Hi
I'm usually in the Barracks, but my first firearm was a Remington 1858 from Dixie Gun Works. I had several chain fires and thought that "myth" might be a bit off base. Doesn't matter though because holding a revolving rifle like you do a Musket, bolt action or AR-15 means that you get your wrist burnt anyway. I keep a picture of a SAA with my training aides to show why you hold a revolver with one hand.
Later
I see where you are coming from Mike. I chose the word "myth" for 2-reasons. One, it's provocative. We naturally gravitate toward something that sounds controversial on sites like this. However, my second and most important reason is that I just got sick and tired of hearing people say that the m.1855 rifle had a"flawed" design that was "naturally" prone to chain fires, perhaps more so than other revolvers of the period.
The main point is that the m.1855 design is no more "flawed" than any other contemporary revolvers of the day.
If you short start a musket ball, you will burst a barrel. Loading a misshapen cartridge will jam any modern metallic cartridge arm. These are not design flaws but rather, rules of proper handling to avoid problems.
This was precisely my point with the m.1855. It is a very well made weapon; it just represents a step in technological evolution that was eventually surpassed by more innovative design options. Even when it came to handling the m.1855, it was never intended to be held forward of the cylinder. Even if there was no chain fire, the high-velocity spray of lead shards and unburnt powder grains would be murder on the shooter's exposed hand. For this reason, the manual of handling the arm accommodated this.
Since you are an experienced BP shooter also, I know I'm preaching to the choir here so the rest of what I am about to say is geared toward the new shooters out there. In 30 years of firing thousands of rounds through cap & ball revolvers, I have never experienced a single chain fire on a live round and it is entirely because of the mentoring I had from older shooters, not because I was some kind of wiz on the topic. Here is what the old-timers had me do...
If your bullet mold makes a ball that just fits, throw it away and get a larger ball mold.
When you ram a revolver ball, it better shave a perfect ring of lead all the way around the bullet or you don't have a good seal. Any misshapen or undersized ball will cause a chain fire. Now, I only use original molds for my bullets. In the case of my Colt 2nd gen revolvers, I only load powder, ball and cap. That's all. No grease...ever. Rarely patches or oil. Also, I make sure that the caps fit properly and if I lose one, I cease firing and re cap.
My only 2-chain fires both occurred on blank fires while working as a stunt performer. On both occasions, the powder charges were both insulated but the cap had fallen off exposing the port to the hot gasses from firing. On both occasions, i had not properly fitted my caps as I was rushing to be ready for the show.
Anyhow, those are just my 2-cents on what I've seen. Thanks again Mike for making me expand on why I chose the word "myth". I was really hoping someone would for the benefit of the discussion and I glad it was a fellow BP revolver shooter to do that.
Thanks again.
-Dave