Colt Country | Home of The Almighty Colt

https://www.youtube.com/@CapBallFanatic-gb3jb
At least someone is having fun with cap & ball revolvers. This guy posts new You tube vidoes often and focuses on having a bit of fun with them along with the usual details. Nice change of pace.

At my last Cowboy Shoot my 38-40 black powder loads failed to fire in my Uberti 1866 at a rate of almost 50%. I was very puzzled as this has never happened. Inspecting the offending cartridges later showed light firing pin strikes, but that all primers (Winchester large pistol)were seated below the case rim. Rifle inspection showed nothing amiss so I broke down the remaining cartridges. I then used a RCBS hand priming tool and was able to further seat each primer. Those now empty cartridges fired normally in the same rifle. I load on a Dillon 550B which is now 40 years old, but I inspect each and every cartridge I reload for primer seating depth and know for certain none of those 38-40s had high primers. So I guess I will probably now use the hand priming tool as you can feel the primer bottom out in the pocket much better.

I ran across this video by Mark Hubbs a few years ago but is causing me to re-think things about cap jamming.

I have done the usual preparation on all my percussion pistols--arbor length correction, Slix Shot nipples, action tuning, hammer face polishing etc., but still get occasional cap jams on my Colt repros. I have not cared to install a cap post for a variety of reasons and probably never will. Watching Mark's hi-speed video showed the hammer being blown back on the Uberti 60 Army with stock hammer spring. Thing is, you couldn't see it at normal speed until the video was slowed down and for three frames it was clearly evident.
After my research in regards to original Colt percussion pistols, mention was frequently made that original mainsprings felt much heavier compared to modern repros.
My intention this year is to acquire several heavier type mainsprings and test them in guns that have proved a bit problematic as to cap jams.
P.S. Don't know what happened there but if you click on the "Watch on You Tube" it will take you there.

Saw this on You Tube channel "Cap & Ball Fanatic" and it looks like fun. Most will have heard about Hickok and Hardin shooting playing cards but I had never considered doing it myself. Since most of my cap & ball shooting is for fun, this gives me a new angle to try. As a long time Cowboy Shooter, I have been promising myself to try the "Gunfighter" category and this would make good(and fun) training for both hands. Don't worry--I'm not going to be signing any playing cards!!

Took this opportunity on Snap-A-Cap Day to post this picture as a toast. I just finished these holsters(my second attempt at holster making) which will be used for Cowboy Shoots. They fit 1860 Armies but Navies work as well. Two layers of 5/6 weight make them pretty stiff. Had to get a little creative mounting the Maltese Crosses. Anyway, I will tip a glass later to all those who have passed on.

In a previous post I mentioned the possibility of obtaining another Rogers & Spencer, one that might have been worked on by Tom Ball. Well, scratch that provenance. However, after a two month wait the owner did present a stock Euroarms model mfg 1989. A little surface rust and a  modified brass post front sight didn't deter me as the bore was bright and shinny and the lockup nice and crisp. However, at some point in the past someone tried to remove the mainspring by using a pair of pliers. I know that because they didn't bother to pad the front strap, leaving a 1/4" of nasty gouge marks. I started to turn the gun down but thought  "what else are they going to damage". So home it came with me and I will try my hand at re-finishing that damaged area since I can't live with that type of thing.
I have an interest in Rogers & Spencers and this makes the 6th one I own. Just can't turn one down, especially an orphan. I am cleaning up from the weekend Cowboy shoot so won't be able to tear the new one down until next week. At least the nipples came out already with no problem.

Several years ago I did extensive testing using paper cartridges in both .36 and .44 pistols. I wasn't testing accuracy but rather conditions at a Cowboy Match where time constraints wouldn't allow complete cylinder inspection for paper residue after firing. The test was conducted over four days and I fired a pair of similar guns 6 cylinders each as fast as I could load the next round of paper cartridges. In other words, I loaded the next batch right on top of whatever paper residue remained from previous firing.
Day 1--pair of Uberti .36 51 Navies, total 72 rounds
Day 2--pair of Uberti .44 60 Armies, total 72 rounds
Day 3--pair of Euroarms .44 Rogers & Spencers, total 72 rounds
Day 4--pair of Uberti .36 61 Navies, total 72 rounds
That was a total of 288 rounds with no hang fires or mis-fires. Each round went off normally. That convinced me that under normal conditions the paper residue poses minimal problems. I do however make my paper cartridges from one thickness hair curling paper, using just enough paper to do the job.

The above was a response I submitted on another site where the question arose about the danger of continuing to load paper cartridges without completely removing residue in each chamber. I did this test to determine if it was feasible to keep loading paper cartridges at a Cowboy Match where stopping to completely clean each chamber may not be practical. Since this test I have used my paper cartridges at a several Cowboy Matches with no issues. I post this here as it may be of interest to others who have questions about the safety of doing so. Admittedly, my test may prove nothing, but I hope not!

Hope the picture is attached correctly(my first attempt at that too). Anyway, this is my first attempt at holster making. Yes, I copied the general design from a commercial offering but these are shortened and for a pair of Walkers. Really enjoyed the process and can tell already how I could improve on the next pair.