Chain Fire: Why Does It Happen?

[@GunsOfTheWest]

Check out the Guns of the West store here: gunsoftheweststore.com

[@mitchelllee-hx1sk]

In the mid 1970's I had purchased a Colt Walker replica and spent a lot of time shooting it. One day I had a chain fire in which two additional chambers went off (one on the right and one on the left of the firing chamber). That would be three chambers at the same time! There was a loud bang and a huge cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared I was holding half of the Walker and the barrel was 20 ft down range. The cylinder shaft had snapped and the barrel went flying. My buddy busted out laughing and said he would never forget the look on my face. The gunsmith that repaired the gun thought it was funny too.

[@GreenMosin93]

In case i haven't mentioned it already, my wife just got me a Pietta 1851 in .44 for our 5th wedding anniversary. So between your channel, Mike at duelist1954, Hickok45, capandball, and a few others I've been watching every single video on C&B revolvers I can. Very interesting and informative! 👍🏻

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

Haha my fiancée got me a Pietta Remington 1858, and now I’m hooked on black powder shooting too. Wish caps weren’t so hard ot find though!

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

@S.Walker That’s true, I just got a second one at a gun show!

[@KathrynLiz1]

There should be a notice on the box that percussion revolvers are highly addictive. One day at the range a friend had left his house in a hurry and left his pistols behind (he always used cartridges and that funny 'fairy dust') so I loned him my Remingtons for the shoot. He was hooked.... loved the way they performed and their accuracy too, although I had to lead them for him. He now swears that his pair (which he ordered when he got home!) are the most accurate pistols he owns, and he owns a LOT of pistols.

[@mikef7698]

​​@@historyandhorseplaying7374look for the 1075 (or pluses) for your 58 if you can't find many online.

[@khester7397]

Good video. Remember, all cylinders may not be perfectly round, and they may not be the same diameter. Also, poorly cast balls may leave a small path for a spark.

[@michaelborders4674]

So

[@SmallCaliberArmsReview]

I haven't fired as many BP rounds as you but I haven't had a chain fire yet. It'll probably happen someday though. Great information Dustin!

[@mikek8089]

I'm fairly new to C&B revolvers (4 years or so), and chain fires are always on my mind. I guess it's not a matter of "if", but more a matter of "when". And yes I do take all of the necessary precautions, but nothing is perfect. Therefore I don't shoot my C&B's at crowded ranges, and also try to keep a good distance from the person next to me.

[@richardhenry1969]

In all the years I’ve fired never had a chain fire. Only time I’ve ever heard about it happening it was because of wrong size ball. The only way it can happen by nipple is on a closed frame.

[@GovtWatchdog]

Good point. I never thought about what a chain fire could do to a brass framed revolver.

[@wrxs1781]

Good video Dustin, I have never had a chain fire, but when shooting the revolver it is foremost in my mind, as in waiting for it.

[@jonahtaivalkoski322]

I think if the cap is the right sized, and a full ring of lead comes off the ball when you press it, it should be pretty safe.

[@Everythingblackpowder]

Good video! I did a video on this where I tried to cause a chain fire from the back by leaving the caps off and couldn't get it to chain fire. I'm sure its possible but I think its less likely than it coming from the front.

[@khester7397]

You're a heretic. How dare you contradict the holy lore! ALL CHAINFIRES ARE FROM LOOSE CAPS. PROPERLY SIZED BALLS. SHAVED LEAD RING. BLAH BLAH BLAH. Just kidding. Also, you have an absolutely top-notch blackpowder channel. Keep it up!

[@Everythingblackpowder]

@@khester7397 😂 they’re gonna burn me at the stake for being a black powder heretic! Clearly chain fires are caused by climate change and a lack of diversity in the black powder community.

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

@@khester7397 Yep, someone did a video showing that the “shaved lead ring” may not be a good indicator of proper ball seating, because the diameter of the chamber may be smaller at the front than at the rear!

[@russpeck1320]

While I appreciate your test, I'm thinking that a chain fire might be "cap-to-cap", not to "cap-to-adjacent uncapped powder". It would be interesting to see if one could get adjacent poorly fit caps to fire (no powder needed, so less scary😵‍💫).

[@sogdal1]

interesting video, thanks for the info. you're right it's hard to find caps. Keep pressing on!

[@DukeFrazierProductions]

There are two kinds of people. Those who have had a chain fire and those who will have a chain fire. The one on mine left a little bit of lead residue on the wedge. A chain fire on the 6 o'clock chamber is the one I dread.

[@GunsOfTheWest]

That’s the one I dread too, for sure!

[@Squib1911]

This is a good safety information. I've never experienced to chainfire myself, but seeing it on the LeMat made me realize it could have happened to me. Thanx for making the video.

[@andondimov4482]

RWS1075 or RWS1075plus caps fit the Uberti 1851 perfectly. No chainfire so far. Remington no.10 or CCI no.11 is very difficult to obtain here in Europe. But the prices are sky high anyway. Great channel! Greetings from Slovenia!

[@63DW89A]

This information is "dead-on-the-money" accurate. Excellent video! I bought a Ruger Old Army in 1973 at age 16 to start my cap-and-ball revolver experience, and in 50 years of shooting,I've never had an accidental chain fire. (WHERE does the time sneak off too? It seems like just yesterday!) I have tried to intentionally ignite a chain fire using blank loads, and it is amazingly difficult to do so! However, I have been able to occasionally start a chain fire and the chain fire may start at the nipple side Or at the chamber mouth side, exactly as this video says. A nipple side chain fire is usually the result of loose caps, or bad nipples with very large flash holes, the large flash holes allowing loose-loaded powder into the nipple area that flashes on firing to detonate a seated cap. The chamber mouth chain fire is caused by an undersized bullet / ball, and no lube protection, pure and simple. My 50 years of "No Chain-fire Luck" is for these reasons, I think: (1) I always use a way oversize ball / conical : 0.330 on ALL .31's, 0.380 on ALL .36's and 0.457" on ALL .44's whether made by Pietta, Uberti or Ruger. I hot dip lube the round balls or conicals in a lube of 2 parts beeswax and 1 part coconut oil well before the shooting session, and then while loading, brush tallow or lard into the chamber mouths onto the seated lead balls. The conicals, especially those with grease grooves, do not need the extra lube brushed in, as there is plenty of lube on the bullet, so pre-lubed conicals can be just loaded and fired. For light target charges the pre-lubed round balls can also be just loaded and fired. However, for heavier charges under the round ball, it is best to brush in some lube on top of the ball. because the thin lube coating on the ball is not quite enough to keep the bore clean. (2) I always replace factory nipples (even the Ruger!) with quality aftermarket nipples with flash holes so small a small sewing needle cannot pass thru, and that are tapered to allow a sliding solid seating of #11 CCI, Remington, etc, caps or the Remington #10. (CCI #10's are way too small for these #11 Nipples). The tapered nipple allows the cap to slide on and then friction fit tight as seated, which seals against moisture and flash fire, plus keeps the cap solidly on the nipple during recoil while firing all chambers.

[@347jpb]

Great video, very informative....

[@tpelle2]

I've been shooting cap and ball revolvers for about 30 years or more, and I've NEVER had a chain fire - knock on wood. However I do recall an article written by a shooter from somewhere in northern Europe, maybe Finland or some other place up in the Baltic region. This guy pretty much refuted the belief that chain fires originated from the cylinder mouth, but instead originated by the flame jumping from cap to cap. He constructed a test rig that consisted of a flat steel plate with a machine bolt that took the place of the cylinder arbor. He also had rigged a spring-loaded firing pin, if I recall correctly, that he could cause to be released from a safe distance. Using this rig, and following normal loading practices for the cylinder, he was unable to produce a chain fire at the cylinder, with or without over-powder wads, and with or without over-ball wads. He even went to extreme measures such as pouring loose powder over the front of the cylinder to try to get the flash to propagate from chamber mouth to chamber mouth. What he DID find that permitted chain fires was to use the nipples that came with the pistol from the factory, and by pinching the caps. Pinching the cap skirts was, at the time of this writing back in the 1990's as I recall, was an acceptable and recommended practice in order to get them to fit the poorly-made nipples that were provided by the factory on these pistols. If you think about it, when you pinch the cap skirt of a slightly oversized cap, and then force it on to the nipple which is circular or conical in shape, you create two passages 180-degrees from each other on both sides of the nipples. The flame from a cap in the instant of being fired can jump from the first cap to the neighboring cap, travel up through one or both of those passages, and ignite the priming compound therein. Their conclusion and recommendation was that the best way to avoid chain fires is to purchase quality aftermarket nipples which are produced with tighter tolerances, and to find one brand and size of percussion caps which both fit those nipples tightly without pinching and stick to using only them. Also making certain when you ram the ball or bullet into the chamber mouth it leaves a lead ring. This ensures that the ball seals the chamber mouths.

[@GunsOfTheWest]

The danger of pinching the caps is actually the topic of my next video, to go along with this one. Thanks for watching!

[@lunaticred1277]

Great Video on chain fire. It makes you have alot more respect for these old revolvers. Take your time and make sure you load it correctly. I had 5 rounds go off at the exact same time. I forgot to put lube around the cylinder to protect the bullets. The bottom round didnt go off, So atleast i didnt hurt the frame. Bullets didnt hurt the wedge pin on either side. It sure kicked. Take Care.

[@snappers_antique_firearms]

Perfect fitting caps have always been my down fall. Luckily i haven't had a chain fire..... yet. Also your package came in and i am making a video on it now..

[@Super61a]

late to the party but there was a time when i almost exclusively used my 1851 while in the woods. i just liked it more than other pistols. but i found that the rubber air tubing you use for fish tanks and stuff made a perfect fit over a cap when cut to about 1/8th inch. it created a seal at the bottom and also prevented the cap from completely shredding itself, mitigating the cylinder bind issue. i would smear a small amount of marine grease on the top of the ball with my pinky finger as well just to kind of keep the water out. i have submerged the gun on accident like this a couple of times and not fired it for days afterwards and it was still reliable. Im not saying its the ultimate solution but the really sticky marine grade grease and small rubber rings around the base of the caps made a huge difference imo. not that anybody cares. just thought id share.

[@thatblindguy81]

Great video. Very accurate. My caps are no 10 CCI on my 1861 Colt navy .36 cal. And they fit so tight that if I have to pull them off for whatever reason it's a difficult thing. I use felt wad over my lead and always ensure that I get that shaved ring when plugging my lead. Reason I use wad over lead is I leave mine loaded at times for months and I've found that leeching into powder from wad caused slow fire when I finally did shoot.

[@juanlife0252]

Great video big help

[@brianmoore1164]

Thank you! I had never seen one before.

[@wickedways1291]

Dear friend, I thank you for your informative and educational videos.

[@jeffryrichardson9105]

Great information! Very helpful!👍🏽😀❤️🇺🇸

[@georgeearls3338]

I only had one experience with chain fire. My Dixie Gunworks Spiller and Burr. I put several rounds through it before and after.

[@kidhammer2567]

Dustin, I thank you ever so much for your video. In the short time you offered us this info, you nailed this topic like few folks ever do. I shall refrain here from penning an expose on your channel but would love to share with you other info in depth about this topic if you wish, for there's more to know. You are 100% correct about how to avoid chain fires and doubly correct about the ball fit, lube, and felt wads as you explained here. I've witnessed some samples of rather ugly ricochets that have transpired from chain fires where humans became the recipients of foul balls, so this is a very serious topic to address in an informative manner as you have done. Thanks again for this most excellent brief video.

[@denniswilliams4495]

Very good information to know...thanks.I liked your video...

[@sasquatch885]

Good information. Happened to me once. Luckily no damage.👍🏻

[@palerider7171]

Good info and thanks for sharing!

[@siris1113]

CCI no. 10 caps fit my brass framed 1851 colt perfectly, ive had 1 cap jam after maybe 35-40 rounds fired through it

[@Unholymackrl]

A guy on ebay makes these sleeves that go around the caps allows them to fire while blocking off the bottom preventing a chain fire from the rear . use em all the time

[@nikitamckeever5403]

My Uberti Navy 1851 London model .36 cal likes RWS 1075 caps the best although CCI 10s will fit with a wooden dowel push . CCI 11s are a little loose but do work if that’s all I have with a pinch 👍

[@gagemull6197]

I have a 1849 pocket pistol with a 6 inch barrel and chain fires are always on my mind.

[@ethanhawkins961]

Thanks for sharing. My first time I took my 44 cap and ball out it had a chain fir but luckily the lead ball went down range . I had the wrong size caps I had a wonder wad and a good tight seal around the balls and crisco covering the ball

[@milankovacevic1346]

when I see cci and remington percussion caps, I want to have them, because here in Europe it is hard to find the ones made in Europe, such as s&b or rws... and the price is very high...

