Severe 1858 Binding

[jordanka16]

I recently purchased a new Uberti 1858 Remington, and just got to fire it today. The problem is that after only 2 shots, it binds up, and the only way to free it is to put it in half-cock, and turn the cylinder really hard. After a few revolutions, it frees up again, and i can shoot 2 more rounds before it binds up. I can't for the life of me figure out whats causing it to bind, i've coated all moving parts with ballistol, and I checked the gap between the cylinder and barrel with a feeler gauge, and it's .005 inches. I'm using pyrodex p, ox-yoke wonder wads, and .454 round balls. Thanks for your help!

-Jordan

 

[Zonie]

Welcome to the forum.

You might try adding some Bore Butter or Crisco over the balls in the chambers mouths.

This over ball lube not only lubricates the balls as they pass down the bore but it will blow out against the cylinder face.

On the cylinder face, it will tend to keep the fouling soft so it will scrape off easily as the cylinder turns.

You might also want to look at the rear of the cylinder around the ratchet area for bright polished looking spots.
If you see any, lightly filing or sanding them down may help.

There are those who think a .005 cylinder gap is about right but I'm not one of them.

IMO, for a modern gun shooting smokeless powder that small gap may be fine but these black powder guns can stand a slightly larger gap to accommodate the fouling buildup on the cylinder face. The small loss in velocity is made up for by the better reliability of a larger gap.

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not advocating taking a file to your gun and changing it a lot. Just enough to loosen things up a bit.

Now that I am thinking about it, just shooting it more will probably help loosen it up a bit.

Have fun.

 

[jordanka16]

I will try and use crisco, but do you think it would work as well if i soaked the wonder wads in melted crisco? I often carry the gun in a holster, and i don't relish the thought of having crisco dripping down my pant leg. Thanks!

-Jordan

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Wrong post.

 

[brubincam]

-----put the white crisco on the cylinder pin also-----

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. sep 5 / 4:20am


i use bore butter and it does stay solid enough so that it will not drip as long as the air temp is at or below 70 degrees.. to stiffen it up for hotter days i've made a mixture of about 80/20 with bee's wax by melting and combining both substances in a home made double-boiler of sorts (actually just two small ceramic cups in an electric pan filled with water).. this mixture is *really* stiff on cool days and "tooth paste" texture on warm days..

also, it might not hurt to disassemble your new remington and thoroughlly clean the internal parts, then apply non-petroleum grease and oil..

while it's apart, look for burrs or 'out of round' marks on the cylinder and barrel as suggested.. my first revolver was really hard to cycle after the first few shots until i started using better lubricants.. now i can fire 50-60 rounds in a day easily..

let us know how it goes...

~d~

 

[fyrfyter43]

the

I will try and use crisco, but do you think it would work as well if i soaked the wonder wads in melted crisco?

I don't have any experience with Remmies, but my Uberti 1860 Colt will run all day with the following: I use Crisco to lube the cylinder pin. I make sure I get as much as possible on the pin and in the cylinder. I use lubed wads that I make myself. The felt I use is 1/8" thick of hard density from Durofelt (item #FM18H-3). I can cut at least 7500 wads (.44 cal.) out of that sheet of felt for $40.

I make my own lube using the following formula:
2 parts mutton tallow
2 parts paraffin
1 part beeswax

To lube the wads, I put a heaping tablespoon of the lube in a plastic container and melt it in the microwave. I drop 100 wads into the melted lube and stir them with a wooden stick until the wads are saturated and the lube is pretty well solidified. Then I put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes. When I take them out of the freezer, I make sure the wads aren't stuck together, and put them in a different container to take to the range. I spend about 2-3 hours to make and lube 1000 wads.

These wads are stiff enough to keep fouling to a minimum, but still do a good job keeping everything lubed. And on all but the hottest days, the lube is stiff enough that your hands stay pretty clean.

The last time at the range, I put 72 balls through my 1860, and it was still turning fine.

 

[jordanka16]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I have been using the same oil i use to lubricate my smokeless guns on this one, and i now suspect that this is the culprit.

looks like i'll be heading to the store to pick up some suitable lube, and as soon as the rain lets up i'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I have been using the same oil i use to lubricate my smokeless guns on this one, and i now suspect that this is the culprit.

I agree. :thumbsup:

 

[jordanka16]

Well, i took it all apart and removed all traces of oil, then i put it back together using Bore Butter as lube.

It shoots great now, smooth for every shot and no binding, thanks for all your help guys!

I guess the gun oil was the problem, i made sure to put plenty of bore butter on the cylinder pin.

 

[Poor Private]

Bore Butter Rocks, I have been using it for years. I even use it to saturate my home made felt wads(out of old hats). You just got to be careful not to over saturate as I found out this summer. Too much is as bad as not enough. I got into the powder when I compressed the load and what a mess. Didn't fire, had to pull balls, and clean the cylinder chambers, then dry out the wads. And here I was primed for an afternoon of BP smoke--ohhh what a wonderful smell!!!!! :thumbsup:

 

[mazo kid]

I guess the gun oil was the problem, i made sure to put plenty of bore butter on the cylinder pin.

Others have steered you onto the solution; glad to see it is working for you now. Some shooters have said that SYNTHETIC automotive grease works really great on the cylinder pin. I bought a tube a short time ago, but haven't had a chance to try it yet.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Toilet bowl ring grease works fine for a friend of mine. He uses it on the cylinder pin and can shoot the Walker all day!

Dave

 

[Zonie]

IMO, it's hard to compare a Walker or any other Colt style pistol with the Remington.

Colt's cylinder pin is large and has many grease grooves cut into it to hold the grease and keep out the fouling.

The Remington on the other hand has a very small ungrooved cylinder pin so greasing it is a bit more difficult.

I'm not saying that toilet bowl rings won't work. In fact because of the thickness of the wax it might work quite well on a Remington as long as it doesn't get too cold.

 

[jordanka16]

I agree that some of the problem is the base pin's size, I have been putting a mixture of bees wax and crisco on it, and also soaking wonder wads in this mixture, it's a little messy to load, but it will shoot all day.

It's also improved the accuracy, I assume by cleaning out the previous shot's fouling every time I fire. The best group I've got out of it is 2" at 20 yards, with 1 flyer.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Zonie,

I only mentioned the fellow's comment because he did the toilet ring grease thing on his Walker. I have 2 of the '58 revolvers, and both of them sometimes need a whack with a wooden mallet to get the pins to move! I guess I'll never be changing cylinders like 'ol Clint did in the movies :haha:

Dave