Erma Gallager - Cartridge ignition problems

[Vacavalryrider]

My son and I are Cavalry reenactors, and he just bought an Erma Gallager for his carbine. We shoot blanks made out of paper ladies, but as to date we cant get the blanks to go off. In fact, I cant even get FFFG powder to ignite in the chamber. The nipple and all passages are clear, and the cap will blow powder out of the chamber. Any ideas? FYI we use CCI caps, and 3f or Pyrodex for powder. Any help will be appreciated.

[Jud96]

Are you using the "new" CCI reeanacter caps or the old ones. If they are the reeanacter caps they dont have enough power to set off a charge in a Gallager or most other carbines and muskets. Also, I would save up and use brass cases and keep them in a haversack or pocket because you dont achieve a seal with paper and it is much dirtier and harder to operate with all the fouling in the mechanism because of no seal. Hope this helps! P.S. your son has a great carbine, I shoot a Gallager here at the N-SSA.

[Vacavalryrider]

As I said earlier, even with raw, unpackaged FFFG powder in the cupthat is the back of the breech, the powder does not ignite. I was not aware that there is a cap that is hotter than others. When we use paper ladies in the Sharps, the beech block cuts the paper lady, so we tore the end of it off on the Gallager. Does the cartridge for the Gallager stick out of the barrel and back into the breech?

[Jud96]

As I said earlier, even with raw, unpackaged FFFG powder in the cupthat is the back of the breech, the powder does not ignite. I was not aware that there is a cap that is hotter than others. When we use paper ladies in the Sharps, the beech block cuts the paper lady, so we tore the end of it off on the Gallager. Does the cartridge for the Gallager stick out of the barrel and back into the breech? Yes the cartridge case sticks out about 3/4in - 1 inch and its back end is rounded just like the breech so they form a seal. Try a RWS cap or old CCIs and see if thay works. Did you take out the tiny clean out screw next to the nipple and clean it out? If not then take it out and clean it throughly with a pipe cleaner and hoppes black powder solvent, this cleaning will get everything inside the flash channel cleaned that you normally cant get by just cleaning the holdn nipple goes into.

[Vacavalryrider]

I have totally disassembled the weapon, and the passages are clear. I have observed that the nipple that came with the carbine has a smaller bore than the one on my sharps, and the hole in the back of the chamber is smaller than the one in the inner nipple of the sharps breech block. will enlarging either of these holes (in the nipple and in the chamber) help setting off the powder? Again, There was no paper between the powder and the chamber, the last time I tried to fire the weapon I had poured powder directly into the chamber. I am leaning towards this problem being a lack of flash in the newer caps, and perhaps, hopefully, different caps will help. Are the RWS caps hotter than these newer CCI caps?

[Steve Weems]

The CCI caps you need to look for have 0300 on the tin lid--Gander Mountain had them on dicontinued status*
and some of the stores in the East may still have some--you might give them a call if one is in your area.

The brass cases do help as noted by some of the other responders---Good Luck

[Vacavalryrider]

As I said earlier, even with raw, unpackaged FFFG powder in the cupthat is the back of the breech, the powder does not ignite. I was not aware that there is a cap that is hotter than others. When we use paper ladies in the Sharps, the beech block cuts the paper lady, so we tore the end of it off on the Gallager. Does the cartridge for the Gallager stick out of the barrel and back into the breech?