prevents chain fires.

[Spiggy]

What do you use to load your cylinder?

[m1a1driver]

I use The loading arm on the gun. 30gr goex 3f, .454 ball rammed down tight, remington #10 caps. Im going to try and double up the thin wads and try that.

[cruddymutt]

Heres how I load and I have never had a chainfire out of either of my BP revolvers (Uberti Walker and Pietta 1860 Colt). Powder, wad, lube (25% beeswax to 75% crisco) then ball. Yes I put the lube UNDER the ball. No chainfires and it keeps the fouling soft.

[Simply115]

Huh, that's odd. I use wads, haven't had a chainfire yet. Try checking the fit of the nipples and caps, too.


Sent from the Realms Of The Haunting

[Spiggy]

I use The loading arm on the gun. 30gr goex 3f, .454 ball rammed down tight, remington #10 caps. Im going to try and double up the thin wads and try that.

The loading arm is kind of a given. I mean what do you use as a means of transferring powder from it's residential container to the individual chamber of your cylinder.

Do you load with a flask, funnel, soup spoon, or paper cartridges?

[saki302]

In the old days I fired a Remington copy cap and ball with no lube- just the thick felt wads they sold back then with ZERO chain fire issues.

When I used the thing for defense (I was 17 at the time), I filled the front of the ball with grease so the cylinder was almost flush looking- no chain fires, and th epowder was perfectly fine after a year and a half of storage (all went bang).

I'd look for thicker wads, or maybe double them up? The heavy layer of grease up front works too, but uses a lot of grease. It didn't seem to make the gun any dirtier than usual.

-Dave

[ROOS_HAPPENS]

Ditto on the Crisco & beeswax mixture.
I never had a problem with my ROA.
Use a Popsicle stick & seal up the front of your cylinder with it.
Stuff lasts forever. I just threw out a small tub of it I made 40 years ago.
Be advised if you also use it for a ML patch lube, instead of something wetter, it will result in smoldering patches on the range.

[CDFingers]

I very much appreciate the folks who post about chain fires: I have a .36 Navy copy to shoot, and I'm learning a lot from the posts and the answers.

CDFingers

[Dutch3]

I can't imagine having that many chainfire issues. I have never had one.

Are the caps falling off when it chainfires? As I stated in my reply to your other thread, I was not happy with the way any caps fit on my Pietta 1858. I tried both CCI and Remington #10 & #11 and none of them fit properly. It seemed that the Pietta nipples had too much taper and the concussion of firing would cause adjacent caps to fall off.

Another member recommended Treso nipples. I bought a set and installed them. #11 caps now fit and seat perfectly and I have not had any more issues with losing caps. I load with or without a wad under the balls and smear lard over the tops of the balls after they are seated.

I have never experienced a chainfire and don't want to.

[CSACANNONEER]

When you ram a ball in, is it a tight enough fit that a little lead is shaved off all the way around the ball? This alone will seal the powered load but, a little grease over the top is a good safety measure. Do you vast your own bullets? Can you find any just a couple thousandths larger?

[cwilliams]

My brother and I just took this same gun to the range this week and shot it around 30+ times without a single problem. We used .454 Hornady balls, wads (I forget the brand, but off the shelf from Bass Pro), CCI caps, and just under 20 grains of Pyrodex for the powder. The ball was seated tight enough to shave off a round ring like others have described.

That many chain fires in one session is downright scary!!

[Old Scribe]

I've used the felt wads without a single chain fire. I try not to use CCI caps, but when I have I crimp them a bit to make sure they don't fall off after a shot. I do the ssame thing when shooting my m/l shot gun.

[m1a1driver]

I use .454 balls, and they shave off a nice thick ring. Even the .451 balls shaved off a ring of lead. I use a brass powder flask with 30 gr spout to pour the charge into the chambers.