Dry-firing a percussion firearm

Dry-firing a percussion firearm. . . ....

Larry Pletcher | August 30, 2006 | Comments (2)
Dry-firing a percussion firearm. . . . Care should be used in dry-firing a percussion firearm. If the hammer is dropped on an empty nipple, the nipple is very likely to upset and develop an oversized rim. Caps may no longer fit properly. (The only exception to this that I know of is the Ruger Old Army, whose hammer is stopped just short of the empty nipple.) A common sign of this is that a cap may not fire the first time the hammer falls. The first fall of the hammer may actually seat the cap, and the cap may fire with the second hammer fall. If this happens, check the nipple to be sure that the cap still seats correctly. Light dressing of the nipple with a file may be in order.

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Before I went to flintlocks, I dry fired my percussion rifles by slipping a faucet washer of the proper thickness and diameter over the nipple. The hammer doesn't hit the nipple and is cushioned at the same time. Learned this trick from an old timer in the Forest Hills Black Powder Brigade about 15 years ago...

-Winter Hawk-

Posted by: Winter Hawk | November 6, 2006 2:45 PM

Thanks Winter Hawk. I used that on a target pistol with the same results.
Regards,
Larry Pletcher

Posted by: Larry Pletcher | November 6, 2006 5:49 PM

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