September 16, 2012, 07:14 PM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 21, 2010
Location: Houston
Posts: 223
|
Range mistake
Imade a major mistake today loading my Pietta 1851 Navy. Got distracted and placed a Wonder Wad over an empty chamber. The cap went bang and the cylinder wouldn't turn. The ball was lodged half way into the forcing cone. Of course the loading lever was lined up with an empty chamber. Finally placed a screw driver to bridge the gap over the hole and pulled off the barrel. Got the ball out of the forcing cone with the edge of a sharp knife.
Be paying a lot more attention next time. |
September 16, 2012, 10:09 PM | #2 |
Staff
Join Date: November 2, 1998
Location: Colorado
Posts: 21,824
|
Stuff like that does happen. You learn from experience.
__________________
Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. Molon Labe! |
September 16, 2012, 10:50 PM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: March 19, 2008
Location: High & Dry in Missouri Ozarks
Posts: 2,113
|
There are two types of C&B revolver shooters.
1. Shooters that have made a bonehead mistake like that, and: 2. Shooters that are going to make a bonehead mistake like that. There are more of us #1 boneheads out there than you know.
__________________
Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee - AKA Man of Many Colts - Alter ego of Diabolical Ken; SASS Regulator 28564-L-TG; Rangemaster and stage writer extraordinaire; Frontiersman, Pistoleer, NRA Endowment Life, NMLRA, SAF, CCRKBA, STORM 327, SV115; Charter member, Central Ozarks Western Shooters Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision see things as they are, not as they should be. Ambrose Bierce Last edited by Fingers McGee; September 17, 2012 at 06:47 PM. |
September 17, 2012, 09:32 AM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 25, 2009
Posts: 643
|
I have NEVER done a dry load(no powder) such as that since April 2012 and I have NEVER NEVER loaded a chamber with the wad under the powder since December 2011.
|
September 17, 2012, 05:14 PM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: June 12, 2007
Location: North Central Indiana
Posts: 436
|
I once loaded 5 chambers correctly but left a ball out of the sixth with only powder and a wad in that hole. Made a nice POOF! LOL
|
September 17, 2012, 05:50 PM | #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: March 20, 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 186
|
Run a patch & ball down the bbl of my Hawken without the powder first.
|
September 17, 2012, 07:20 PM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 19, 2008
Posts: 4,678
|
Now ye know what a "dry-ball" means...........
. |
September 18, 2012, 12:42 AM | #8 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 7, 2012
Location: Crockett, Texas
Posts: 363
|
I too loaded a a wad and ball in with no powder. Had to take out the nipple and use a small punch to pop the ball out. Talk about embarrassing! I definitely did not feel cowboy that day, lol!
|
September 18, 2012, 07:25 AM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 8, 2006
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 2,772
|
Those things happen when you get distracted during loading. Make it a practice to never answer a question or acknowledge anyone in the middle of loading. It's no insult to say, "Be with you in a second.", finish loading and THEN answer the question.
How do I know this? Was cleaning the ROA one evening when the wife dumped part of a hot soup pot on the kitchen floor. Took an hour to get it all cleaned up and of course I helped. Went back downstairs, cleaned up the work area, put the guns away and went back upstairs. Next day at the range I was demonstrating how to load the ROA for some newbies and one of them mentioned that there was black powder all over the floor and my shoes. Forgot to put the nipples back in. You'd think you could eventually live something like that down. Believe me, ain't gonna happen. |
September 18, 2012, 07:52 AM | #10 |
Senior Member
Join Date: November 19, 2009
Posts: 3,283
|
I've never done it - YET - but I have come very close to it - but sooner or later, it happens! By the same token though, I have forgotten to cap my rifle!
I can remember being at an informal shoot with about 7 or 8 guys one Sunday - we were taking our time and just having an elimination shoot - I think we were shooting at cans or something. We were all standing there watching one of the fellows reload his flintlock rifle as he was up next and I swear that none of us even caught on that he hadn't put powder down the bore - and we were all watching him load! So I guess you could say that all of us were "boneheads" that day! Glad you were able to get it taken care of and hope it didn't spoil the rest of your shooting time - just remember our forefathers had the same problems we do!
