Regular misfires with Pietta .36 revolver

[Gsyme]

Got into black powder this year with a CVA rifle a friend gave me - and then bought a Pietta .36 revolver on a whim. It is fun and my first group of three shots was way tighter than I expected.

However, I am getting frequent misfires. It always fires the second time after I replace the cap on that chamber. I am using the same #11 caps I use with my .45 rifle, which is an extremely reliable igniter.

I pinch the caps a little to make them stay on the nipple and try to press them in tight but still 2 cylinders usually misfire.

Are these caps just too big? Thanks in advance for any ideas. At the moment I'm thinking of giving up the revolver and buying a single shot bp pistol instead.

 

[nhmoose]

Get better nipples. Track of the Wolf and many other suppliers have them made for the #11 caps. Most original factory nipples want #10's. Pinching 11's on a revolver can and will have problems.

Also push the caps down with a piece of dowel to make sure they seat. When a cap goes of on the second hit that is because the first hit seated it.

 

[Gsyme]

Thank you, Moose. I should have clarified. The caps themselves are not misfiring. The caps explode every time, but, often the powder does not. However, after I replace the cap, the powder ignites always on the second cap.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Are using pyrodex, or other then black powder. Seems it may be a bit of oil left in the chambers.

 

[CaptainKirk]

Flash channels are contaminated with either powder residue or oil.

 

[PastorB]

I have never had a cap and ball revolvers fail to fire, when the cap went off, in 44 years of shooting them. Black powder, pyrodex, Triple 7, has not mattered. Has to be a LOT of oil to accomplish that. I have had caps fail to ignite, either a bad cap, or wasn't seated properly, but not firing when the cap goes off has never occurred. There is something else going on, and all but one of my revolvers (uberti 1849) have standard pietta factory nipples.

 

[54ball]

Is this a brand new Pietta?

You need to take the revolver down. Remove the nipples from the cylinder. This requires a special revolver nipple wrench.

With the nipples removed, you want to make sure the cylinders are clear. There is a video...(I have watched so many lately) that shows flakes of metal inside the cylinders from the machining/drilling and tapping process. This was a brand new revolver and I cannot recall if it was Pietta or Uberti. Anyway it had metal pieces in the cylinder.
All he did was clear them with drill bit in his fingers. A few twists and it all came out.

Most nipple wrenches come with a nipple pick. A sewing pin could work but you need to pick the nipples to make sure they are clear.

My new Pietta came with a hairy like black grease in the recesses and around the nipples. This is another reason it needs to be taken down and cleaned.

 

[Gsyme]

Ah! It is brand new. I have only used 3f Goex in it. I will take it all apart and do as suggested. Thanks much.

 

[Zapadach]

A note off caution, if the cap goes off and the chamber does not fire, never cycle to the next chamber to shoot. It is possible that the cap could send the round partly down the barrel with the next shot blowing the barrel up possibly causing serious injury.

 

[bang]

Get #10 caps. #11are too big, pinching to hold not good. Make sure to seat cap.
Get gas weld tip cleaner. Clean nipples.
Like PastorB, never had this issue.

 

[.36Rooster]

...At one time, I was firing a pietta navy so often for 3-4 hour sessions that I wore out its parts...I had the same problems you are talking about at first; but it stopped.

Here is what you need to know:

Use #10 caps. That is the proper size for the nipples on a pietta navy. You should also ensure those caps are seated firmly down flush for a tight fit using a dowel or flat tipped ball starter. Press down hard on each cap with the dowel and keep the muzzle in a safe direction. It will not cause a discharge... If you don't like this step, and are handy enough, you can hone your nipples a bit with a file so that you can seat your caps well enough with your thumb. Either of these practices along with #10 caps will eliminate 100 percent of all misfires on your first 2 cylinders. But that's only on the first two cylinders...

That's because on a pietta navy your nipples need to be removed and cleaned after every 2-3 cylinders. This is where the other misfires come from. For whatever reason, it seems to be that external (not internal) fouling on the nipple cones , is what causes the remaining misfires once one is using proper fitting and properly seated caps. One shortcut to removing and cleaning is flossing them on the gun with a wet and then a dry length of course yarn. It has worked for me quite well.

