[fred]

I only ever had failures to ignite with tight #11 Italian caps I bought years ago. Is there any chance the nipples could be just a tad short?? Also, is it always the same chamber(s) or totally random (use a dot of nail polish to mark - you can always remove it)?? No roughness in the forward throw of the hammer (burrs in the pin or screw that the hammer rotates on)? Have you tried other lots of CCI caps or just one lot (I had a lot of #550 small pistol primers that had a very high % of misfires but would go off on the second try). Good luck.

 

[fred]

Glad you had some luck. I would recommend that you NOT dry fire any percussion revolver unless the manufacturer says in writing that it is OK. Frankly, I don't even dry fire my Ruger Old Army. I think 0.001" on a nipple could make a difference.