A lemon?

[TreeMan]

i've cleaned this gun to death and as i aid there'ss no problem shooting pyrodex in my rifle. Is it possible there' a defect in the cylinder or should I try shooting just ball and powder without the lubed wad?

If your lubed wad is dripping wet with some sort of oil then yeah it will contaminate your powder. Blast that cylinder with brake cleaner, let it evaporate, load powder and ball and try it. Heck don’t load a ball and just ram a wad of some toilet paper on top of the powder and shoot a few blanks. Pyrodex should work fine in a revolver unless is very old or contaminated. 20 grains of it that you were trying should be perfectly adequate. I never shoot more than 20 grains of 3F Goex in any of my revolvers.

 

[Squatch84]

Even if your cylinder is out of time the pressure from 20 grains of pyrodex should at least get the ball into the barrel with signs of lead shearing.
I'm at a loss of how the ball is still sitting in the cylinder if the whole charge touches off.

 

[lenl349]

I'm using wads i got from a muzzleloading site and are specifically for pistols. i'm going to try and shoot without the wad and when i can find it get some BP. thanks for all the advice

 

[SOLANCO]

pull the trigger and cap and pyro explode but the RB gets stuck at the end of the cylinder before going into the barrel.

Bizarre.

 

[wb78963]

Here and in other forum strings I have read of problems associated with pyrodex.

Leads me to wonder what pyrodex may be good for.

it is not even good for fertilizer. I am told it makes grass rust

 

[M. De Land]

I tried a can or two many decades ago and found it worked OK in warm weather but when it got below about 20 F it would not ignite reliably in the TC patent breech 50 cal I had. It does rust more than BP fouling in my opinion.

 

[Bill Rowe]

What is the shelf life of Black Powder ? I still have some I bought 40 years ago still in metal cans. They has been kept in a dry area in a large wood copper lined powder box. I remember using 2f some 15 years ago in my cannon at the time , and had no problem then. Some it poured out in chunks, due to sweat and moister from the metal 1lb. cans I suppose. But did break up fine, and worked as dry. Never shot that other stuff. Sound like problems with Pyrodex.

 

[TreeMan]

What is the shelf life of Black Powder ? I still have some I bought 40 years ago still in metal cans. They has been kept in a dry area in a large wood copper lined powder box. I remember using 2f some 15 years ago in my cannon at the time , and had no problem then. Some it poured out in chunks, due to sweat and moister from the metal 1lb. cans I suppose. But did break up fine, and worked as dry. Never shot that other stuff. Sound like problems with Pyrodex.

A friend gave me some Gearhart Owen powder from around 1970 and it works like it’s new production. BP never goes bad if stored properly.

 

[TFoley]

If the ball goes into the chamber, then it must also come out of the chamber. I just can't understand the problem.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I would agree with everything said regarding your cleaning regimen and choice of propellant.

It may be worthwhile, though, just to rule everything out, to check your alignment.

If your cylinder is still loaded, carefully remove it from the revolver. Remove the caps from the nipples. Remove the nipples with a proper wrench, and dump out any residual powder through the nipple seat holes. Insert a wooden dowel or brass rod through each hole in turn, and use a wood, rawhide, or plastic mallet to drive out the stuck balls. Clean and lubricate your entire revolver, and reassemble it.

Next, find a straight hardwood dowel about a foot long. It should be a slip fit in the bore of your revolver, with minimal wiggle, so you may need to start with a 3/8" dowel and plane or sand it down so it will just slide in the bore.

Be certain that the firearm is unloaded. Cock the revolver, and slide the dowel into the bore, all the way into the chamber of the cylinder until it contacts the base of the nipple inside the chamber. The rod should slide freely all the way in. If you feel it bump against the edge of the chamber mouth, that chamber may be out of alignment with the bore. If the rod won't go into the cylinder at all, you really have an alignment problem. Repeat for each chamber, and mark any that are out of alignment.

If any of them don't line up, you definitely need the services of a gunsmith who understands revolvers. Depending on how much you have invested in this firearm, if there is a serious alignment problem, you might just have a wall hanger.

A problem of that severity is unlikely. If it's that far out of alignment, there would probably also be a problem with the hammer impacting the nipple. The forcing cone may actually "forgive" a slight misalignment, and all of the fellows who responded previously gave excellent suggestions for troubleshooting. We are just covering all the bases here. However, if the balls are moving in the cylinder and still not exiting the chamber, it may be worth checking. Might be worth checking, anyhow, as proper alignment may help with accuracy once you get 'er shooting.

Notchy Bob

 

[Whitworth]

My brother recently finished off one of the old round cardboard containers of Pyrodex he had kicking around since 1984. It worked in his revolvers and percussion guns OK. A cap alone should propel the ball out of the chamber so I'm guessing you have cap or nipple problem.

 

[Grenadier1758]

What is the shelf life of Black Powder ? I still have some I bought 40 years ago still in metal cans. They has been kept in a dry area in a large wood copper lined powder box. I remember using 2f some 15 years ago in my cannon at the time , and had no problem then. Some it poured out in chunks, due to sweat and moister from the metal 1lb. cans I suppose. But did break up fine, and worked as dry. Never shot that other stuff. Sound like problems with Pyrodex.

I have some DuPont 4fg powder that I use on occasion. Still works. Canon balls fill with black powder that are over 180 years old will still explode. Shelf like is very long.