Cap Jamming

[USMA65]

I have been shooting my Uberti 1851 Navy quite a bit lately. The caps I am using are #11 CCI. It is almost impossible to shoot more than twice without having to stop to clear a jammed,spent cap. Either they fail to stay in place, or they fall onto the hammer, preventing full fall of the hammer sufficient to fire the next round, or they partially fall off, but jam cylinder rotation. I have tried cocking horizontally and vertically; either producing the same result. It is hard to imagine being armed with one of these guns in combat. Was this problem prevalent in the Civil War and the Indian battles? What would you advise?

 

[streetsniper]

Look up duelist1954 on this forum. He does instructional videos on these firearms. In fact he just posted one addressing your issues today. You'll find it in Gunbuilder's section of the forum.

 

[talon]

You might try #10 caps. Most import pistols have nipples that are smaller than a #11 cap.

 

[necchi]

You might try #10 caps.

+1,
I just picked up the same revolver and #11 caps will of course fit over the nipple but they're too big.
I got a tin of CCI #10 and they fit proper. :idunno:

 

[Zonie]

Yes, this is an inherent problem that has existed since the first Colt revolver was made.

The very early Colts such as the Walker didn't have a groove in the recoil shield to the right hammer. The recoil shield is flat and it tended to trap the spent caps between itself and the rear of the rotating cylinder.

Problems in combat and in pistol practice with caps jamming the guns caused Colt to add the groove to the Colt Dragoons that followed the Walker and the design was retained throughout all of the subsequent Colt cap and ball revolvers.

Because the Remington and Whitney have a closed frame which is quite narrow at the top and because only the nose of the hammer protrudes thru the recoil shield to strike the cap, the spent cap problem isn't apparent on these guns.

You might want to remove your cylinder and check out the holes in the nipples.
They should be very small, less than 1/32 inch in diameter.
If they are larger because they have eroded or because someone has enlarged them with a 1/16" drill, that could explain why the cap fragments are blowing off of the nipples?

Getting back to your problem, I've found that snapping my wrist to the right (I'm right handed) while I'm cocking the gun helps to throw the fragments out to the side.
This seems to reduce the number of cap jams but it won't totally eliminate them.

 

[Rifleman1776]

You might try #10 caps.

+1,
I just picked up the same revolver and #11 caps will of course fit over the nipple but they're too big.
I got a tin of CCI #10 and they fit proper. :idunno:

The answer you need. :hatsoff:

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

Zonie is correct about the method of cocking open top Colts and duelist1954 will probably tell you the same. Be aware that No.10 and No.11 caps are exactly the same except that No.10 caps are slightly longer. No.10 caps give a little more purchase on the cone (nipple) than the No. 11. Depending on the usage you are intending you may consider investing in a set of Tresco or Slix cones which work very well with Remington No.10 caps.

Further, there are modifications that can be made to a Colt to preclude all such jamming problems such as; what is referred to as the ”˜Manhattan’ conversion, or just having the safety notch on the hammer filled in. It all takes time and money and how far you wish to take it.

 

[ronnie_kennedy]

I have an 1851 Confederate Navy and have the same problem with #10 caps...remington and cci. I have been told that it is just a problem you have to deal with. Sometimes my revolver gets to the point where i have to literally take it apart to clear it. Luckily it has the wedge in the barrel and is super easy to dismantle anywhere i am.

 

[Mike 56]

I did the J-B weld trick to all of my cap eating Colts. Now they have to go hungry.No more cap jams.

 

[ronnie_kennedy]

JB weld trick? What's that?

 

[wilded]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfTGjm3IDYw

 

[Mike 56]

Look up duelist1954 on this forum. He does instructional videos on these firearms. In fact he just posted one addressing your issues today. You'll find it in Gunbuilder's section of the forum.

You fill in the hammer notch with J-B weld duelist1954 has video on how to do it.

 

[Billnpatti]

Most revolvers require #10 caps. They are just a bit smaller than the #11 caps and should solve your problem.

 

[ronnie_kennedy]

Just found it...awesome trick! Thanks

 

[MSW]

nice video - thanks for posting it!