[@jeffreyarnold2929]

Great information Dustin. I do use felt wads between the powder and the ball as well as some homemade lube over the ball. I use #10 caps or #11 with a little pinch but I do ensure they are seated well.

[@philgiglio7922]

Lard would be an appropriate and somewhat authentic cover over the ball That's what Civil War reenactors use, but they aren't loading a ball, just powder

[@edmarmohr3611]

Muito legal 👏👏👍👍🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@joeyfreeman5052]

My uberti 51 colt navy loves the no 10 rem caps but for some reason my uberti 58 Remington new model army can only fit the cci 11s

[@RangeRoninChronicles]

What ball diameter do you recommend for .36 caliber, such as the 1851 Colt Navy?

[@GunsOfTheWest]

I use .375 in mine and that has worked great. Some people have said they need to use .380, but I haven’t needed to.

[@RangeRoninChronicles]

@@GunsOfTheWest Thanks, I needed that. Trying to find any components these days is difficult, which means that there is no room for error when you do find them.

[@Trollo_Swaggins]

I recently was able to buy both CCI no.11 and Remington no.10. Not sure if it was just my batch, but the Remingtons did not want to go off at all. No matter what I did, hammer wouldn’t set them off. My DIY caps and the CCI no.11s ran much better, though my DIY caps are much dirtier and much stronger than typical caps

[@Rumblestrip]

Proper cap and ball size is pretty much the cure. Lube of any kind doesnt do anything for chain fires. Good video Dustin.

[@82c10]

Agreed. Just makes a nice holster all slimy and nasty. If you swab the bore with a patch after every cylinder full, it will not only be easier to clean, but you won't need that lube crap either. These colts will also go 4 or 5 cylinders before getting too gummed up to operate correctly.

[@Rumblestrip]

I use kerrs from Eras Gone and lube with beeswax and olive oil. Can run a colt all day.... 15-20 cylinders worth and never gum up. With balls ill lube over the chamber with the same. 75% beeswax 25% olive oil. Stays in up to 130° in desert heat, never touches my holsters. That all said, no lube will prevent a chain fire, same with wads. Thats not their job.

[@kevinoneill41]

It happens because you believe ( I'm too smart to let it happen to me) trust me grease the wheel every time. And it helps to keep the carbon from building up in the barrel. thus keeping each shot true giving a more consistent grouping.

[@GovtWatchdog]

A ring of lead could mean a good tight seal provided none of the chambers are inadvertently tapered toward the rear of the cylinder during manufacture.

[@daimajind7231]

Off topic but can you load a black powder pistol to shoot just a felt wad or wax bullet like in quick draw competitions?

[@GunsOfTheWest]

I don’t see why you couldn’t shoot wax bullets, but the percussion cap won’t be enough propellant. It will need at least a small amount of powder.

[@charlescomly1]

I've had it happen twice both times it was the chamber next to the one in line with the barrel, luckily no damage done.

[@USAACbrat]

Don't use crisco in a too hot gun. I'm the oldest of ten and taught all of them to shoot a black powder pistol. That poor old 44 CVA needed a wedge and a replacement main spring.

[@Iron_Road]

Any recommendations other than your GOW lube tin? I see it's out of stock and all Midway has is those lube bricks that are practically wax and are as hard as a rock. Also I have an Uberti 1851 Navy. How hard should one press the caps on there? I have a bunch of no10s but they don't want to seem to go all the way and allow the cylinder to rotate.

[@ivarzmay3749]

I like this vlog:)

[@johnt.chambers4204]

I hear a lot of people talking about having chain fires. I have been shooting percussion revolvers most of my life and I am 65. I have never had a chain fire or even seen one other than on youtube. Sometimes I bring a dozen revolvers with me and may shoot a few hundred rounds. I know chain fires can and sometimes do happen, but I think they must be a lot less often than most people say or I should have had at least one in my life. Or maybe I am just the luckiest man alive.

[@fortyshooter1]

I recently saw a video of a guy using Small Pistol primers in place of caps. Short piece of small flexible plastic hose or tubing hold primers in place tight against the nipple. I tried it using just the primer and it works but I see sparks exiting around the primer. I assume that a pressure spike is pushing the plastic tubing from around the nipple. He hasn't mentioned any chain fires so what do you think? Revolver is the 1858 Remington.

