Got a small problem when shooting my ROA.

[KevininPa]

I'm new to this BP stuff so I thought I'd ask wiser folk than me about this cap & ball stuff. When I shoot my ROA and pull back the hammer for my next shot, sometimes my cylinder jams because the cap doesn't split and fall away. I was under the impression that it was supposed to. When I load it, I make sure the cap is seated on the nipple tight. Is it possible I'm pushing it on too hard and expanding it too much? I'm currently using Remington # 11's.TIA.

Kevin in Pa

 

[DMZ]

It is not unusual to have caps fall off and jam the cylinder a bit.

I would switch to RWS caps as they seem a lot hotter than the Rem's so the cap splits fully open on firing so they usually fall off and away.

 

[KevininPa]

Thanks. Have some RWS caps coming. Guess I'll find out.


Kevin in Pa

 

[Bad Flynch]

DMZ is right: cap fouling is part and parcel of this system; it is just that some guns are better than others about it.

Some of the old-timers fired their weapons and then cocked them while raising the pistol upside down and backwards, over their heads. That helps the cap pieces fall away, especially if you have a revolver that traps them under the hammer. However, in this day and age, one would probably be tossed off of a range for muzzle waving, and the practice is not entirely safe, anyway.

Wouldn't you like to be in a gunfight and have that happen? Maybe there are some advantages to cartridge firearms, after all.

 

[Imaginos]

I have good luck with CCI #11 caps on my ROA.
I tried Remington caps with a Pietta Remington clone I had years ago and I never could get consistent ignition with them. I switched to the CCIs and never had reason to try anything else.

 

[KevininPa]

I'm going to try CCIs next. I figure if they can make a decent rimfire, they can handle a decent cap. Maybe not the most scientific line of thought , but I'll stick with it till I hear better.


Kevin in Pa

 

[O.S.O.K.]

I give a little jerk

and tilt to my cap and balls just as I'm cocking the hammer - this usually allows the spent cap to fall away.

 

[oldjeeps]

FWIW my ROA seems to be less likely to do that when I'm using the #10 caps.

You might try some of those instead of the #11s.

 

[mykeal]

I give a little jerk and tilt to my cap and balls when I'm using the #10 caps.

Uh, that's cap and ball revolvers, yes?

A necessary movement that's part of the lore. As I move my thumb to the hammer I roll the pistol to my right (dominant) hand and raise the muzzle slightly. Continue the roll as the hammer comes back so that when it's at half cock the cap can fall away - I think it's rolled about 45 degrees but I'm not sure. It's kind of a reflex action that I don't think about any more so i'm not sure how far it rolls. I finish cocking as I reverse the roll and usually my thumb is back in hold position when the gun returns to POA.

It doesn't always work, but it does clear most of the caps that don't stay on the nipple.

I use CCI's; maybe ten to twenty percent don't stay on the nipple after firing.