BCRider
Member
Well, I FINALLY got to go out to another CAS shoot with my Uberti 1858's yesterday.
They both shot like champs for the 3 morning stages. Then we packed all the guns up in the shed over the lunch break and came back and unpacked them for the afternoon. Now the day was on and off again sprinkles and it was humid as a heck all day with no breeze to speak of and lots of wet woods around the shooting pits.
First stage of the afternoon I had a "po'fizzle" on each of the guns. After the stage was done and the crowd moved on one of the RO's and I stayed behind and recapped and shot off the cylinders to see what was going on. One shot fine and the other went "po'fizzle" again but shot fine with the THIRD cap.
At first I thought the humidity had gotten to the caps. But you experienced BP revolver guys, especially the two characters that share the Pacific "NorthWET" region with me, likely already know what happened. Yep, the powder residue in the cylinders got damp and swelled or otherwise managed to block the nipples. I cleaned the nipples with a pipe cleaner (just BARELY fits through the Uberti nipples) and one nipple on each cylinder came out disgustingly black and goo'ey. Both guns shot just fine on the second and last stage of the afternoon.
So now I've got something else to watch out for with these. I'm learning as I go but the lessons are painful. Needless to say that the "po'fizzle" and resulting wait of around 10 seconds to see if the chamber would light off really hurt the old score.... not that I'm shooting to win all that much. If I was worried about winning I sure wouldn't be shooting C&B....
So watch those wet days and clean out the nipples if you leave much time between shootings.
On a positive note the smoke clouds in the damp heavy air along with the lack of wind were intensely satisfying. At one point I had trouble even seeing the steel outlaws at 15feet for the return pass! ! !
I've also been shooting smokeless for my rifle and shottie rounds and was informed that to stay in Traditional Cartridge I'd need to eventually load up BP or Pyrodex for the rifle and shottie rounds. One of the guys shooting BP/Pyrodex on one stage had to duck and weave to find the thin spots so he could see the targets. That'll be moi aussi pretty soon... The guy that loads the BP shottie shells handed me a couple to try. The smoke cloud was "impressive" and I liked the softer hit to the shoulder as well.....
PS: I'm using a short wide mouth mason jar and lid for my field magazine. It was wet enough out there yesterday that I'm going to reactivate a small silica gel pack and toss it in and soak away any moisture that may have got to the powder. If I "dry" it this way do you see any issue with it for next time?
And I've secured a route for obtaining a supply of FFFg that should be fairly ongoing for the next couple or three years so I'm a happy shooter at the moment.
They both shot like champs for the 3 morning stages. Then we packed all the guns up in the shed over the lunch break and came back and unpacked them for the afternoon. Now the day was on and off again sprinkles and it was humid as a heck all day with no breeze to speak of and lots of wet woods around the shooting pits.
First stage of the afternoon I had a "po'fizzle" on each of the guns. After the stage was done and the crowd moved on one of the RO's and I stayed behind and recapped and shot off the cylinders to see what was going on. One shot fine and the other went "po'fizzle" again but shot fine with the THIRD cap.
At first I thought the humidity had gotten to the caps. But you experienced BP revolver guys, especially the two characters that share the Pacific "NorthWET" region with me, likely already know what happened. Yep, the powder residue in the cylinders got damp and swelled or otherwise managed to block the nipples. I cleaned the nipples with a pipe cleaner (just BARELY fits through the Uberti nipples) and one nipple on each cylinder came out disgustingly black and goo'ey. Both guns shot just fine on the second and last stage of the afternoon.
So now I've got something else to watch out for with these. I'm learning as I go but the lessons are painful. Needless to say that the "po'fizzle" and resulting wait of around 10 seconds to see if the chamber would light off really hurt the old score.... not that I'm shooting to win all that much. If I was worried about winning I sure wouldn't be shooting C&B....
So watch those wet days and clean out the nipples if you leave much time between shootings.
On a positive note the smoke clouds in the damp heavy air along with the lack of wind were intensely satisfying. At one point I had trouble even seeing the steel outlaws at 15feet for the return pass! ! !
I've also been shooting smokeless for my rifle and shottie rounds and was informed that to stay in Traditional Cartridge I'd need to eventually load up BP or Pyrodex for the rifle and shottie rounds. One of the guys shooting BP/Pyrodex on one stage had to duck and weave to find the thin spots so he could see the targets. That'll be moi aussi pretty soon...
The guy that loads the BP shottie shells handed me a couple to try. The smoke cloud was "impressive" and I liked the softer hit to the shoulder as well.....PS: I'm using a short wide mouth mason jar and lid for my field magazine. It was wet enough out there yesterday that I'm going to reactivate a small silica gel pack and toss it in and soak away any moisture that may have got to the powder. If I "dry" it this way do you see any issue with it for next time?
And I've secured a route for obtaining a supply of FFFg that should be fairly ongoing for the next couple or three years so I'm a happy shooter at the moment.
Last edited:
