[Gator Weiss]

A chain fire is most often caused by hot gasses and burning particles coming out of the muzzle-end of the cylinder and igniting an adjacent chamber. Here are just a few of the reasons why it occurrs.

1. You are more apt to have one occur when the revolver has been fired out, and then reloaded and fired again. There is sticky grease all over everything and particles of new powder can lodge during loading in the sticky grease, lodging between a new ball during seating and the wall of the cylinder. These particles can be very tiny, and they are capable of ignition. After loading, ensure that no powder is stuck to the gun, particularly in the chamber area.


2. It is extremely rare to have one occur from the cap-end of the cylinder, because the caps are metallic and fitting tight onto the nipples. It can happen from the cap-side if you are using too large of a cap, because sometimes oversized caps dont seal air-tight and hot particles or gasses from the ignition next door can conceiveably ignite a neighboring oversized cap. The machining in the cap side of the cylinder makes this difficult, but it can happen.

3. A cracked cylinder is probably the least common cause, but it certainly will cause it to happen, and a cracked cylinder does not always fragment or split open immediately. Sometimes the crack is not visible, and it only opens slightly when under pressure. It can also be more of a tiny hole than a crack, and eventually if not immediately, it will work itself into a fault that will cause visible damage or fragmentation of a cylinder. When you have a chain fire occur, you need to be cognizant of the fact that you could be dealing with a cracked cylinder. Take it serious. Because if the cylinder frags agart like a grenade, someone may be seriously injured, blinded or killed. Isd the cylinder bored perfectly round in each chamber? Is the mouth of any chamber deeply etched, scratched or damaged?

4. Placing an object over the cylinder - be it felt or wood or leather - is dangerous, because it will direct hot gasses and burning particles over the face of the cylinder. That is what we are trying to avoid !!!

5. Make sure that the projectile you are using is of the proper diameter. It must fit correctly into the cylinder, or it could "leak." Make sure the projectile is "round" and not "oval" for obvious reasons. Use only well cast projectiles. It it doesnt look right, it may not seal right.

6. Obviously, you dont need to over-charge the revolver. More pressure makes more problems and more risks. If you want something that makes one hell of a bang, then consider a different handgun. These cap-n-ball revolvers are not magnums and should not be treated as magnums. Treat them right. Keep those charges at the levels that they are supposed to be at.

To further avoid problems, inspect your piece carefully when cleaning it. When firing it, listen to the sound it makes. If the sound changes on a particular chamber, it could indicate something is different about that chamber. Check it out. When you reload your piece, take a moment to wipe the piece free of grease and particles. Remove all fragments of spent caps and wipe back there as well. It will greatly reduce the possibility of the chain fire. Use only the exact projectiles designed for that revolver. Use only the correct cap. Use only the correct powder.

A tiny bit of crisco is all you need. It works well enough and it cleans up well enough. Dont over-grease or all you are doing is making a mess. You dont need wads and wads of grease smeared over the chambers. All you need is just enough to seal. Very, little. Many people over-grease a revolver and when they fire, crap is flying all over the place. You dont need that. You dont necessarily need anything under the ball. Seat that ball right on top of that powder charge, put slight amount of crisco over, and fire the piece. Wipe it down and reload. You should never have any problem.