777 in the Pocket Navy .36

[Stantheman86]

The biggest surprise I had was getting hammer blow back when just snapping a cap with no powder/lead at all! This with the installed Slix-Shot nipples. I have not measured the orifice size myself, but over the years since they became available I have seen others report on the relative orifice size(both front and back) of all aftermarket and stock nipples. The Slix-Shots have always had the smallest diameter hole in the threaded end.

This would be more like hammer bounce from the cap, and your mainspring is either very light or the screw worked loose

 

[William P Sepessy]

I'm pretty sure neither case is true, Stantheman86. As mentioned I use a cut down Colt SAA standard mainspring which is much stronger that the Uberti mainspring. I did try using two standard mainsprings and it worked about 80% of the time, but the action felt stiff and heavy. I was concerned about premature wear on the internals. I am considering also some extra pressure on the bolt side of the bolt/trigger spring. I rather not go the route of a cap post but I also would really like these guns to work correctly.

 

[smoothshooter]

What they designed for is one thing, what they achieved is not necessarily the same, and original Colts are now all more than a century old, so are not always in shooting condition. Modern replicas are not Colts. Fit and finish of the Italian clones are not quite up to the same standards Colt had back in the day... though the modern steels are better. In point of fact, even #10 caps fall off sometimes... most often on smaller frame revolvers. It's generally called "cap sucking".

What happens is the cap will expand into the locking notch (not sure of the name) and when you recock the revolver, the hammer will pull the cap off. There are various ways to fix this, the most common way being to plug the notch with JB Weld and carry the gun with the hammer down on an empty chamber.

This problem is even worse if you use #11 caps on a revolver. Number 11 caps do not produce significantly more explosive force than number 10 caps do, they are just a bit larger in diameter. Because of that, they fit looser on the nipples and can allow both a flash to exit the rear of the chamber and for the possibility of said flash detonating the cylinder on either side of the one under the hammer. This is called a "chain fire" and, though the revolver is designed to survive such an event, it is still not something one would choose to experience if one could avoid it.

Also, because of the larger diameter and looser fit, they WILL fall off the nipple under recoil even before they are struck.

Trust me on this, I have had it happen to me when I could not get #10 caps and substituted #11. You need to use #10 caps on all revolvers, some single-shot pistols and even some rifles, though you can cheat a bit on single shot pistols and rifles.

To further compound this issue is the fact that the people who make the nipples and the people who make the caps do not always agree on the proper sizes, so some brands of 10 caps are still too big (or too small) to fit the nipples they are supposed to be used with. When you find a brand that works on your gun, keep using it if you can.

You generally do not have misfiring problems with cap & ball revolvers because they are essentially inline guns, but you can certainly have jams.

There are also length differences between #10 and #11 caps with one or more brands.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

There are also length differences between #10 and #11 caps with one or more brands.

Yes, I have encountered this as well on occasion. I have a capper that will not work with #11 caps.

 

[45D]

Inadequate Ignition is exactly why I make sure the hammer face and nipples always make contact. If that's not the case, you may find removing material from the front of the inside curve of the hammer will be easier than filing the frame.

As far as not wanting a cap post, I can understand that. There is an action shield that would at least keep frags out of the action.

If caps were made like they were "back then" we wouldn't have the problem we have today.

Everyone wants cheap copies to work like the originals but with modern caps. The originals weren't cheap but the modern copies can be turned into a much better item than the originals. Modern "fixes" are for our modern problems.

Mike

 

[Blackpowderart]

Left to right Treso, TOTW, Uberti, Slixshot

The pic doesn't do justice but the treso is actually id say 1 or 2 wire gauge sizes smaller than TOTW. I don't have one to confirm


After extensive testing with my pocket police which i am still messing with, treso is my choice. Smallest flash hole, didn't blow back hammer and didn't mutilate the caps like slixshot to the point that vigorous cocking of the hammer was needed to rotate the cylinder. I cleaned up the face of the hammer with a stone. I use real black powder only, so I don't know about ignition problems with Substitutes

 

[ernbar]

Problem with #11 caps and revolvers is the loose fit. They will fall off the nipples under recoil and jam the revolver. Also, most chainfires happen from loose fitting nipples, not ungreased chambers as is widely believed. I wish somebody would make #11-sized nipples for revolvers.

Get Slixshots and use either 10 or 11 caps. I have no issues when I use them compared to stock ones.

 

[Bad Karma]

Left to right Treso, TOTW, Uberti, Slixshot

The pic doesn't do justice but the treso is actually id say 1 or 2 wire gauge sizes smaller than TOTW. I don't have one to confirm


After extensive testing with my pocket police which i am still messing with, treso is my choice. Smallest flash hole, didn't blow back hammer and didn't mutilate the caps like slixshot to the point that vigorous cocking of the hammer was needed to rotate the cylinder. I cleaned up the face of the hammer with a stone. I use real black powder only, so I don't know about ignition problems with Substitutes

Treso start at .028” … don’t believe I’ve worn out any treso nipples in revolvers. In bullet shooting rifles they will still wear and erode to point they will need replacement.

 

[steak]

I have this issue in two of my brass frame Navies

I was going to try doubling up mainsprings

Hey Stan.
Hoping that you have the issue solved by now.
My Colt Pocket Navy is a nice little shooter I prefer to use conicals rather than round ball, seems to load a bit easier. I also have a Remington New Model Police revolver converted to 38 rimfire. I reload the 38 rimfire cartridges with Hornady .36 .375 dia round ball projectiles with 15gr of 777 . That is a great shooting load from my 3½" revolver
Any chance the bore on both revolvers are slightly smaller diameter than the projectiles you are using ?