4 chambers at once!

[McClura]

*** and never loan a chain saw! ***
That is bad that 4 chambers fired at once! Never heard of that one. I have never heard of the percussion caps, either #10 or #11 causing a chain fire if they fit snug on the nipple. I have never worried about a chain fire in my Ruger Old Army since only one chamber, that is marked with a small X at the front of the cylinder for the most accurate hole in the cylinder gets loaded at a time. Always shot targets with it and when I did hunt with it, I only loaded one cylinder. I had my flintlock rifle with me if a second shot was ever needed.
Mike

 

[bang]

I was thinking about purchaseing a Remington clone and needed to ask a few questions about the pistol. I am ignorant when it comes to BP pistols? You answered my main question! Thanks!

The 1858 steel frame is a tough revolver. Shoots .454 ball on up to around 25-28 gns. Uses #10 caps. Mine shoot great at 20-22 gns and ball or 17-18 gns and conical. Conical with 20-22 will get you trigger guard knuckle rap.

 

[jimairwin]

I've shot lots of BP revolvers over almost 60 years and NEVER had a multi-fire. NEVER used wads, neither. Always used grease over ball. The larger and/or thinner caps are a real PITA. Remington caps are the best. CCIs are good too. Blown out caps fall into the works and can ruin your day.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

The ending was sweet. He cleaned it by taking it apart and putting the cylinder in the dishwasher. After his wife got threw yelling at him, he didn't want anything to do with it anymore. I traded him for $50 Credit at my dad's grocery store, and he was as happy as if he had good sense. I still have the pistol to this day, it's a .44 Navy with a 5 1/2 inch bbl.

I thought the .44 cal was the Army and the .36 was the Navy?? Sure it's not an Army .44?

 

[griffiga]

I thought the .44 cal was the Army and the .36 was the Navy?? Sure it's not an Army .44?

It's a .44 caliber on a Navy style frame. On top.

 

[JCKelly]

Only experience I had was using an antique pepperbox, not an Allen, with blanks to kill a nest of yellowjackets.
Only had to pull trigger twice to empty 6 barrels.
Wasps all gone, neighbors???

 

[griffiga]

Only experience I had was using an antique pepperbox, not an Allen, with blanks to kill a nest of yellowjackets.
Only had to pull trigger twice to empty 6 barrels.
Wasps all gone, neighbors???

P-ssed off?

 

[Flinty Scot]

While in high school, had an original 1860 Army Colt chain on me while I was learning it's quirks. Think it was 3 chambers, but it's been a while. I did learn, and remember, the lesson though.

Never loan tools.

 

[smoothshooter]

"Friends don't let friends borrow Cap & Ball revolvers!"

- or good hunting or pocket knives, traditional muzzleloaders, canvas tents, axes, hatchets, splitting mauls, or any hand tool designed for the cutting or splitting of firewood.

 

[flntlokr]

Wow, I've never heard of that many chambers firing in a chain! Wonder what the recoil was like? If he used proper size balls and grease over ball than it had to be loose caps or cracked cylinder !

Years ago I got some relly bad advice about revolver loading/shooting, and was told to only cap one at a time. On the second shot, the other 4 all went dowrange. Fortunately, I was shooting 15 gr. loads in a Ruger. I was quite surprised when I attempted the next shot, and it didn't go off!. More surprised when I checked the cylinder and found it totally empty. I didn't feel anything different, nor did it feel different, surprisingly enough. That proved to me that the phenimenon comes from the back (How could a flash possibly get past a ball that was squeeze fitted into a cylinder?) I have witnessed many chain fires over the years (not mine), and nobody has reported anything different. The guns were designed so that all of the chambers could empty without damaging the gun.

 

[G.smith]

There is a lot of reading in the attached link. This fella did some experiments that I would never have considered. Answers a lot of questions and covers a lot of technique and procedures. Shooting the Black Powder Revolver article selection page

 

[Tanglefoot]

Some years ago, I was involved in testing a number of competitive cap-n-ball revolvers for a publication called The Trade Blanket which is now defunct. One of the models we were testing was the .36 Navy and we got replicas from several different sources to run a comparison. One of them flashed over on the 2nd shot when the Ed/Pub was shooting and all 5 remaining loaded chambers went. It was exciting! Examining the piece later we discovered that one round fired through the barrel, one skidded along the upper left side of the frame, completely filling the wedge retention screw head slot with lead, another left a streak along the lower left frame, one round did the same thing on the opposite (right) side of the frame, and the last one was nicely lined up with the inside of the frame at the six-o'clock position. That splashed lead to both sides but damaged nothing we could find except that a good bit of that lead was smeared on the inner frame surface. We couldn't find any measurable distortion of the frame itself.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

It's a .44 caliber on a Navy style frame. On top.
View attachment 62363

Thanks, that explains it.

 

[Abe]

Your friend experienced a chain fire. I'd be willing to bet he should have been using #10 caps instead of #11.

Yes I agree

 

[Hawken]

That proved to me that the phenomenon comes from the back (How could a flash possibly get past a ball that was squeeze fitted into a cylinder?)

I've wondered about this "shaved lead ring means it is safe" from the front business. Lead melts at only 620F, very low. It wouldn't surprise me a bit to find that hot explosive gasses can melt or deform the ball and plow through a small resultant gap. For my part I suspect a chain fire can be initiated from either end, then. It isn't strictly an "either/or" thing.