An earlier thread about slant breech indicated to me I know almost nothing about the types of breeches used with percussion rifles. Could someone knowledgable educate me please?
Three basic types. One is the drum and nipple, poor design but widely used. To many points of failure and nooks and crannies for fouling to hide.
Then there is the cross drilled patent breech type with or without a cleanout on one side or the other.
The best is the type with an angled relatively small flash channel that ends under the nipple seat.
The cross drilled may have too large a cavity under the nipple and if it bears full diameter on the nipple too much pressure is applied and nipples can blow out. Same may be said of the drum and nipple. But this varies with who made the parts.
Any percussion system with a poorly seated nipple can promote gas cutting past the threads. Thus it is best to use a counter bore to cut a seat for the base of the nipple body for it to seat on to form a seal. Premade breeches will not allow the threaded portion to seated on a shoulder at the bottom.
Counter bores of the proper diameter for a standard nipple can be bought from MSC though the pilot will need to be sleeved to give a proper fit in the threaded hole. Cuts a nice flat seat.
There are others types used historically that consist of a lug brazed onto the barrel ) and a nipple seat installed but above are the 3 basic types. This was often used to convert flint guns by various military armories and some private makers being a better system than the drum and nipple.
Really there are endless variations especially in the cheap reproductions.
Dan
