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best way to dry fire practice with Cap and Ball Revolvers


El CupAJoe

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Hey all, what's the best way to dry fire practice with Cap and Ball revolvers?  just use the guns as they are?  do something to protect the nipples?  remove the nipples and let the hammer hit the frame?  what do you guys do?

 

El CupAJoe

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Actually, most of us "don't".  There is no "Best Way nor "Good Way" to dry fire Cap Guns.  If you leave the nipples in, your going to peen over the nipples and crater the Hammer nose.  Then you'll have to replace both real soon.  Remove the nipples and the Hammer impacts the Frame and will crystalize and break.  Cap the Nipples with a rubber thingie and the action may well not reset.

 

If your heart is set on dry fire with Cap Guns, your best bet is to find a use'd set of "beater" guns and dry fire those.  NEVER dry fire your match Cap Guns.

 

And:  PLUS ONE for Tyrel Cody you betcha 

 

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I use ROAs for my cap guns.  They are very similar to my old model vaqueros.  So I use my OMVs to dry fire and practice with.  So rather than your c&b pistols, find a similar cartridge pistol to dry dire & practice with.  Practicing at the range with c&b takes forever and gets old quick.  

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1 minute ago, Tyrel Cody said:

 

Well, I meant don't dry fire c&b guns, but yeah I'd encourage all Frontiersman and FCGF'ers to stop practicing.

Hmmmm. That is pretty sneaky Tyrel

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5 minutes ago, Tyrel Cody said:

 

Well, I meant don't dry fire c&b guns, but yeah I'd encourage all Frontiersman and FCGF'ers to stop practicing.

 

3 minutes ago, Barkeep Casey said:

Hmmmm. That is pretty sneaky Tyrel

 

Sounds like something some of the other TN boys would say, not to name names but TN Williams, Widder and a few other scoundrels come to mind. :D

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1 minute ago, Tequila Shooter said:

 

 

Sounds like something some of the other TN boys would say, not to name names but TN Williams, Widder and a few other scoundrels come to mind. :D

There are a couple other TN boys I could add to that list, but you got a good start on it Tequila!

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4 minutes ago, Barkeep Casey said:

There are a couple other TN boys I could add to that list, but you got a good start on it Tequila!

Yeah like, Purly, Ocoee Red, Barkeep Casey....

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29 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Buy a set of open top cartridge guns identical to your cap guns.

But - but - but Ruger doesn't make any open tops ......   :o

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We have discussed this before, buy a conversion cylinder for the c&b, dry fire all you want OR you can even take the extra step and buy laser cartridges for when you want to really up your level of dry fire practice.  It is just money guys, spend it all now and let the family worry about it after you are gone!!!

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1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Buy a set of open top cartridge guns identical to your cap guns.

 

53 minutes ago, Slowhand Bob, 24229 said:

We have discussed this before, buy a conversion cylinder for the c&b, dry fire all you want OR you can even take the extra step and buy laser cartridges for when you want to really up your level of dry fire practice.  It is just money guys, spend it all now and let the family worry about it after you are gone!!!

 

One of those options is pricey, the other is very pricey.  But hey, the topic subject does say "best way" :)

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Okay, I know nothing about C&B, so I have a question. Could you not use a spent cap to cushion/protect the nipples and dry fire?

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1 minute ago, DeaconKC said:

Okay, I know nothing about C&B, so I have a question. Could you not use a spent cap to cushion/protect the nipples and dry fire?

 

Will not work. The cap firing is actually what cushions the hammer blow. The force of the explosion pushes the cap back against the hammer slowing it down just enough to prevent damage.

 

Wonder of there would be a market for a nipple replacement that would allow for dry firing without damaging the hammer.

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I don’t dry fire my percussion revolvers, which at this time are Ruger Old Armies.

 

Dry fire practice Is done with a pair of Old Model Vaqueros.  Live fire practice is done with a pair of Single Six .22s.  Most of any improvement I achieve transfers to the cap guns nicely.

 

If I am going to a big match that I really really want to do well in (poor English I know) I will pop a few dozen caps on my ROAs in my garage with a timer, practicing draw and fire, trying to get the first shot off quickly.  With caps in short supply this may not be appealing.  (If you do it, clean the gun afterwards. Caps by themselves are still nasty dirty!)

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15 minutes ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

I don’t dry fire my percussion revolvers, which at this time are Ruger Old Armies.

 

Dry fire practice Is done with a pair of Old Model Vaqueros.  Live fire practice is done with a pair of Single Six .22s.  Most of any improvement I achieve transfers to the cap guns nicely.

 

If I am going to a big match that I really really want to do well in (poor English I know) I will pop a few dozen caps on my ROAs in my garage with a timer, practicing draw and fire, trying to get the first shot off quickly.  With caps in short supply this may not be appealing.  (If you do it, clean the gun afterwards. Caps by themselves are still nasty dirty!)

 

I go back to my original statement ;) :D

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Another thought about practicing with a gun that is not your main match gun:

 

In September of 2018 I had the privilege of watching Missouri Lefty set four new world records at the Missouri State Championship.  He borrowed my black powder guns to set 3 of them, guns he had never handled and fired before.  Lefty has exceptional skills, but I think this demonstrates that scores are mostly the results of the shooter’s skill rather than the gun itself.  I think it supports my statement that improvements gained by practicing with one gun are transferable to another.

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http://www.nrvoutdoors.com/OLD ARMY NRVO/OLD ARMY NRVO.html

This link could provide information and/or add conversation fuel. I dry fire ROA's with nipples removed just in case. However, a sure way to check prior to attempting is to apply a small amount of Prussion Blue or something similar to the end of the nipples and lower hammer onto nipples to check for contact.  The blue will print on hammer with contact. This also helps to determine if your nipples are seated to correct depth. As I understand, about one thousandths of clearance was engineered into the ROA's nipple-hammer interface. Another check point would be to do the same with the frame where curve of hammer would contact frame. Both interesting checks nonetheless. Owners manual states that dry firing ROA's is acceptable and no damage occurs. YMMV.

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