__________________
If a pair of '51 Navies were good enough for Billy Hickok, then a single Navy on my right hip is good enough for me . . . besides . . . I'm probably only half as good as he was anyways. Hiram's Rangers Badge #63 |
September 18, 2012, 09:01 AM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 28, 2005
Location: Southeastern Oklahoma, Next door to Sasquatch
Posts: 1,266
|
Had a buddy that broke himself from smoking with a Thompson contender by having a lit cigarette in his mouth while putting powder in his barrel. The ashes fell from his smoke into the barrel and ignited the powder, blowing the cap off of his head, and burning his eyebrows off. He hasn't smoked another cigarette since.
|
September 18, 2012, 03:53 PM | #12 |
Senior Member
Join Date: November 18, 2010
Location: Orygun
Posts: 868
|
BTDT. You get better over time ('cept for poor ol' NOZ).
Ever done the opposite: putting way too much powder in the chamber and can't even get close to seating the ball? Besides whittling the ball with a pocket knife, the Colt's are cool 'cause you can knock the gun apart rotate the bulging chamber in line with the barrel at full cock then re-attach the barrel, cap, & shoot it out. I still live by the adage that you can't overload a cap & ball revolver. So far, so good (still got all my fingers, eyes and toes).
__________________
With over 15 perCUSSIN' revolvers, I've been called the Imelda Marcos of cap & ball. SASS#3302 (Life), SASS Regulator, NRA (Life), Dirty Gamey Bastards #129 Wolverton Mtn. Peacekeepers (WA), former Orygun Cowboy (Ranger, Posse from Hell) |
September 18, 2012, 04:24 PM | #13 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 16, 2006
Location: IOWA
Posts: 8,783
|
Not lost; just a might confused for a time
Quote:
During last Saturday's hunter safety class, we had a large number of students and as usual, I do most of the talking and all of the loading. When I start loading, I tell the students to save any questions till we finished shooting. I had to load two M/L's to keep up. Even at that, a couple of times I lost track of what was loaded and not. More than once, I had to refer to my marked range-rod. Same range-rod with two marks. ... Be Safe !!!
__________________
'Fundamental truths' are easy to recognize because they are verified daily through simple observation and thus, require no testing. |
|
September 19, 2012, 01:57 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 25, 2009
Posts: 566
|
Don't feel bad, my nephew managed to load two lead round ball projectiles into a chamber on his 1858 Remington replica, then the cylinder wouldn't turn.
|
September 19, 2012, 07:57 PM | #15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 1, 2004
Location: Remote Utah desert
Posts: 224
|
In my cap and ball shooting box are two 9" long hardwood dowels. One is 5/16" diameter for the .36s, and the other is 3/8" for the .44s.
I epoxied a fired cartridge case on each end, to keep from splitting the wood when tapping out a stuck ball: .32 ACP for the 5/16 and .40 S&W for the 3/8. A cheap fix, and effective for tapping out a stuck ball or wad.
__________________
"And lo, did I see an ugly cat. Smoke. Brimstone. Holes in parchment. And this ugly cat was much amused." --- The Prophesies of Gatodamus (1503 - 1566) |
September 19, 2012, 07:59 PM | #16 |
Member
Join Date: July 5, 2011
Location: Ohio
Posts: 19
|
Quote
"Don't feel bad, my nephew managed to load two lead round ball projectiles into a chamber on his 1858 Remington replica, then the cylinder wouldn't turn." I did the EXACT same thing, had to pop out the cylinder and then the extra ball. PLUS I cast me some RB's and was having trouble loading them (I suspect it was NOT pure lead I got off the person) and so I was using my Power Inc loader, could NOT get the ball down, almost bent the handle trying so hard (not really) then I looked, (I laid out the 6 balls beforehand) I was trying to seat the last ball, looked down and saw a greased wad...Hmm Now I know why it wouldn't seat..That cylinder is still loaded till I get a chance to empty it..At the range..lol |
September 20, 2012, 02:41 PM | #17 |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 10, 2008
Location: Georgia
Posts: 143
|
Cylinder Loader
This is one of the handiest items you can have for revolver shooting. Load powder charge add dry cornmeal to fill cylinder and seat the ball flush. Works wonders. Clint
__________________
Illegitimi Non Carborundum |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|