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Flame impingement cannot enter the cylinder from the front if a proper sized ball is used.
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Wads in Pietta 1858
- Thread starter Mike in FL
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Flame impingement cannot enter the cylinder from the front if a proper sized ball is used.
Read the manual from a cap n ball revolver, such as Ruger...
It can ignite powder residue in the mouth of the case. There is NO definitive proof of the "theory" that the chamber(s) are ignited from only the rear. There ARE videos of chain-fires from BOTH ends of the chambers.
It can ignite powder residue in the mouth of the case. There is NO definitive proof of the "theory" that the chamber(s) are ignited from only the rear. There ARE videos of chain-fires from BOTH ends of the chambers.
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Mike in FL
50 Cal.
I didn't mean to ask about chain fires. Sorry. But thanks everyone for the input about a second wad.
I am new to cb revolver and to be safe I got wounder seals to put oover the ball
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I honestly think I had a chain fire today and didn't even notice....I loaded 6 and only dropped the hammer 5 times.....cylinder was empty......I didn't notice anything off but who knows.
Mike in FL
50 Cal.
Stant, I'm trying to understand. Did you actually fire five or just let the hammer down? How is it a chamber was empty? And how would an empty cylinder cause a chain fire? Maybe you are saying you pulled the trigger only five times, but found the entire cylinder empty?
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I honestly don't know what exactly happened.......I've fired 1000s of rounds through cap and ballers, and never had this happen.........and today I was trying out new nipples in a pair of brasser .36 Navies
I loaded 6 rounds , put the hammer on half cock and fired at a 50 yard target. I've been shooting revolvers my whole life and I always keep a "count " in my head when I shoot.....at round #4 I had a cap jam, I cleared it and noticed I only had 1 cap left on a nipple. Thinking it fell off, I checked the front of the chambers (safely) by looking for balls in the chamber. Only 1 ball in the wheel.......
I capped it off and decided it was time to go home
it was getting dark anyway Nothing off with the gun, I never noticed any of the shots sounding different. No idea. I'm 100% certain I loaded 6 because I remember spinning the cylinder and seeing every chamber with a ball in it, before applying the over chamber lube.
I was using #11 caps on nipples turned down to fit red toy caps, and if I had to guess I'd say that two chambers lit off at some point and I just never noticed. It must have been the first shot that lit off two chambers. Which makes sense as the chamber to the right of the fired chamber would have just "blooped" the ball out with little velocity and the pressure popped the cap off. Never even knew.
It must have occurred at the nipple end. I have put several hundred rounds through these guns with no issues.
It's like the round just dissapeared. It's one of those Unsolved Mysteries of the Range I guess
smoothshooter
50 Cal.
Actually, it has been proven with high-speed photography in a dark room.
It is not possible for flame to get past a good quality ball when there is 100% contact with the interior of the chamber wall.
Jim in Wisconsin
40 Cal
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Stan, you probably did have a chain fire. I've had a few of them, and wasn't entirely sure of what happened either. It's not very noticable, but it does seem strange to think the ball could come out and would have to rub along the frame and not make more "commotion".
Mike in FL
50 Cal.
Thanks Stan. I see what you're saying now. Someday (most days) I'm a little slow.
Johnny Tremain
Silversmith in training
I dont even use felt wads, I use veggie wads because I have millions of them.
The wad against the powder will stop any wondering sparks.
Mic your cylinders and get a ball bigger than your biggest cylinder.
I bought a .454 mould before I measured mine of I would have bought .457.
My biggest cylinder is .453.
Still not worried, the wad will do its job. Slix Shot cones also will prevent flash from the other end.
The wad against the powder will stop any wondering sparks.
Mic your cylinders and get a ball bigger than your biggest cylinder.
I bought a .454 mould before I measured mine of I would have bought .457.
My biggest cylinder is .453.
Still not worried, the wad will do its job. Slix Shot cones also will prevent flash from the other end.
Manufacturers STILL encourage greasing the chamber mouths to prevent chain fires, because it's truth
Comfortably_Numb
The Evil Mike Brooks
No, it's because they have lawyers telling them what to do if they want to sell revolvers.
...belive it if you like
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smoothshooter
50 Cal.
That may be because they have to consider the Lowest Common Denominator shooter out there who doesn’t really know what he is doing and is using undersized balls.
Also keep in mind the Italians, even the ones who run the replica arms industries, are not really shooters. Guns are widgets to them.
Comfortably_Numb
The Evil Mike Brooks
I'll continue to believe what I know to be true.. I have easily fired thousands of rounds through percussion revolvers in competition. Never had a chain fire. If your caps fit correctly and you use a properly sized ball you'll never have a chain fire either.
Now THAT I agree with
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There are videos of fire coming from the front of a cylinder with multiple cylinders firing; but that is what happens when multiple chambers fire. It was never shown that the fire "jumped" from chamber mouth to chamber mouth in a revolver loaded with correctly-sized projectiles that give unbroken circumferential contact with the chamber.
TL
R, I was unable to experimentally reproduce chainfires across the face of the cylinder using correctly fit balls. Using undersize balls, uncapped (loaded) chambers, and loose caps, I was able to experimentally reproduce chainfires.I set out to deliberately test possible causes of chainfires. Test gun was a Ruger Old Army with cylinder throats reamed to a uniform .455" and set up in a Ransom Rest. Chamber mouths were never greased, and no wads were used. Using .457 or .455 balls, I was never able to get a chainfire. Using .451" balls, the chainfire rate was ~20%.
On the other hand, a cylinder with 6 loaded chambers (loaded with .457 round balls) and only 1 capped would give a chainfire rate about ~30%. Cap and fire 2 of 6, and the chainfire rate jumped up to about 50%. Loose caps (#11s on nipples polished to be a loose fit for RWS #10s) gave a chainfire rate of about 10%.
smoothshooter
50 Cal.
The wads do not need to be as big as the chambers either.
.36 caliber wads in .44 guns work fine. Even triangle shaped wads work too.
The wad’s purpose has nothing to do with chain-fires. They are used to provide lubrication to the bore only.
Try square, triangle, or undersized wads for yourself and you will see what I mean.
Most people are not aware that their .44 wads in .44 chambers cup around the curved rear of the loaded ball, and any contact between the wad and chamber walls is lost because the edge of the wad pulls away from the chamber wall when the ball is seated.
