Problems with cap and ball NAA revolver.

[RobbieRobertson]

I bought an NAA Super Companion revolver back in July. Five months later and I still have not fired five shots through it without having to deal with problem of cylinder not rotating. I have to take it out to rotate it. NAA gunsmiths have repaired firearm four times to no avail. I am tired of shipping it back to Utah for repairs. Any suggestions as to how I can fix this problem myself? Thanks.

[Uncle_Lee]

Are your caps seated good and deep on the nipples?
Are your bullets seated deep enough not to stick out of the cylinder?

It sounds to me like either your caps or your bullets are rubbing the frame.

[OV-1D]

I bought an NAA Super Companion revolver back in July. Five months later and I still have not fired five shots through it without having to deal with problem of cylinder not rotating. I have to take it out to rotate it. NAA gunsmiths have repaired firearm four times to no avail. I am tired of shipping it back to Utah for repairs. Any suggestions as to how I can fix this problem myself? Thanks.

   Ask for a replacement if it still isn't working properly . Strange though , sure it isn't something on your end ?

[top dog]

I had basically the same problem,only I did not send it back to NAA but switched to Remington caps. They seem to be much thinner and I have not had any problems.

                                                                 Top Dog

[lefty dude]

do you have prior experience with Cap & Ball Revolvers ? If not you have a steep learning curve. You must gently seat the caps on the nipples, and use the proper Remington caps.

[grumpyoleman]

Thismay not be relevant to your problem,but you might try running a ballistol soaked pipe cleaner through the itty bitty hole where  the cylinder pin fits, to make sure there is no grit hiding in there.  I wouldn't be afraid to put a little high quality synthetic grease on the cylinder pin to make sure it stays free.  Old colt black powder pistols had a large arbor over which the cylinder was installed.  They did that for good reason. The fouling from the black powder would cause it to bind eventually.  Remington's had a much smaller arbor and those cylinders fouled up rather quickly causing the cylinder to be very hard to turn.

[RobbieRobertson]

Gentleman: thank you all the feedback;  it is much appreciated. This is the first BP pistol I have ever owned so the problem with cylinder locking is probably me. I am using #11 Remington caps, like owner's manual says. After firing I am running the blade of a Swiss army knife between the spent caps and the frame. There is room; the cylinder should rotate. Maybe cap fragments are sticking under the cylinder?

[top dog]

Robby,
As you are now finding out,BP weapons tend to get more gritty/dirty than the smokeless pieces.

All sorts of debris tends to "occur" during firing.

Some folks soak down there BP guns with Windex during the cleaning process and then use canned air to blow out the solvent. I use a Ballistol/water mix and it seems to work OK for me.

Also,did you check to see that the nipples were securely screwed down into the cylinder???

                                                                                                   Top Dog

[Rigemortis]

Robbie...
Welcome to the forum.
Welcome to black powder.

I noticed while operating the super companion, with cci 11's the cylinder did not rotate well. I was dissapointed. So I heard Remington's work better. I was hoping, while reading the thread, this would be your situation too. Now we have some remintons, I hope to see the problem fixed. But as someone mentioned, it could be a cap fragment. I guess when this problem  came up we just forced it and should have rather, looked closely. I haven't tried the remintons, and the desert is a drive so it could be a bit. I'll have to really look close and see if any sense can be made of it next time at the range. Let me know what you find out too. It cycles good when unloaded? We might just try firing with caps only and see how it behaves.