The other alternative is to purchase 2 or more extra sets of nipples and swap them out with a clean set on every 3rd cylinder. I prefer this method, and that's what I do. Just clean each extra set of nipples when you clean the gun.

Gun hygeine, especially with the nipples is the name of the game. Once you get it right, you will have no doubt whether your gun will go off after you cap it:

For instance, I have a .36 navy with 5 cylinders loaded and capped in my drawer, with the hammer resting on the empty 6th, and there is no doubt in my mind at all that if I picked it up, it would fire all 5 cylinders without a misfire. Thats why its in my drawer instead of my supposedly more reliable .38. I am not concerned because I keep it CLEAN, and I know them caps are seated to blow their sparks inside the nipple and not outside.

 

[Billy Boy]

Got into black powder this year with a CVA rifle a friend gave me - and then bought a Pietta .36 revolver on a whim. It is fun and my first group of three shots was way tighter than I expected.

However, I am getting frequent misfires. It always fires the second time after I replace the cap on that chamber. I am using the same #11 caps I use with my .45 rifle, which is an extremely reliable igniter.

I pinch the caps a little to make them stay on the nipple and try to press them in tight but still 2 cylinders usually misfire.

Are these caps just too big? Thanks in advance for any ideas. At the moment I'm thinking of giving up the revolver and buying a single shot bp pistol instead.

Strange, revolvers are direct ignition, iv’e not heard of this situation before. Remove the nipples, clean/scrub the cylinder, examine bores with good light. Maybe change to #10 nipples.

 

[45D]

Don't go throwing money at a problem where one may not exist. The more important thing is finding caps that fit properly. The cap industry doesn't adhear to any measurement standard. CCI #10 caps are much to small to fit on the same nipple that Remington #10's fit. Instead, CCI #11's are closer in size to Rem.10's . . . just as RWS 1075's are a good alternative to Rem.10's or CCI 11's. Typically, factory nipples work with these caps.

Mike

 

[.36Rooster]

Don't go throwing money at a problem where one may not exist. The more important thing is finding caps that fit properly. The cap industry doesn't adhear to any measurement standard. CCI #10 caps are much to small to fit on the same nipple that Remington #10's fit. Instead, CCI #11's are closer in size to Rem.10's . . . just as RWS 1075's are a good alternative to Rem.10's or CCI 11's. Typically, factory nipples work with these caps.

Mike

Honestly, i have never compared sizes of #10s between brands, i use cci almost exclusively because they are more available, and don't often use others nearly as often, which may be why i have never noticed that. However, I'd like to caution my recommendation on custom filing your nipple, because this would be a factor if you did it...seating caps with a dowel though, will make the difference on factory nipples. I have had reliable ignition from every brand I've ever used by seating with dowels on factory nipples; but if using multiple brands, i could see how file fitting your nipples could get a bit sticky.

 

[William Lincoln]

No 10 Remingtons. Never pulled nipples after 3 cylinders. This is the first I have heard it
recommended to prevent misfires. If you use real BP and proper caps for the nipples
you should be able to shoot 5 or more cylinders without misfires. The issue is binding
on the base pin (Remingtons) and caps jamming on (Colts.)

 

[wb78963]

Any time a hand gun goes poop instead of boom STOP! Check the barrel for a ball wedged in the forcing cone. Today I had a Smith carbine go pop not boom and I could not see through the barrel. My error was a case with no powder and a bullet stuck i the forcing cone just from the power of the musket cap.
You usually only blow a gun up or ruin a barrel once. Be careful slow down and use your head.
Yr' Obt' Svt'
Bunk (who has been shooting these things a long time)

 

[smoothshooter]

Got into black powder this year with a CVA rifle a friend gave me - and then bought a Pietta .36 revolver on a whim. It is fun and my first group of three shots was way tighter than I expected.

However, I am getting frequent misfires. It always fires the second time after I replace the cap on that chamber. I am using the same #11 caps I use with my .45 rifle, which is an extremely reliable igniter.

