What's the longest you've ever .....

S

Sharps '63

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
25   0   0
Last fall before snow flew, I took one of my .44 Remingtons to the range, charged the chambers and realized that the caps were elsewhere. I brought it home and stored it, intending to return to the range at a later date and fire it off. I forgot about it until two days ago.

I capped it and it fired all 5 chambers on the first caps! The lube on the cylinder arbor had dried, so I only got to fire three cylinder loads before it bound up.
 
I have never had the oil on my BP revolvers dry up. Maybe you need to look at changing to a different oil/lube. I use CRC Power Lube on all my BP firearms. It is well used by BP firearms owners from BPCR to muzzleloaders in the South. After a day at the range I clean and lube all parts that were cleaned or in contact with BP residue. Two day later I re-lube all bores/chambers, inside frame, arbor, pan/nipple areas.etc. basically all areas of BP residue. Then store away.

Another thought, a cap didn't fall off and bind the cylinder up? this sometimes occurs.
 
The lube was my own mix of olive oil and beeswax, made stiff so as not to melt away in warm weather. The temp was around 10*C that day.

The cylinder arbor of the Remington revolvers lacks the grease grooves found on the Colt revolvers. When I disassembled the revolver for cleaning, the lube on the cylinder pin was quite hard. A sot of Ballistol would have kept the gun functioning, but I didn't have that with me.

The beauty of the Remington design is that it is not prone to jamming with cap fragments like the Colt "wedgies". I also keep the hammer spring screw tight and the hammer mashes the caps so that they fall off when the revolver is recocked.

Shooting SASS "Frontiersman" for several years has taught me a few things ..... ;>)
 
Sharps, I assume you have read about Civil War guns being found still loaded and firing after all these years? Apparently black powder is very long lived as long as it doesn't get flooded with oil or something else that will damp it and prevent ignition.

When I started out in shooting BP from a pair of Uberti Remingtons I could not find any Ballistol or any other BP friendly oil locally. So I opted for using Canola oil. It worked well, as you can imagine from your olive oil experience, for day to day use but I was worried about long term effects. So I did a corrosion test of the Canola oil against other oils. The Canola oil actually worked out best of all against a lot of regular gun oils. But in the later stages the reason it was working well is that the darn stuff CURED to a varnish like film which kept the water off the metal. And from the sticky bits I find on the outside of my olive oil bottle in the kitchen now and then it's pretty apparent that olive oil reacts the same way given long enough.

So I'm not surprised to read about your lube going sticky from a winter of storage. I'm guessing that you normally store them clean with some other oil on them such as Ballistol so you never ran into the issue before.

I remember that I started with olive oil because I had the stuff. But I was worred about extras in the oil. That started a web search on the lubrication and corrosion issues with food grade oils. Along the way I learned that one lubrication use for Canola oil was in the valve gear on steam engines in ships. Something about it apparently avoided it washing away from the heat and moisture like many other oils of the day. I figured that if it was good enough for such use it might work well for my BP guns. And sure enough the corrosion testing I did gave me some really good feeling. Then during use I found that it really does cut through the fouling well and leave a slippery though inky looking slop. I've been using a drop of it on the cylinder base pin on my Uberti Remingtons every time I load them. Doing so keeps the cylinder spinning freely all day. It's so easy and effective that I don't bother with any sort of grease like you're using to keep the cylinder spinning.
 
Thanks for the tip! It's moot just how effective a smear of lube on the cylinder pin really is on a Remington. I like your idea of a drop of non-petroleum based oil on the pin after recharging the cylinder.
I'm the sole Rem fan in our club possee, the rest being "wedgie" fans. The only "wedgie" I currently own is a 2nd Gen Third Model Dragoon. That's a fistful and a two-paw proposition for me. I gave up on my '51 Navy's, including a 2nd Gen model as being unreliable. I don't like guns that shoot themselves loose.

I do own a pair of Open Top's in .38 Spl. and they are fun to play with, but I don't have enough faith in them to shoot a major match with BP loads.

It wasn't part of my original post, but I have a cap & ball pal who shooters his Ruger Old Army's and Walkers with NO lube over the chambers. Over several years, I've never seen him have a chain fire. If it was going to happen to anyone, you'd think it would be him.

I've got a tip to pass on. That alcohol based "hand sanitizer" is an effective way of cleaning your hands after they greasy during reloading. I keep a small size container in my gear. Greatly enhances your grip on a warm day.
 
Yeah, I know about ACW guns being found with fireable powder in them, but I wanted to know about modern instances. I do know that a pal of mine kept his ML rifle charged throughout an entire hunting season before he fired it off.