[@KathrynLiz1]

It has been my observatio that the Colts are far more prone to this than the Remington or Rogers and Spencer revolvers. I used to use felt wads (1/16") with Rbs, but latterly use paper cartridges with lubed conicals. I ave never yet, in many thousands of rounds over the last 35 years, had a chain fire. I cast my own balls and conicals so make sure they are PURE lead... that is essential. One thing I DO always do on getting a new cap'n'ball revolver is to measure the groove diameter and ream the chamber mouths to .001" larger than that, and I use balls that are a few thou over the chamber size (usually .457s). This procedure also ensures not only uniformity, but that the chambers are truly circular. I have encountered some that were not on others' pistols brought to me for repair. Having looked at that wonderful picture of the flames from a normal firing, I think that perhaps the Colt's sensitivity to chainfires is something to do with the design. The solid frame pistols must direct the flames in a different way at the rear end at least.. I do know that the 'pockets' for the nipples on the Remingtons are much smaller and deeper than the Colt's (many cappers will not get in there, I had t design and make my own!) and that might be a factor too.🙂

[@matthewmarek1467]

Properly fitting caps are essential. As are bullets that leave you a little ring when you press them in. From my experience, a wad followed by a small dab of bullet lube between the wad and bullet has been perfect. No chainfires using this method and Rem10 caps for me.

[@GORGON-LIKES-MIZU]

what are your opinions on the tradition's firearms black powder cap and ball revolvers?

[@GunsOfTheWest]

Most, if not all, of the Traditions revolvers are made by Pietta. Traditions just imports them and puts their name on them. (And Uberti may make some of them.) They’re good.

[@GORGON-LIKES-MIZU]

@@GunsOfTheWest ok thank you. I'm trying to get into black powder revolvers, and I kept seeing traditions, so I wanted to know their credibility.

[@darthmartinez]

Chain fires were more common in the old days especially with pepper box style revolvers is where you will find written accounts of chain fires. People back then were probably using undersized lead balls.

[@devyphilip]

Walter white out here teaching us how chain fires work

[@kirkboswell2575]

👍👍👍

[@wmatay1]

Decades ago , I was loading a chamber and I had a fire off . It was a 44 old army Remington pistol . Never happened again.

[@austincooks4u]

Q new to black powder. What happens to the ball in a chain fire? Does it fly out of the cylinder? How dangerous is that to your hand. will it ricochet back? I will try to do everything to prevent it. would wad and lube be too much? Thanks

[@dalesearcy5734]

I don't see a place on your site to ask questions, so I will do it here. Hope this is alright. I would like to see a video about the different types of sights that were used on black powder rifles and handguns. Did anyone use peep sights on muzzleloaders? I have seen a few that had scopes on them on movies. Did they really use them back in the day?

[@philgiglio7922]

Had the opportunity to hold and look through the scope of an original Civil War sniper rifle. In all honesty the optics sucked. Severe vignetting and poor light gathering ability, ie very dim

[@greghardy9476]

If I have any concerns about my caps fitting properly, I’ll put a little beeswax around the edge of the cap. Gives a little better seal against moisture and, hopefully, flame.

[@JonathonPorter-cc5ry]

Yeah I've run into this problem, but I've noticed if you have a solid unbroken ring of lead it's less likely to happen

[@edwincathey5260]

Most chain fires come from the rear. If your shaving off a nice ring of lead when you seat you ball or bullet the front is sealed and it’s not the problem.

[@raywyatt8044]

all i have is remington No.11 and some RWS caps

[@Tex1680]

I had that happen to me once and found that at the time I was using .452 diameter balls... I went to .454 and never had it happen since

[@JGray1968]

If you load with the right projectile, you will never get a chain fire from the front of the cylinder. I've had half a dozen C&B revolvers that ive fired a lot, and I've only ever had to chain fires, both from the same Pietta .44 1860 Army. The second one destroyed the wedge. I thought the first one was caused by a cap falling off. After the second, I checked the gun out very carefully, and discovered that the cylinder moved back too far under recoil and actually slammed the caps into the recoil shield. I've fired thousands of roundballs and hundreds of conical bullets from five of my six revolvers and never had a problem, I fired twelve shots from that one 1860, pulling the trigger 9 times. That revolver is actually really accurate, and I have no problem firing it, as long as I only load one chamber.

