Bottom Dealin Mike, SASS #22273 Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 A common problem with replica Colt cap & ball revolvers is their tendency for the hammer to pull spent caps off of the nipples and to drop them into the action, causing a cap jam. I call this condition "Cap Sucking." There have been a number of modifications developed by modern shooters to prevent this situation. Most of them involve drilling holes and installing pins, welding on cap guards, or installing expensive, after-market nipples. I think I have found a simpler solution that just involves a little de-burring and stoning. https://www.full30.com/video/acf736abcacc35be89d41d581d945f98 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pit Bull Tex Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Really good info but your head was in the way on the vid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103 Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 This is why the Old Timers would raise their pistol muzzle straight up, THEN cock ... spent caps and cap fragments fell out and hit the ground instead of falling into the action.Awkward when you're not used to it, but it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Kiowa Jones #6765 Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Hi Mike, Good stuff. What's happening is the caps are being blown off the nipples into the hammer face and those sharps are grabbing them. This is one of the reasons they use such heavy hammer spring trying to hold the blow back. The problem is made worse over time because the stock nipple flash holes tend to wash out which just adds more back pressure. As an add benefit deburring that hammer like you have done and going to quality nipples allows those hammer springs to be reduced, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Slix Shot nipples & #11 Remington caps in a Colt 51 Navy 44 with no mods - hundreds of rounds so far = no "Cap Sucking" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottom Dealin Mike, SASS #22273 Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 Hi John Boy. I too have good luck with Slix Shot nipples, but they do cost close to $40 per gun. This mod is free for a little elbow grease. I'll still use Slix Shots, but I'll also do this mod to every new C&B I buy. I have to de-bur them anyway, so this only adds 5 minutes of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Mike, that's really good info. I'm surprised that no one has thought of it before. I will try in on my c&b pistols. Come to think of it, the one c&b pistol that I have that doesn't capsuck also doesn't have that notch in the hammer nor the safety pins in the cylinder. It is a 40 or 50 year old brass frame replica of a 51 Colt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish ike, SASS #43615 Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 One of the items in Larsen Pettifoggers "How to slick up a Colt" movie/power point is to just fill the hammer face with JB weld. Dry and file, sand smooth. Its a complete how to make a Navy/Army Colt slick and dependable. One of the big issues from the factory is the bolt does not fit into the cylinder. I laughed. I checked mine and at least two notches on each cylinder didn't lock into battery. Ike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 One of the items in Larsen Pettifoggers "How to slick up a Colt" movie/power point is to just fill the hammer face with JB weld. Dry and file, sand smooth. Its a complete how to make a Navy/Army Colt slick and dependable. One of the big issues from the factory is the bolt does not fit into the cylinder. I laughed. I checked mine and at least two notches on each cylinder didn't lock into battery. Ike Pietta I will guess... Jabez Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Had the hammer notches welded in on my 1851s, hard face material so it will maintain it's correct dimension, and if the nipples get struck, they're the part that mushrooms. Remove the pins. Since we only load 5 in the six shot revolvers, pins not needed. If you use one of Colt 5-shooters, you need the pins to be legal. 4. Six-guns are always loaded with only five rounds and the hammer lowered, fully down, and left resting on the empty chamber. ―Five shooters‖ may load five rounds, but the hammer must rest on a dummy chamber, safety slot, or pin in the cylinder so the hammer does not rest on a live round/cap. If a particular stage requires a one shot reload, the sixth chamber of percussion revolvers may be charged at the bench and then capped ―on the clock,‖ either before the first round is fired or after the last round is fired. A complete reload for percussion revolver shooters is handled by staging a loaded, uncapped revolver down range or switching uncapped cylinders and capping on the clock. And it was a problem in the originals also. Hence the "Manhattan" modification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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