1851 uberti navy misfiring

[J dirt]

Recently my London navy started to misfire on caps often. It is about 25 years old and always popped caps just fine.

If I use mild rearward pressure on the cylinder, it works fine. I have checked everything out and found nothing amiss.

Has anyone experienced this problem?
Any advice on solving this issue would be much appreciated.

 

[B P Arn]

Weak main spring? Flattened (thereby shortened) nipples? Is the gun clean? Are the caps good?

 

[Ontario47]

If the cylinder to barrel gap is bigger than usual, or the cylinder moves forward and backward more than usual, the barrel assm is not seated all the way on the cylinder arbor. The wedge is not seated properly or the arbor hole below the bore has something stopping the arbor from seating all the way in. Or the nipples have gotten hammered down . Or the hammer is not falling all the way because of fouling or cap fragments stuck in the works. If holding the cylinder to the rear fixes the problem I do not think the problem is the hammer spring or caps, the gap between the hammer face and nipple face is not pinching/flattening the caps enough to fire them.

 

[SDSmlf]

Recently my London navy started to misfire on caps often. It is about 25 years old and always popped caps just fine.

If I use mild rearward pressure on the cylinder, it works fine. I have checked everything out and found nothing amiss.

Has anyone experienced this problem?
Any advice on solving this issue would be much appreciated.

Does it fire if you strike the cap a second time?

 

[FishDFly]

"It is about 25 years old and always popped caps just fine."

If you have not replaced the nipples in 25 years, that is where I would start.

 

[J dirt]

The gun is clean, no fragments inside, the cylinder play(handshake) is the same it always has been. I tried swapping the nipples from another revolver and even screwed them out a bit. I replaced the mainspring with a new one as well.

The caps are fresh and new, they work in other guns just fine. The revolver is old but has been fired little over the years. A second or subsequent strike does not denote the caps.

Thanks to all who have offered suggestions. I am new to this site, but have been using frontstuffers close to 50 years. This one has got me stumped.

 

[Thunder14]

Glad you brought up this issue after not being able to find Remington caps I’ve been forced to use CCI caps and they don’t fit worth a darn never ever had an issue with the Remington caps but the CCI don’t fit on #10 nipples and the #11 are way to loose.So if you are using CCI caps its most likely not your revolver but the caps.

 

[J dirt]

They are bad. All I can find is cci, and I do believe they are part of the problem.

It has been a few years since I used this revolver. Remington was always my brand of choice.

 

[FishDFly]

Remington and CCI caps are different sizes.

No real need to use such language and capitalize it.

 

[wb78963]

CCI#11 is close to the same size as a Remington #10, however close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades, not percussion caps.
A Remington #11 is the same size as a Remington #10 but with a shorter skirt. They are interchangeable pretty much.
My 1851Navy is fitted with Slixshot nipples and neither CCI #11 or RWS 1075 work on them.
I would suggest the following
Correct arbor length to move the cylinder back where it is firmly in place.
Replace the mainspring with a Lee or Wolf spring.
Replace the nipples with Slixshot nipples.
If all that does not work I would suggest a qualified gunsmith or exorcist 'cause you got problems.
Bunk

 

[TreeMan]

Pinch your caps a little with your fingers for a tighter fit on the nipples.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@J dirt, you say that you are shooting a London Navy, so the frame is steel. What is the gap between the cylinder and the barrel? If you have a tight fit between the cylinder and the barrel, then adjusting the arbor will have little effect on moving the cylinder back. And you do say that the play hasn't changed. Let's move on to discussion of caps and nipples.

You also imply that you have changed from using Remington caps to CCI caps. The priming compound levels are a bit different between brands. Backing the nipple out a turn only softens the strike so that doesn't really help in the trouble shooting. Measure your nipples. You need to know the length overall and the length of the thread journal. Subtract the thread length from the length overall to get the cone height. Go to the Track of the Wolf catalog and look at the nipples. you need a nipple with the same thread journal and longer cone height. If you get the Slixshot nipples, do review the measurements. If you replace the nipples, get #11 nipples for a better fit and ease in locating #11 caps.

I have a revolver that won't fire CCI #11 caps, but will fire CCI #11 Magnum caps. The amount of priming compound is the difference. Unfortunately, the #11 caps are too big for my revolver so they fragment and cause cap jams. Its a work in progress.

 

[J dirt]

Pinching the cap won't work. They are so snug now I have to use a dowel to get them on the nipple enough so they clear the frame and rotate.

I've had to pinch number 11 caps on other revolvers just keep them on.

 

[Thunder14]

Remington and CCI caps are different sizes.

No real need to use such language and capitalize it.

No need for you to decide what is appropriate language did not see any unacceptable language tired of people imposing there believes on the rest of us.Have a great day

 

[Grenadier1758]

Measure your nipples at the tip. A tip measurement of 0.156 approximately is for #10 and 0.165 approximately is for #11. If the #11 caps are that snug, then the nipples may be mushroomed at the tip. You may have to file a little bit of relief on the tips of the nipples. Do the caps show any signs of having been impacted by the hammer?

 

[FishDFly]

I intend to.

 

[Gun Tramp]

I recall Zonie posting an explanation of how to check the necessary clearance between hammer face and nipple using clay. A good starting point.

 

[J dirt]

The hammer is making contact with the cap. Seems the impact is at the top of the cap.

Repeated impact causes the cap to have a bit of a mushroom only at the top.

 

[wb78963]

Pinch your caps a little with your fingers for a tighter fit on the nipples.

either get caps that fit the cones, or get cones that fit the caps. either way hat works for you.
Bad (pinched) cap fit on the cones are usually the cause of a chain fire.
Look at slow motion of a percussion revolver and be amazed at the amount of flash at the hammer end.
Also a reason to wear non "period correct" safety glasses.
Remember you can shoot deaf, but not blind.

 

[Michael Ford]

I had the same problem with my Uberti 1851 Navy. Fitted a new set of nipples and still had the problem so speaking to a fellow Colt shooter he told me it was a problem in period as well and fitting a .5 thou copper washer under the nipple has cured my problem perfectly. I am told it is just down to minuscule wear on the front of the cylinder preventing the correct pressure on the cap when the hammer strikes it. I use no-1075 caps which I dont know if they are only sold in the UK?