[@MrCrashron]

use the CCI # 10 like it was made for they don't fall off like the #11s do

[@greenbroccolistudios1275]

I like lever action rifles and revolvers tho ;)

[@Z0N3d0UT]

Walter white is that you

[@StevenMMan]

I've only had one chain fire in my 40 something career. Cannot attest which which end it came from. Somewhere over the north fork of the Laramie. On or about 1985. Mountain man

[@scottp4077]

How can you tell if your wads are old or dry? Mine seem very dry.

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

About the “ring” formed when pressing in the balls- remember that that may NOT be a good indication of a good seal. Because the chambers may be irregularly bored out, the diameter of the chamber may be SMALLER at the front than in the rear, where the ball rests. So, it may be shaving a ring at the “top”, but may be no indicator of a good fit toward the bottom/rear of the chamber. This is easily fixed by shaving the top of the chamber a little, but just something to keep in mind.

[@jp16k92]

Does it happen with paper cartridges?

[@GunsOfTheWest]

It can, but there’s no more risk than when using loose powder and ball.

[@job38four10]

I dont get how some here on YT leave two caps off bother sides of loaded chambers with powder and wad then the center chamber is loaded with powder and round ball and they dont get a chain fire from the rear, if no cap on nipple then that should chain fire everytime............

[@GunsOfTheWest]

A chain fire won’t necessarily happen every time, but the gun is definitely more vulnerable to it that way.

[@kphifer1]

I’ve often wondered how much of a problem chain fire was was during the civil war for those who carried cap and balls.

[@kijogi817]

Has anyone ever told you, you look exactly like Heisenberg

[@GunsOfTheWest]

2-3 times a day in the comments section.

[@kijogi817]

@@GunsOfTheWest damn, I'm sorry about that brother

[@GunsOfTheWest]

@@kijogi817 My toddler once saw Heisenberg on the TV and called him Daddy. LOL

[@kijogi817]

@@GunsOfTheWest haha that's a good story to re-tell them

[@billynomates920]

the remington tin is nicer. :)

[@thomasozminkowski2589]

One way to avoid them is to buy Dustin's bullet lube and use it over every ball/bullet!

[@richardmedeiros4337]

I use corn meal on top of the powder and lube

[@seanfoltz7645]

I use paper cartridges I make using your kit and dip the balls in the wax/tallow lube mix you endorse - way better and cleaner than smearing bore butter over the cylinders and lets me fire more rounds before the gun is too gunked up. Never had a chain fire from either end, although I have had a hang fire or two, but I followed black powder safety and slowly counted to thirty, resulting in them discharging from the barrel. Come to think of it, hang fires could very well be even more dangerous than a chain fire as people could end up starting to replace the cap or otherwise fiddle with the gun, resulting in the barrel being pointed somewhere dangerous or their fingers being somewhere bad when it does discharge, so if you haven't discussed them yet, you probably should.

[@billyhenard1473]

So you are actually putting the Lube on the ball itself before loading it ? If so what is your procedure to put the lube on the ball before you load it? Also what is your lube mix ratio and goes that not induce hangfires bu exposing the powder to the lube ? Thanks

[@seanfoltz7645]

@@billyhenard1473 Yes - I put it into smaller containers and then will set the oven for 200F and check it periodically until the wax/tallow mixture has liquified. The paper cartridges have already been made at this point, so I just dip the exposed lead part of the ball - not letting the lube touch the paper - very quickly - just half of a one-one thousand count - and if necessary, give a VERY gentle downward shake - shake too hard and the ball may tear free and drop itself and your powder into the lube. I now have a paper cartridge with the lead ball covered in a thin layer of the wax/tallow mixture - 60/40 - and it won't melt off the cartridge unless you leave them somewhere hot enough to melt bees wax. Loading the paper cartridge goes as normal - slide it in and seat the ball, then use the ramrod to push it the rest of the way into the chamber of the cylinder. While you'll get a tiny wax ring along with your lead ring, it's far less messy and easier than smearing bore butter across the top of each chamber and while this is 100% my personal opinion, I feel it keeps the barrel cleaner longer than the bore butter as well. Here we go - How To Make Paper Cartridges, Part 2: Lubricating - do a search for that video - it's from Guns of the West as well. I 100% endorse his paper cartridge kit as it is well designed and super easy to use - you'll be banging paper cartridges out in a minute or less once you get into the grove of using it. Get yourself a plastic 9mm ammo box and place the cartridges bullet side up in it after you roll them - that way there's less of a chance of the bullet falling out picking them up by the paper base, plus, you don't have to turn them around in your hands to load them into the gun - if your hands are sweaty due to being outside in the heat/sun, picking them up by the bullet also helps protect the paper. Using paper cartridges makes the cap and ball experience way better since all you need to do is bring your box of preloaded cartridges and a capper with enough caps rather than all of the loading gear you normally bring. Wind isn't a problem, you needn't worry about the guy next to you blowing you up with a spark, no problems with spilling powder, you can precisely measure each load on a scale so that you get a consistent load every time - I can't imagine not using paper cartridges with my 1851 Navy anymore.

