Chainfires

[Fox Creek Kid]

I remembered this:

http://www.brimstonepistoleros.com/articles/capping.html

[Angel_Eyes]

Fox Creek Kid, thanks for that link. Thats got to be one of the most informed piece of info I have seen for a long time. I may well crib that as part of my safety lectures.

Thanks again, UKshooter.

(Never had a chain fire in all my shooting time)

[Fox Creek Kid]

You are welcome. 

[ColonelFlashman]

I HAVE HAD ONLY ONE CHAIN FIRE IN 16 YEARS OPS
it was the only time i didnt use some kind of lube & the balls didnt shave a ring , caps were still on the nipples so it was not the nipple side
luckey only 2 went off no damage other than some leading on side of frame

No lead ring, not enough lube in the case my chain-fire & as I stated previously it had Nothing to do w/ ill fitting caps.

[Professor Marvel]

I conccur with Colonel Flashman's assesment.
In my limited experience of shooting C&B revolvers and ML rifles since 1974 I have experienced only one case of chainfire. This occurred with my first .36 brass framed Navy replica during my early experiments  using home-manufactured paper cartridges.

I used zig-zag cigaret papers, and tried round ball, "traditional" colt conicals, and hollow base .38 sp wadcutters. Having neither caliper nor micrometer, I was blissfully unaware of the ".36 vs .357" diameteric issues :-)

I had no issues with chainfire without grease with roundball or conical cartridges. I had gently chamfered the cylinder mouths and the paper-wrapped lead swaged tightly.

The First cylinder full of paper-wrapped HB wadcutters loaded ... easily... too easily...As I recall Caps were tight.

The First round touched off caused a chainfire of all five remaining cylinders. One round went downrange through the barrel, hitting the target. 4 rounds (2 left and 2 right) went downrange "somewhere". The round in the 6 o'clock chamber stopped on the frame and spewed fire in a remarkable fashion. The entire event was rather like hanging onto the pointy end of a large cluster of skyrockets and pointing the nozzle ends toward the target. I cannot recall if caps were still in place or not. Remarkably neither the revolver nor I sustained any damage! Another testament to the Lord looking after Fools and Children.

It was an enlightening experience, which I do not desire to repeat; thus I continue to chamfer the chamber mouths to ensure a "tight swaged" lead seal and grease the chamber mouths as much for "extra sealing" as for lube.

yhs
Prof Marvel
"it's a Marvel he hasn't blown himself up"

[Fox Creek Kid]

I think we are all in agreement here, but we're "treeing the 'coon" differently.  One needs projectiles larger than the chamber diam. for a snug flashproof fit as well as good "cones" with correct caps. Lube is paramount IF the projectiles are too small for the chambers or if a sprue is loaded sideways in the chamber allowing clearance for flashover. Lube also helps keep fouling soft.

[Montana Slim]

Another Cainfire thread......posted this recently in darksiders......

Yes, I've had a few chain fires in the past 35 yrs of C&B. When I was a lad, I had all six go off at once. No ill effect other than the loading rammer screw sheared and the rammer went into the dirt).  At the time, I was using poorly fitting caps and was pinching them. I was also sloppy at time getting powder into the chambers during loading ( powder falls down around the recoil shield area when loading). During early SASS matches, my club required me to do one round reloads (capping the 6th) after firing five. I had one of these uncapped chambers go off inadvertantly and was allowed to cap on the clock prior to firing (not sure we even had a "BP" category back then). From these experiences, I've concluded that most chainfires are from poorly fitting caps coming off under recoil and the resulting flash-back through nipples ignite other chambers.

Now, I did say "most" happen this way. Can it happen from the front? Certainly. One possibility coming to mind would be rough, egg-shaped and/or irregular chambers. In some guns it may only be one or two bad apples, or it could be all six. So, a .454 ball may not fill out to fit the widest diameter. In this event forward flash could set off the charge. Maybe not every time, but it increases the possibility.

I conclude they CAN happen from either end, given the right conditions.

Regards,
Slim