Thanks for the tip! It's moot just how effective a smear of lube on the cylinder pin really is on a Remington. I like your idea of a drop of non-petroleum based oil on the pin after recharging the cylinder.
I'm the sole Rem fan in our club possee, the rest being "wedgie" fans. The only "wedgie" I currently own is a 2nd Gen Third Model Dragoon. That's a fistful and a two-paw proposition for me. I gave up on my '51 Navy's, including a 2nd Gen model as being unreliable. I don't like guns that shoot themselves loose.

I do own a pair of Open Top's in .38 Spl. and they are fun to play with, but I don't have enough faith in them to shoot a major match with BP loads.

It wasn't part of my original post, but I have a cap & ball pal who shooters his Ruger Old Army's and Walkers with NO lube over the chambers. Over several years, I've never seen him have a chain fire. If it was going to happen to anyone, you'd think it would be him.

I've got a tip to pass on. That alcohol based "hand sanitizer" is an effective way of cleaning your hands after they greasy during reloading. I keep a small size container in my gear. Greatly enhances your grip on a warm day.
 
Here in UK back in the late 90's we successfully shot off the charge in a P53 rifle that had been hanging on the pub wall since at least 1897. At least, that was the date of the newspaper wadding recovered. Last fired in a feu-de-joie at Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.

tac
 
Wow! That was something.

I read once that a CW rifle/musket was recovered with SEVERAL unfired rds loaded atop one another. The user had not put a cap on any charge. Good thing, since had he done so anywhere along the line, things might have come part dramatically.
 
I've read of folk who put parafin wax over the mouth of the chamber and then brush it onto the cap and have 0 issues multiple years later. I've used Black Powder my dad gave me from when he was a boy 65 years ago, kept in an open can (lid on but factory seal broken) and it worked just fine. Keep it dry and your good to go!

I never lube over the cylinder in my walker or remington...it just makes a mess. I use a oversize wad under the ball and have the correct size ball so it shears a ring when ramming, never had a chain fire. I've not tried it without the wad, but wouldn't worry about it if i had to if the ball fit right and the pistol was clean. The worst part about lube over the chamber is that it makes the cylinder face and the front of the pistol sticky and BP powder grains stick everywhere. I'm more then half convinced that most chainfires to happen in the last 100 years come from people loading over sticky guns and inadvertently creating a powder chain around the ball and to the charge.

As an experiment i've tried lube over the ball....the first shot blows it out of every unfired chamber and spreads it over the pistol making a huge sticky mess. You can't tell me anyone ever carried a BP revolver for more then 10 minutes in a holster that way if it was hot out! It would be running down the holster and their pant legs!
 
Hey Sharpes, Thanks for the hand sanatizer tip. That WILL come in very.... er... "handy" this summer.

I've got a pair of mixed brand 1860's as well that share cowboy action shooting with the Remingtons. The Canola oil trick really keeps them spinning freely as well. So it's not just a trick that works on the small base pin style guns.
 
Yeah, I've long been aware that the lube applied to the front of the cylinder gets blown to hell on the first shot. Pulling the cylinder after a morning of shooting shows that no lube gets more than half way down the barrel. I've tried lubed wads and found no advantage to using them.

On the CasCity forum, we had quite a dust up re: chain fires and which end of the cylinder caused them. I asked how powder flash can get past a soft lead ball that is deformed into a flattened, deformed projectile no longer spherical. We have trouble igniting powder from the other end at times with a percussion cap! No answer.

When I took my SASS RO course several years back, I objected to the rule that said where a sixth rd was required , a cap & ball shooter could cap on the clock before the first rd was fired or after the first five. Not on our range! Anyone who has witnessed the flash from the rear of a chamber under low light conditions knows why.

I haven't checked, but the rule was to be amended. Loading a 6th rd was just gamer BS in any case. Heading into a gun fight, MY guns would be loaded with 6 rds in the real world.
 
I usually use the lubed wads, but mostly because i have a supply. Even using them, i put a small amount of 40/60 beeswax/crisco over it and under the ball. I find i can shoot 50-70 rounds out of my Uberti remington before she starts to drag badly enough to screw up. I do like the canola oil idea, and that's getting tried the next time i go out. I often will use corn or sunflower oil to clean with if i'm lazy. Have a small tub of it i'll dump the stripped pistol into (grips removed) and leave it soak for a day or two, the fouling just falls/wipes off. Messy, but no water involved.
 
For some reason, I prefer to scrub my cap & ball cylinders with hot soapy water. I'm also a majority of one amongst my cap & ball peers when it comes to removing the nipples ("cones" is the historical term) in that I remove them every time for cleaning after use. I also like to wipe a little thread sealant on the threads when re-installing them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom