Cap jams

[Paul LaFranco]

I just bought an 1862 Uberti police model in .36 cal. Now I haven’t even gotten the gun yet, it will be delivered some time this week. But I was looking at them on You Tube and it seems they have a problem with the caps coming off the nipples and jamming the action. They said there’s 3 fixes for it #1 fill in that notch on the hammer face with JB weld, then file it down and polish the hammer face, #2, round off the sharp edges of that notch so it can’t grab the cap, then polish the hammer face, and #3 requires a gunsmith to drill a hole and insert a pin right in front of the cap so the notch in the hammer can’t pull the cap off. If this problem is as bad as they say it is on You Tube, then I’m sure some of you guys and gals have dealt with it, so can any of you tell me which of the 3 fixes is the best one to use?
Thanks
Paul

 

[bang]

My colts rarely get cap jam. One non repair method that does work is to give a wrist twist to the right as you cock the hammer. Cap jam can happen to any of them.

 

[SDSmlf]

If this problem is as bad as they say it is on You Tube

There are a lot of ‘solutions’ on YouTube looking for a problem. Shoot the gun before considering any of them and you may find you have no issues.

 

[rafterob]

I had a Remington model new army which would occasionally get a jam. I found that assertively cocking the action eliminated any jamming. The times it jammed was from slowly cocking the hammer.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Colt machined the tiny notch in the hammer face and the replicas cast it in place. The slight deburring of the notch if nessasary can work but at least shoot it before doing anything. I did add a cap rake to mine as I wanted to shoot fast with out any thought about jams. It worked.
IMG_0457 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[Paul LaFranco]

Thanks much for the info, yeah I’m gonna shoot it first I was just getting ready for “ what if’s.” I hope it’s gonna be trouble free. I have an 1858 Remington sheriffs model made by Pietta and it’s been a real pleasure, never any probs with that gun. I just got my shootin range finished, nothing fancy I built a burm on the edge of the property and put up some steel plates, this weekend there’s gonna be plenty black powder smoke in the air.

 

[ord sgt]

That's what works for me. A quick flip of the wrist to the right and the spent cap is gone.

 

[Bad Karma]

I’m with the shoot it first crowd. No point in fixing something that isn’t broke... or, like my First
Sergeant used to say, ”He’s gonna fix that till it’s broke.”

I use Remington 10’s on nipples that fit them well and they don’t follow the hammer and drop in the works. Only one of my revolvers has a cap post and it was put there by The Outlaw Kid when he tuned that one. 75% of the time the spent caps fall off as the cylinder advances past the capping groove on the right side of the frame. The rest of the time they stay put until I flick them off as I’m reloading the cylinder. If I had to use other caps I would probably roll my wrist to the right.

 

[Chaney79]

I use a piece of aquarium air line to make percussion cap keepers..Cut about the same size as my caps. Put a cap on the nipple, slide the air line over the cap so it sits just below the top of the cap. Takes a couple more seconds to load a cylinder but it holds the caps in place after they’re fired and pretty much eliminates cap jams. (Here’s a picture that I pulled off the internet for reference)

 

[kh54]

Colt machined the tiny notch in the hammer face and the replicas cast it in place. The slight deburring of the notch if nessasary can work but at least shoot it before doing anything. I did add a cap rake to mine as I wanted to shoot fast with out any thought about jams. It worked.
IMG_0457 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

OK, I give. What’s a “cap rake”?

 

[Mean Gene]

I smoothed the edges of the notch and replaced my cones with Slixshot brand, I also flick my wrist to the right and cook the hammer vigorously.

 

[Dashing Leper]

OK, I give. What’s a “cap rake”?

A small post installed on top of the frame in the hammer's channel. If a cap were to stick to the face of the hammer, that stuck cap will hit the post and get raked off the hammer before it can go further back and fall into the action.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

#2, round off the sharp edges of that notch so it can’t grab the cap, then polish the hammer face, ...,If this problem is as bad as they say it is on You Tube, then I’m sure some of you guys and gals have dealt with it, so can any of you tell me which of the 3 fixes is the best one to use?

A Cure For Cap Sucking C&B Revolvers

LD

 

[kid_couteau]

Back in my CAS days I shot 51's and 60's

What I did that worked very well for me was this:

When putting the caps on I used a piece of deer antler to press them on. This way if I pressed too hard and it went off the antler took the beating not my thumb.
But I do not remember ever having one go off.

After every shot when I went to cock the gun I twisted my wrist so it would toss the old cap and fragments free of the gun. Hardly ever had a jam.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I too use the wrist twist to the right as cocking to avoid cap jams. Rarely happens.