49 Pocket issue

[Don]

OK, so I brought the new pocket Colt out for a spin(previously mis-identified as baby dragoon) and put a few cylinders through it.Accuracy at 7 yards was very good. Only problem was busted caps kept getting caught between recoil shield and the hammer. I'd fire a shot and look down to see the hammer pushed back a little with cap fragment caught under hammer. I was shooting 13 grains of Pyro P with a wad and .315 balls. Thats another issue, I definitely need the larger balls, had to flatten the .315's slightly to get them to work. Because of where the caps were jamming I'm thinking that maybe I'm getting some blow back allowing the cap to lodge between shield and hammer. Does this sound reasonable? Opine please those who are experienced.

Thanks

Don

 

[mykeal]

Yes. It's possible. Stiffening (NOT strengthening) the mainspring is a solution many have used. Many ways to do that depending on geometry; essentially, you want to shorten the EFFECTIVE length (the distance from the fulcrum to the free end) of the spring.

 

[tg]

Some times a different brand of cap may act differently in the way it stays or doesn't stay on the nipple of caplocks, my .36 Navy Colt worked well with... ( brain fert, can't think of brand) while the Remingtons were always gumming up the works.

 

[DanChamberlain]

Do you elevate your muzzle when you cock the hammer? All my cap debris fall free when I do this.

Dan

 

[Bob Riegl]

:bow: How about working a stone with a Dremel and adding some room to the underside of the hammer? Or just polish that area so there isn't a rough surface that will trap or lock the remnants of the cap. A parting question however---do your caps fit properly so that you can add or remove caps with ease. In that case it could be the nipples are a bit too large--- :hmm:

 

[Don]

Jams happen before I even think to cock the hammer for the next shot. I have decided that the next time I take this pistol out I'll dial back the powder charge by a grain or two and put cap keepers on the capped nipples. The more I think about it the more I'm convinced that I was getting a little blow back. Not enough to put the hammer at half cock but enough to allow the poped cap to fall between the recoil shield and the hammer.

Don

 

[Leatherbark]

Don.....I have the same problem with my 49 Colt Uberti also.......I believe the problem is that the hammer spring is not strong enough and the cap actually blows off the nipple and blasts off down the curvature of the inside of the hammer and jams down in there..........Thats what mine does almost every shot....CCI No 11's did a little better than my usual Remingotn No.10's....Treso nipples didnt help any whatsoever............That hammer spring needs stiffend up either by more initial tension or maybe even bending the dirty thing.........................I'll be trying something with mine soon........I'm wondering if I can fit and fashion one of those horendous Pietta 58 remington mainssprings LOL.............Bob

 

[mykeal]

I believe the 49 Pocket mainspring is a single leaf design like the later full size Dragoons. If that's the case you can stiffen the mainspring by putting a small wedge between the spring and the grip frame. The idea is to move the fulcrum along the spring leaf from the screw towards the free end. This effectively shortens the spring, thus stiffening it. The wedge material should be strong enough that the spring leaf does not compress it (brass, steel, aluminum rather than wood, for instance). Shape is not important but try not to allow a sharp edge to bear on the spring as it could cause a stress riser and damage the spring. Also, size is important. Start with a small piece, moving the fulcrum about a quarter inch or so. Use a bigger piece of material if the results are not sufficient.

 

[Don]

Where should I place the wedge? On the outside between the spring and backstrap or the inside nearer the trigger gaurd?

Don

 

[mykeal]

When you pull the hammer back the end of the spring is forced down toward the trigger guard by a boss on the hammer. To increase the stiffness of the spring it needs to be effectively shortened. Place the wedge between the spring and the grip frame on the side towards the front of the gun, or the trigger guard, down on the bottom next to where the screw attaches the spring to the grip frame.

You can see that the piece of wedge material does not need to be very large.

 

[mingo]

Wedging the spring sounds like a good idea.

I have a '49 that takes two strikes to fire 50% of the time.

 

[peashooterJoe]

Try Remington caps, the CCI was jamming my 1849 Baby Dragoon, Wells Fargo also. Then switched to Remington caps and no more problems. They stayed together and would actually fall out like a dream. Use them in all of my Cap and ball Revolvers now.

 

[Freedom]

I use Rem caps but I've found the best way to stop cap problems is to cock the revolver and gently lower the hammer onto each cap and then press firmly on the back of the hammer to "seat" each cap. This sounds dangerous but just try and set off a cap this way on an empty cylinder and you will find it's almost immpossible to do.

This should help keep the blowback from blowing the caps off.

 

[mykeal]

I use Rem caps but I've found the best way to stop cap problems is to cock the revolver and gently lower the hammer onto each cap and then press firmly on the back of the hammer to "seat" each cap. This sounds dangerous but just try and set off a cap this way on an empty cylinder and you will find it's almost immpossible to do.

:shake: As long as you have control of the hammer. :nono: