Blackpowder Newcomer

USMC fire a round of caps before you load it to clear the nipples and burn out any lube in the chambers.
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When I'm at home I use my air compressor to blow them out. I seat the nozzle against the open end of the chamber and feel for the air to come out the nipple. It doesn't take long to figure out which ones might need more attention.
 
Hawg and Doc Hoy are correct, as usual. Modern percussion caps are impact sensitive, not force sensitive, so it's very, very unlikely you could set one off by pushing it on the nipple. 'Hammering' it on (that is, banging on it) would not be a good idea, however. Some folks lower the hammer gently on each cap and push it down to seat the cap (while pointing the gun downrange on a hot range, of course). Others use a wood or plastic stick, as has been mentioned already.

FTF's on the first strike, followed by a successful strike on the second attempt suggest caps that are too small in diameter. Unfortunately you can't tell the diameter by the cap designation; No. 11's are not necessarily bigger in diameter than No. 10's. Here's some data on some caps I measured a couple of years ago that might help:
CapSizes.jpg


I agree with surbat6 - wads are not NECESSARY. They are good insurance against chain fires and can provide effective lubrication to keep fouling soft (if you use lubed wads).
 
I have the exact same pistol as you do, down to the nipples.
The Uberti nipples are kinda-sorta famous for not being too well made.
You can either replace them with a set of 12X28 for the pistols (The back end is shorter than for a musket), or polish the heck out of them.
T polished my originals by chucking the threads carefully with a bit of tape wrapped to protect in a power drill & buffing the heck out of them with scotchbrite pad strips.:eek:
The Ubertis work fine with CCI #10 caps now, but I also got a replacement set that takes #11 caps.
 
Thanks for the advice on the nipple replacements Hawg, ill have to look into those. Got all the gear in today, cleaned up the holster, bullet pouch and belt with saddle soap and then worked them all with some neatsfoot oil. Ive left the revolver in the holster, gonna keep it in overnight. Thank you for the chart, mykeal, it confirms my suspicions on the remington caps being able to solve the problem. Also, now that I know that the percussion caps dont need to be handled ever so gingerly that will help as well.
 
Smoke and flame..........Gets me every time! welcome to the club.
You will find a lot of knowledge here, I just came over from another forum
where I have seen dang near all of these guys. I was blown away by the
wealth of knowledge both here and on THR. You asked about other uses for a BP revolver, well I read a post on THR from a guy (don't remember his name)
that carries one as his concealed carry gun. If he don't hit the bad guy I bet he'd scare the hell out of him!
 
Welcome to the asylum! This is an adventure that takes an entirely new approach if you have a smokeless powder background. It's helpful to have a disinterested party nearby to ensure that you don't overlook little things like eating, sleeping and working. The sticky mentioned above is well written and very helpful. Only thing I can add is that blackpowder guns seem to work best with lead, loose powder and natural lubes and cleaners. Smokeless powder, black powder substitutes, jacketed bullets and petroleum-based lubes or solvents don't seem to work as well and just don't seem right if you think about it. We're trying to do it the way they did it 150 yrs ago, right? Worked just fine for them, right?
One thing I like about oven drying over the forced hot air is time. The oven heats up the parts and keeps them hot until all traces of water are likely gone. Forced hot air may not last long eough to evaporate all the moisture. JMO of course.
 
Smokeless powder, black powder substitutes, jacketed bullets and petroleum-based lubes or solvents don't seem to work as well and just don't seem right if you think about it. We're trying to do it the way they did it 150 yrs ago, right? Worked just fine for them, right?
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Every powder has it's advantages and disadvantages, just like every lube and solvent has it's place and purpose.
Not everyone gets involved in black powder to be a re-enactor. Everyone is on their own learning curve and wants to enjoy themselves in their own way. Doing a little bit of this or a little bit of that differently doesn't make very much of a difference at all in the overall scheme of black powder shooting. Much of it is about experimenting and learning what methods and techniques make each person the most comfortable and satisfied in their own way.
There's as many good modern guns, powders, solvents, lubes, oils, loading stands, accessories and equipment as there are ways that we can all enjoy ourselves while shooting.
I can't imagine anyone who would rather be shooting their guns using percussion caps that were made with "authentic" fulminate of mercury. :D
 
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Good points, Articap. I seem to have fallen into the abyss. :D Since blackpowder is so different from smokeless I find it best to totally separate the two. Works for me, may not work for everyone but the guys who got me into this recommended this approach. I'm not a re-enactor but I agree with the concept, to a point. Replica guns are more fun when I come as close as possible the original components when shooting them. Maybe it's just me.
Where can I find these fulminate of mercury caps? ;)
 
Lead

I noticed some people melt down their own lead- what would be some good places to get lead? Im planning on getting an electic furnace and a lee-ingot mould soon. I hate to sound cheesy but ever since The Patriot came out, I have wanted to melt down and make my own lead ball to go shoot. Oh saw an interesting thing in Cabelas; Vegetable-fiber wads. Any one use em before?
 
Tire shops can be a good source of free lead sometimes. May have to do some looking to find one that will give it away nowadays tho. The stick on weights are close enough to pure to use. Clip on weights are too hard. Dental lead. lead roofing, X-ray lead, lead pipe, lead shielding are all good sources.
 
Thanks a lot, once I get married in July im planning on buying a furnace and a bullet mould. Until then Im going to be tactically acquiring as much lead as possible. I know youre not gonna be able to drag me away from the range once theres a Kimber in my possession as well. A 1911 and my 1858...yeah Ill be there all day haha. Im thinking about ordering those vegetable fiber wads- why not right?
 
What about boring the nipples out to the next size. Saw one with this modification on the auction block a while back. Didn't know if it was a good thing or bad.
Oh, yeah, welcome to the Firing Line.
 
robhof

Another source for lead, if you have access to an outdoor range on slow days, is the berms. I'm a member of a gun club, where we have our own keys, so we can go any time. I go alot right after heavy rain storms and many bullets are exposed. like gravel on the berms; a few minutes work nets several Lbs. For b/p use, you need to stick to the large cast bullets 45 and over and the jacketed bullets, as the cores of most jacketed bullets are pure lead with a touch of tin for adhesion to the jacket. Small cast and gas checked bullets are harder and better for modern cast bulllets. I went to our CAS range the day after a match and raked up 6 Lbs of lead from around the poppers in a very few minutes, they were pure soft lead.
 
What about boring the nipples out to the next size.
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It can rarely be done successfully. Generally there isn't enough metal to remove all the old thread features and then rethread the hole. There are exceptions, if it's done carefully.
 
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