The errant ball was never recovered, it would have been deformed when it slammed into the block of steel directly under the barrel. What I do remember is the report was very loud, and the revolver almost jumped out of my hand as the extra ball slammed into the portion of the barrel directly in front of it, before taking off for parts unknown. Easy enough for a void between the ball and the chamber, and not much runny, melted Crisco to leave small void that could be a perfect path for an errant spark to find its way to the powder charge under the ball in the next chamber to be fired. Couple that with an imperfectly shaped ball, one that had a flat spot, or perhaps a ding or dent from poor handling, and when the ball was seated a less than perfect seal may have been made. So rather than a nice, fluffy, white barrier to an errant spark getting past the ball, all there was would be a thin, runny layer of melted Crisco covering the ball, most of it dripped out of the chamber before that round was fired. Wonder Wads had not been invented yet.Īnybody who has ever fired a C&B with Crisco in front of the balls on a hot summer day will remember that the hot fouling and gasses venting out of the barrel/cylinder gap would automatically melt the Crisco in the next chamber to be fired. ![]() The idea was to keep the bore lubed after each shot. In those days it was common practice to smear Crisco over the ball after the chambers had been loaded. The chain fire I reported happened sometime back then. I began shooting Cap & Ball revolvers in 1968. That's why the guns are always pointed down range and the hammer is never cocked before the gun is pointed down range. This guy was no novice, he has been shooting C&B in CAS for many years. As a matter of fact, I was at a match one day a few years ago when one competitor shooting a pair of C&B 1860 Colts had a multiple discharge while shooting, but he of course had only loaded five rounds, without an uncapped chamber. Anyway, that rule for SASS has been in place for a long, long time. Perhaps a slight dent in the ball allowed a void between the ball and the chamber. I always attributed that chain fire to a poor fit between a ball and the chamber. I never left an uncapped nipple in those days, always loaded all six. Regarding an uncapped nipple, I assure you guys the writers of the SASS Shooter's Handbook are well aware of chain fires. Even with this style, reloads on the clock would be a pain. All the stage writers realized it was a pain, even with a conventional cartridge revolver, so they stopped writing stages that way. To tell you the truth, I can't remember the last time we did a pistol reload on the clock around these parts. I never considered any or the other styles. There are several different styles of conversion cylinders available for the 1858 Remington, but this is the style Taylors sells. It sounds complicated, but it is easier than removing the wedge, and barrel from a Colt style C&B. ![]() Reverse the process to put every thing back together. The cylinder backing plate is loose and comes off for reloading. It is a bit easier to reload with one of these, I lower the loading lever, pull the cylinder pin forward and remove the cylinder. I do have a pair of 1858 Remingtons with conversion cylinders. Some folks do modify their revolvers with a loading gate, but that is a whole nother story. Unless you install a loading gate, you have to pull the wedge, remove the barrel and pull out the cylinder to reload. Your conundrum is exactly why I never considered buying conversion cylinders for a Colt style Cap & Ball revolver. ![]() So, how in the world could I reload "on the clock" without going back to the loading table and taking the gun apart? Perhaps, I would just accept some sort of a time penalty and always get charged with a "miss" on that last shot, even though I never fired it? These conversion cylinders are indeed legal for use in SASS competition, but, can only be loaded & unloaded when the revolver is disassembled. 375 bores) Because they would now be considered cartridge guns, I assume that I would only load five rounds & leave the hammer down on the empty chamber just like everyone else. (hollow base wadcutters are supposed to give good accuracy in my. Taylor's & Company makes conversion cylinders for my '61 Navies, which would allow me to fire. After shooting five shots, I would cap the sixth nipple "on the clock" and fire that last shot. According to the SASS Handbook, during stages which require a single round reload "on the clock", I would load all six chambers with powder & balls, but, only cap five of the nipples, and let the hammer down on the un-capped chamber. I have a pair of Colt 1861 Navy cap & ball revolvers that I was planning to use in the Frontiersman category.
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