Balls backing out of the chambers

[woodsnwater]

Hunting in this below freezing cold this past weekend I tried to shoot the 1860 and it wouldn’t cock.
Three of the five balls were sticking out of their chambers. At home later I removed the cylinder, smacked it on a piece of wood and three balls fell out.
I loaded it in a warm house, 28grs of powder, wad and a .457 ball. There was plenty of lead shaved off when loaded, I’ll post a pic of a ball.

 

[Some_Mook]

With that load and a wad, the bullets were seated so that there was compression of the powder and wad. The force used to compress the loading would have been the same force pressing against the balls, and you may now have empirical evidence of any changes to dissimilar metal dimensions when heat energy is removed.

When I need to press a ring gear onto a differential carrier, I freeze the gear for a few hours. The change in dimensions in what is essentially a pressed fit assembly from the cold (removing heat) allows for more of a slip-fit and eases the assembly of the two components.

 

[Ed C.]

That was interesting. Lead expands/contracts twice as fast as steel with temperature changes so going from warm to cold the balls will loosen up. Had you loaded outside and then come into a warm house those balls would be really tight in the cylinder.

 

[Stantheman86]

This is the stuff I never even think about.....

This is interesting

I wonder if at any time, soldiers or cowboys loaded up by the campfire then the next morning headed out into the sub zero temps on the Frontier and bullets dropped out of their chambers

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Never seen this happen, but I don't doubt that it did. I wonder, if you had managed to fire it, would all the balls have been "ejected"? Might this have caused a chainfire? Hmmmm....

 

[nkbj]

That was interesting. Lead expands/contracts twice as fast as steel with temperature changes so going from warm to cold the balls will loosen up. Had you loaded outside and then come into a warm house those balls would be really tight in the cylinder.

Been off the drawing board a long time. I'd've had to google that one.
Might be a good argument for not having a polished finish in chambers.

 

[woodsnwater]

Never seen this happen, but I don't doubt that it did. I wonder, if you had managed to fire it, would all the balls have been "ejected"? Might this have caused a chainfire? Hmmmm....

I could push the ball in and it would come right back out. I considered pushing it in and cocking it at the same time but that seemed a little sketchy. I discovered the other two balls protruding when I got home and was glad I didn't fire it.
I pulled the wads from those three chambers, loaded new balls and covered all five with wonder seals like I normally do. It did fine yesterday but it was in the low thirties instead of low twenties.