How do chainfires happen?

Question

In a precussion revolver once the ball is seated its airtight, and it would be difficult for flash to even touch the ball, so how do chainfires happen?

I've never used the lube stuff, I thought it was messy and unnessceary and I've never had a chainfire happen, does anyone know how they work?

Answer 1

Wow. Either makayla was trying to be funny, or she's reeeeaaalllyyy stupid.

Answer 2

I would agree it's much more common from the nipple.

I have a Pietta 1858 I bought last year and all I can find around here are remington #10 caps. The remington fit loose on the nipple and on more than one occasion I've pulled the trigger and got a click because it fell off --- pretty dangerous b/c I had fired a couple rounds like that.

The best thing to do is pinch the end of the cap (but don't do it too hard or you might to set it off...). It will have a snug fit that way.

Answer 3

Chainfires don't happen with regularity. The idea that they happen from the nipple is interesting. But those little brass caps fit pretty tight. Still, some brands are made with ears instead of tight sealing cylindrical skirt, and I've seen those even fall off, leaving things open to sparks from an adjacent firing cap, and that worries me. I saw how the first shot blasts from the flashgap at the cylinder front, and removes all the grease I laboriously put on the balls to prevent flashover/ chainfires. But the first shot lubes the barrel, so I kept on doing it. Instead of fretting, I used a 45ACP case to cut leather wads, saturated them with MoS2 chassis lube to lube the barrel and stop the leather from smouldering and posing a fire hazzard, and placed the wads over the powder/ under the ball. I tamped the wads with a dowel end to assure they were straight on for best chainfire protection. Blast away in good times at the Cowboy Action Events! Regards, Larry.

Answer 4

a chain fire happens like this

a lil fire starts in the woods then it gets blown by the wind so now its bigger then it keeps getting carriesd by the trees and wind intill put out

Answer 5

Chain fire in percussion revolvers isn't very common, But when it occurs it is usually catastrophic. When a bullet not lined up with the barrel launches forward it can hit part of the frame and deflect back to the shooter and out sideways....

There are cheap wax soaked felt pads to seat over the bullet or just use spit-patch over the bullet.

If someone says spit-patch is messy...Why are you shooting a black powder pistol in the first place? Notoriously messy but a lot of fun to shoot. Clean up is a labor of love.