I pinch the caps a little to make them stay on the nipple and try to press them in tight but still 2 cylinders usually misfire.

Are these caps just too big? Thanks in advance for any ideas. At the moment I'm thinking of giving up the revolver and buying a single shot bp pistol instead.

 

[.36Rooster]

Any time a hand gun goes poop instead of boom STOP! Check the barrel for a ball wedged in the forcing cone. Today I had a Smith carbine go pop not boom and I could not see through the barrel. My error was a case with no powder and a bullet stuck i the forcing cone just from the power of the musket cap.
You usually only blow a gun up or ruin a barrel once. Be careful slow down and use your head.
Yr' Obt' Svt'
Bunk (who has been shooting these things a long time)

I think this is good advice. It can absolutely happen. I once had an older cva vest derringer that i KNOW beyond any doubt that i had just loaded, because it was the first time i had ever loaded a smoothbore, and the different feel struck me.

It went pop..after capping and popping several times, i decided it was time to pick the nipple. When i broke the action open, i stood there puzzled for a full minute at the light shining through into my eyes....damn, i know i loaded that barrel... after sitting down to check my sanity and ponder, the only logical conclusion i could come up with, is that initial cap had misfired and pushed that tiny 5 grain charge and .31 caliber ball out the barrel and landed on the ground somewhere out and front of me. I loaded it again, and BOOM..so yes, a misfire can displace a ball and plug your forcing cone or barrel. It is a dangerous practice to rotate the cylinder and save that chamber for later to fix at the end. Damage or injury could ensue.

 

[smoothshooter]

Got into black powder this year with a CVA rifle a friend gave me - and then bought a Pietta .36 revolver on a whim. It is fun and my first group of three shots was way tighter than I expected.

However, I am getting frequent misfires. It always fires the second time after I replace the cap on that chamber. I am using the same #11 caps I use with my .45 rifle, which is an extremely reliable igniter.

I pinch the caps a little to make them stay on the nipple and try to press them in tight but still 2 cylinders usually misfire.

Are these caps just too big? Thanks in advance for any ideas. At the moment I'm thinking of giving up the revolver and buying a single shot bp pistol instead.

The nipples are not likely to be your problem: or at least the only problem. That gun has other issues.
You should not ever have to remove the nipples except to clean the gun at the end of the day, and sometimes not even then. Life will be easier if you put a tiny amount of anti-seize grease in the threads whenever you do take them out and reinstall them Does not matter much what you use ( beeswax, paraffin, patch lube, moly grease, etc. ). Just use something.
A change of nipples might help, as might reducing the diameter of the conical part of the nipples about where the skirt of the cap stops when putting them on.
A toothbrush and a somewhat stiff straight- bristled brush can be your friends. It is most difficult to clean a percussion revolver well without them.
A chamber is the individual hole that holds a single powder charge and ball.
The cylinder is that larger roundie thing with 5 or 6 identical holes in a circular arrangement.

Don’t give up on your revolver just yet. Sometimes they ca be a real pain in the beginning, but properly tweaked, most of them can be made to be remarkably reliable.
Good luck with it!

 

[JohnL]

The nipples are not likely to be your problem: or at least the only problem. That gun has other issues.
You should not ever have to remove the nipples except to clean the gun at the end of the day, and sometimes not even then. Life will be easier if you put a tiny amount of anti-seize grease in the threads whenever you do take them out and reinstall them Does not matter much what you use ( beeswax, paraffin, patch lube, moly grease, etc. ). Just use something.
A change of nipples might help, as might reducing the diameter of the conical part of the nipples about there the shirt of the cap stops when putting them on.
A toothbrush and a somewhat stiff straight- bristled brush can be your friends. It is most difficult to clean a percussion revolver well without them.
A chamber is the individual hole that holds a single powder charge and ball.
The cylinder is that larger roundie thing with 5 or 6 identical holes in a circular arrangement.

Don’t give up on your revolver just yet. Sometimes they ca be a real pain in the beginning, but properly tweaked, most of them can be made to be remarkably reliable.
Good luck with it!

I use Gorilla Grease on the nipple threads of my revolvers, shotguns and rifles. A little dab will do you.