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Nothing says "I Love You, Dear" like screaming lower back pain!

Sometimes Wrong but rarely in doubt!

18 April 2012

New Nipples!

No I didn't get a breast augmentation done, get your mind out of the gutter!  I bought a set of SliX-Shot nipples to replace the nipples on my reproduction Colt 1860.  The nipples have three disadvantages that I can see one cosmetic, another is practical and the last is price.

I personally don't like the look of Ampco or stainless steel nipples on cap and ball revolvers.  From everything I've read on the Colt 1860  ampco bronze and stainless steel weren't used as material for the nipples </sarcasm> and I prefer a more authentic look.  However, as an engineer I have to be a bit practical and recognize that bronze and stainless are more durable in the application than hardened steel.

Practicality cuts both ways though, SLiX-Shot nipples are only available for #10 caps.  As I have observed in prior posts the #10 caps are very scarce.

Price is a minor nit, the SliX-Shot nipples are six dollars each while more conventional stainless steel nipples are four dollars each and the Ampco bronze nipples are one cent less than the SliX-Shot nipples.  At an extra two bucks I'm willing to give it a try if it proves to be a superior product.

What are the advantages of the SLiX-Shot nipples?  The nipple's firing chamber is larger with two diametrically opposed holes in addition to the touch-hole (for lack of a better term).  These features should lessen the back pressure in the hammer on the Colt 1860's and  reproductions thereof.  The lower pressure in turn will hopefully lower the chance that the caps are forced into the groove on the hammer that seats over the cylinder pins.  This should mean that the hammer won't extract the cap off the nipple thereby reducing the incidence of cap jams.  The two holes may blow the sides of the cap off as well, we'll see once I get it out to the range.

I expect I'll get out either this weekend or sometime in the first week of May so stay tuned for a follow-up post.



I've installed the nipples on the revolver and as you can see for yourself the stainless steel nipples aren't too glaringly apparent.  I did notice that the older nipples where visibly shorter than the SliX-Shot nipples when installed in the cylinder.


Close-up of the original Nipples.


Before installing the SliX-Shot Nipples

New SliX-Shots.
Old nipples.
New SliX-Shot Nipples Installed
Compare the old & the new.

Close-up of the SliX-Shot Nipples
The New SliX-Shots were installed using Traditions EZ Clean Breech & Nipple Thread Lube.  It's probably just bore butter in different packaging.  The EZ Clean has been doing the job on my Tradtions Vortek since I bought it and it seems to work well on the nipples of the Colt reproduction.

Since it looks like it's going to rain all weekend I won't be installing the new steel on the roof so I may mosey out to the range to give my refurbished revolvers a chance to make some smoke.


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