[@billyhenard1473]

@@seanfoltz7645 I wonder about just putting some some stiff lube on the ball itself (to keep from contaminating the powder) and letting it dry and just loading powder then ball and be done with it as with a proper size ball when the ball is loaded it will cut a ring of lead and leave a little lube in front of the ball to keep chainfire from happening and provide a little bit of lube for the bore .

[@seanfoltz7645]

@@billyhenard1473 You might as well just get those pre-cut wads and insert them between the ball and powder if you're taking that approach. For me, the paper cartridges are to give me more time shooting at the range with less muss and fuss as I can sit back and watch TV while loading them, so dipping the tips after I've made the cartridges is what works best for myself and those who do the paper cartridges. There really is no skill involved in making the paper cartridges with the kit this guy sells as the learning curve borders on zero - you might mess up a few at first but you'll get the hang of it very quickly. When you take your first box of them down to the range and find just how fast, clean and easy they are to use, you'll be cursing not having heard about or been told about them.

[@billyhenard1473]

@@seanfoltz7645 I am mainly interested in the simplicity of possible use of keeping the ball itself lubed for a tad more reduction in barrel fouling as opposed to loading faster than I already do. I do not go to a range as I just step out in the backyard as I stay in the country. I am in my mid sixties and dont really want to use wads either as Would rather keep the Loading simple without the need for wads or paper cartridges. I seldom shoot over 12 shots and often times just shoot just six as I have neck and back issues and standing over a few minutes is painfull for me. If I need to reload quickly I have 3 extra cylinders and belt pouches to hold them and can swap an empty cylinder that is in the revolver for a fresh one from the pouch or pouches. The way I do this is I keep a 45 caliber swab on it and I keep a coat of 50/50 olive oil and beeswax in the barrel and keep the barrel rust free ,then I shoot and when the revolver is empty of the 6 shots I run the swab coated in the 50/50 lube through the barrel a couple of times and swap in a loaded cylinder and then shoot 6 more if I feel like shooting a little more. That way I always have a lubed barrel and the barrel does not foul to badly. I just put lube in front of the ball after loading and was thinking if I could just coat the Hornay .454 balls with the 50/50 mixture it Might keep the inside of the barrel even more devoid of fouling. If I want to experiment with doing this I think I might just coat half the ball with the Lube I make and prevent the lube from contaminating the powder charge. I think that the Idea of making paper cartridges sounds intriguing but because of my circumstances and having spare cylinders and my low volume of rounds fires I cant see to much reason make paper cartridges or use wads. But I do like the idea of pre lubing the balls before seating them. Thanks for your input,I appreciate it

[@williamgregory6684]

When they designed the1860 Colt they should have modified the frame to use that beefed up cylinder,even if they had to shorten it,in my opinion.

[@captbart3185]

Look again at the photo at 3:40. When shooting a revolver, even a modern one, be careful to keep your hands clear of the cylinder area. The way some folks hold a semiautomatic pistol will get the skin cooked off of the weak hand. Those powder gases are HOT! Just a word to the wise for those raised on Glocks, Sigs, and such.

[@KiLLJOY1056]

I'm disappointed in learning that not all six shots fire consecutively like a full auto in a chain fire :( lol

[@ZeroWind2014]

Heisenberg holding a revolver?

[@alexanderk7776]

i‘d like so bad to be an American. i could do this cool stuff😔

[@michaelpriest6242]

Wear safety glasses.

[@raysheppard8040]

Mmm human error cause chain fire

[@ivarzmay3749]

I mean Colts are best guns in the World.

[@mikepoteet1443]

I've had it happen.

[@johndough1356]

There is seriously enough space between the lead projectile and the cylinder it is stuffed into to still squeeze flame all the way to the main powder? It seems to me this kind of situation is many times more like to be initiated at the cap area rather than the front of the wheel.