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Muzzleloader help requested

gds

gds

New Member
I have a very dissappointed 16 yr old.He has hunted deer since his first youth seson and has shot some does but has never had a shot at a buck until last night.A real nice buck provided a 35yd broadside shot and when he pulled the trigger nothing happened and the deer ran off.
Due to a limited budget he is shooting a CVA Bobcat 50 cal. sidelock.
We had trouble at the range earlier with the gun hang firing and then a couple of times the cap did'nt ignite the powder.After that ordeal we gave the gun a good cleaning.I at first was blaming the gun,we bought a new tin of cci percussion caps.It was this cap that didn't go off last night.I did notice that after we cleaned the gun and fired some caps through it to dry it out that some of the caps did not fire.
What should we do?
1.Get new caps(What Brand is reliable?)
2.replace the nipple
3.Could there be something wrong with the Hammer?
Thanks,
OA
Gary
 
Make sure the caps are fitting all the way down on the nipple. The hammer may not be falling far enough either. I doubt the caps are to blame.
 
here's a little trick that my dad used to do with side locks. he would pour the powder, ram the bullet, and then pull the nipple from the gun. after that he would pinch a small amount of powder into the little hole and replace the nipple. this worked VERY well for him to get the gun to go off each and every time.

i've never had problems with CCI caps, i wonder how old they were when you bought them?
 
Outdooraddict

when you clean the gun use a pipe cleaner to clean out the little chamber between the nipple and the barrel. Or it could be debris in the nipple from previous shots. If the cap isn't going off at all then shovel aready called it.

good luck
 
Shovelbuck,
One thing we noticed is that the caps are fitting extremely tight.We have to remove them (unfired) with a pocket knife.Does that mean anything?I bought the nipple new last year .It is a CVA.We didn't have any problems before the new tin of caps???
Thanks,
Gary
 
before my brother made the jump to knight, he was dumping a few grains down the nipple hole, similar to what muddy said.

one possible option, replace the nipple and get a nipple that will take a musket cap, its a bit larger than the caps you are using now.

the BEST fix, (although not the cheapest) is to get a more modern gun
 
Gary,

Before I got my in-line I was shooting side locks when hunting for 15 years. I personally never had and trouble with the CCI caps, but I did liked a German Brand better-brand name: Vorderlader-Zundhutchen.

Your problem may be in the nipple its self. Does the cap fit completely down on the nipple? I have had caps not fire because they werent seated flush on the top of the nipple. They should however fire the second time you try to fire them if this is the problem. Did you try firing the gun twice with the same cap on the nipple? You may have a bad lot of caps it the above fails. Also remember nipple sizes vary on some firearms.

Your alignment of the hammer and nipple maybe slightly off set, check that. If not I would replace the nipple with a hot nipple.

Several other things that I found thru years of trail and error when shooting side locks are:

Use black powder in then instead of Pyrodex or Triple 7. Black powder has a lower ignition point which will lessen the chance of a hang fire.

When cleaning always remove the nipple and clean it, then use a nipple pick to insure the nipple flash hole is free of residue (pipe cleaner).

Make sure to clean the flash hole that then nipple screws into very good (Q-TIP & pipe cleaner).

I hope this tips help you out. If not send me a PM and I will shoot you my phone number and we can talk over the phone. Good Luck!

Shovelbuck may also have some ideas!
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When I wrote this post no one else had answered you, now I see that we are all on the same page!
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I respect the man who hunts with a traditional muzzleloader, but I echo Teeroy's sentiments... if you want a consistently reliable ignition, buy a modern muzzleloader
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outdooraddict, i too used to own a bobcat. i had the same problem you had multiple times, many while hunting. the way i solved the problem is exactle what muddy mentioned. cut down tremendously on miss fires.i don't think it's a cap problem! good luck
 
Didn't mean to sound harsh Teeroy. Sorry.
If the caps are fitting tight, I'd bet that the trouble is they are not going all the way down. Try turning your nipples outside dimension down a little and see if that cures the problem.
 
Thanks fellas,
I think we have solved it.I ended up buying some new #11 magnum caps at Scheels last night.I also cleaned and oiled the main spring and hammer.Then I sanded on the nipple until I got a better cap fit.After all that I was 10 for 10 for cap firings.Hopefully that old buck walks in front of Andrew this weekend!
Thanks again!
Gary
 
Gary, So glad that you got your problem solved. I hope your son gets another chance at that buck.
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