Chainfire

[pohill]

The question of which end of a cylinder - nipple or ball - does a chainfire originate in pops up occasionally.
Yesterday I fired my Paterson (five shot) with 15 grs of black powder and
.375 balls. The first three shots were fine, but the fourth and fifth chambers fired together. No damage to the gun, no marks (don't know where the 5th ball went), but the cap on that last cylinder was unfired.
I think the problem was a poorly shaped ball - I cast some the other day and many didn't turn out exactly "right".

 

[Steve499]

That's interesting. Leaves no doubt that it came from the front, but I'm surprised the cap wasn't set off by the main charge. Guess that shows wrinkled balls can cause trouble.....

Steve

 

[mec]

we had one a while back with a remington. It sounded more like a hang fire than a double but sure enough, it was a 120'clock/10 o'clock double with the ten oclock chamber not producing much apparent power. The owner said that the ball was one he had tapped out of a chamber and was undersized because of that. It was definately a front-end ignition.

Of the various explainations for multiple ignitions, I suspect they're all true.

 

[Low Key]

Of the various explainations for multiple ignitions, I suspect they're all true.

You're probably right mec. All the more reason to use the correct size ball and caps that fit the cone properly. I use lube pills under the ball just as an extra precaution and they keep everything lubed up nicely as well.

 

[fineredmist]

If you don't shave a ring when you load a round ball it is too small and it will not seal the chamber properly. Remove it immediately as it is possible to have a chainfire. The round balls must fit tight and a sealer (grease) must be used over the ball to insure the gas tight fit. The precussion caps must fit tight

 

[Duncaninfrance]

......and a sealer (grease) must be used over the ball to insure the gas tight fit.

Sorry fineredmist but I don't agree. IF you load as I do - powder, lubed felt wad - ball then you won't get a chain fire from the front. I think it more likely that these was some powder residue stuck to the side of the chamber after the previous load but the undersized ball would not help the matter.
I HATE lube over the ball - it's so messy.
By the by - I shoot a Pietta 1858 Rem progressive.

 

[Low Key]

another option to lube over the ball...

When I first started shooting bp revolvers I tried the lube over the ball method also because that was what I had read to do in the instruction manuals. I tried bore butter, Crisco, lard, and the heat and blast from the first shot blew the lube all over the pistol, all over me, all over anyone standing near me. I have to agree with Duncan that it’s just too messy for me to fool with.

I found out about “lube pills” over at the firing line and decided to try those instead. It’s a 50-50 mixture of beeswax and either lard, bore butter, mutton tallow, or some other natural fat or oil. You can make them yourself, it’s not a big hassle and they keep the workings of the pistol lubricated and also seal against chainfire. I prefer to load them under the ball as that is where they give me the best results. You can check out the black powder essentials thread up top and how to best use a cap and ball revolver link within that thread where gatofeo describes how to create an impregnated felt wad which will do the same job as the lube pill.

 

[Howdy Doody]

I have been pretty fortunate in that I have only had one chainfire so far and I shoot a lot of C&B as I shoot about 30 rounds from each of two each weekend for CAS.
However, I did have one and I was shooting a 58 Remmie repro. It was from the nipple end. I had a cap fall off and the flash of the preceding shot sent the one coming up off. Scary, but no damage, except to nerves. My ball fragmented on the frame to the left and sent pieces of lead to the left of me. I guess someone close could have been hit, but CAS rules hold spotters back of the firing line and nothing came of it. It was the third shot from the string if I remember right. I grounded the gun and went on, but lost a lot of time due to thinking of what had just happened.
Yes, you do get a lot of flash in the cylinder gap, but I think most of the chainfires happen from the rear with an open nipple. I have a pic of me shooting a ROA that you can see that clearly, but in my case of shooting ROAs only now and with only a 30gr load, the ball is really far down in the chamber after ramming and I do not use wads or cookies or over ball lube.
Chainfires are no fun.

 

[pohill]

This was the first five rounds fired, so it was extra clean. I had a lube pill over the powder, and the ball did shave a ring (I always check that). I just think it was a lousy casted ball. I chock this up as my fault, knowing that some of the balls were not perfectly round...a good learning experience.

 

[dstorm1911]

I load up the paper cartridges for my 1858s, they make reloads much faster and cleaner after making the cig. paper tube The ball goes in then 5 grns of cream of wheat then powder the ends are twisted and excess paper trimmed off, even with poorly cast balls theres no chance of a CF as the cream of wheat when compressed under the ball forms a thick hard barrier, Every few cylenders I'll shoot some bore butter over the top of a couple loaded chambers to keep the gun lubed and un-fauled