New 1871 used in it's first stunt show

[santee]

So, I couldn't wait to pull this pistol and whistle Dixie. A bunch of gunfight groups were invited to Rawhide Western Town (south of Phoenix) to have a day of shows. I tested mine out during the first show and of course it locked up after 3 blanks.

After reading the experiences on this board, I expected this. I was to die by shotgun anyway, so figured if there was a problem, it could be taken care of post-show.

Adjusting the wedge only proved to be a band-aid. It locked up again later on, probably due to the BP fouling. Yesterday I went and bought a M5 split washer and plopped it on the end of the arbor before reassembly. So far so good. Let's hope that's the only other adjustment needed.

Thanks, everyone, for all the terrific info and insight on these beautiful conversions!

[Abilene]

Santee, were you making your own blanks, someone else's, or commercial?  While the fouling could be the cause of the lockups, very often primer backing out is what happens with blanks.  The flash hole in the brass must be enlarged for blanks, and sometimes the primer can still back out a bit and cause problems.  Evidence of this would be scrape marks on the primers.

[Pettifogger]

+1 to what Abilene said.  The primer holes on blanks must be enlarged and once you have enlarged the holes make sure you NEVER fire them with real loads.  Make sure you keep them segregated from your normal brass.

[santee]

Thanks for the input, fellas. I've been making blanks for 9 years, and didn't have one back out this time.
Still was locking up after I removed the shells. Planning on going out to the desert this weekend and trying a few with the new modification.
Great manual you made on tuning these guns, Pettifogger.