Cap dragging?

M

Model12Win

Moderator
Hey everyone! Well I finally took my Cimarron Colt Navy to the range today:

Colt_Navy.jpg


Man, did it do great! VERY accurate at 15 yards offhand. I managed about a two-inch group that way. The gun is smooth, with a nice trigger. All caps lit off, and the thing didn't get gummy even after about 40 rounds fired. I was using homemade tallow/beeswax wads that worked great. Everything was great except one thing...

Some of my caps busted and made the cylinder drag!!! :eek:

Now I was using Remington #10 caps, BUT I was also using Slix-Shot stainless steel nipples... which are specifically designed to work with... REMINGTON #10 CAPS!!!!!! :mad:

The Slix-Shot nipples have little holes drilled through the nipple's body, and supposedly these relieve back pressure and prevent the caps from blowing apart all over the place. But, mine didn't really work so hot. Even though they were the right kind of caps for these nipples, the caps burst wide open and would occasionally cause the cylinder to drag, requiring a hard cock... okay that came out wrong :o... but it didn't totally lock up the cylinder. Nor did I get any cap fragments back in the hammer channel and none fell into the guts.

So what I'm wanting to know is, is this normal? About once a cylinder I would have to put extra pressure into cocking the gun, sometimes quite a bit, because the caps flattened out upon firing and dragged on the cylinder. Also, while some fell free, several stuck to the nipples. Is that normal? Aren't they supposed to fall off when the cylinder rotates? I was using new production Remington #10 caps, with the "improved hotter flame" or whatever on the package. I was also using Goex FFFG, 20 grains.

Does someone know what do in this situation? I am at a complete and utter loss. It would have been a perfect range day for the gun's first time out if not for this issue. Someone please help!

Thanks,

-M12Win
 
Last edited:
robhof

I seem to have more cap problems with larger charges 35+gr, but little to no problem with 25 to 30 gr charges, and 100% blown caps with 60 gr charges. I switched to Treso nipples that have smaller openings into the cylinder, resulting in lower back pressure. Winchester magnum caps seem to have the least failures for me, but the problem occasionally shows up.
 
I don't have any special nipples on any of my guns.

Sometimes they are relatively intact, sometimes they are blasted to bits. Sometimes they stick on or somewhere near the nipple, sometimes they fall down into the hammer works.

The best course of action with Colts is to do the "Colt Wave" when cocking. Ideally, point the gun straight up when cocking. The bits tend to fall free. If you can't do this (some ranges consider this unsafe) then tilting to the right often accomplishes the same thing.

Steve
 
The caps may or may not drop off the nipples. It doesn't matter as long as they stay out of the way. Rather than pull hard on the hammer, just take your weak hand and turn the cylinder if a cap drags. That way you save wear & tear on the hand. You might want to give the CCI#11s or the RWS#1075 a try. They have thicker walls and are more likely to stay on but they can be harder to tell when they are fully seated. The Remington caps are more forgiving i.e. have softer, pre-split walls so they easily swell to conform to the nipple shank so you can tell if they are bottomed out more easily. The above caps are all fairly close in size/nipple fit. The "newer, 40% hotter" Remington caps are probably now equal in power to the CCI/Winchester caps. My impression is the RWS are moore powerful that the rest but probably equal to the CCI "magnum" caps.

The older Dixie Gun Works (Italian) caps had a brass cup and were quite hard. I sometimes needed a knife to pry them off.

Try 15 grs powder and then try 23-25 grs (if it'll fit) and see if the caps behave better and are just as accurate.
 
One thing you need to learn to do when cocking your Colt is the "Colt tilt" . . . for want of a better word. As you cock the hammer, raise the muzzle some (pointing down range of course) and angle the pistol to the right. This helps to clear the cap fragments if you have any and keep them out of the areas where they might "bind things up". It won't solve all of your problems but it will sure help.

Glad you had a good shooting session! Nothing like a '51 Navy! :)

Hellgate - I remember those old Dixie caps very well. I bought a sleeve of a 1,000 of them back in the early seventies. They were the hardest things I've ever seen and a real pain in the keester. In fact, I still have a few tins of them kicking around . . . and I'll never be desperate enough to pull 'em out . . . ever again! :D :eek:
 
Try lightening up the hammer some. The caps are made today to come apart like that but with the Colt, it's something unpleasant.
 
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