#11 percussion caps?!?

[Nicoli7153]

Yup, but you gotta clean it 27 times more than with bp. In the beginning, I shot pdex and I'd clean the heck out of my gun. The next morning I'd do it again. Then every morning for a week, I'd at least run a dry patch and and oil patch. After that, I would put it in my safe and a month later, a dry patch would come out rusty. I sold that rifle after less than 10 yrs with pits in the bore. My flinter, that I've been shooting for 3 decades, is spotless. It has never seen Pdex.

Read what DanO posted. I knows what he is talking about.

The guys that like to shoot. The guys that shoot competitions, the guys that shoot muzzleloaders and BPCR rifles in all the hunting seasons (not just the muzzleloader season), they all shoot real bp. Every one of them. There is a reason.

BP fouling still smells good, as does the smoke. Try it some time.

Shot it for 20 years until it was unobtanium, prefer it but can't get it

 

[Hem]

Yup, but you gotta clean it 27 times more than with bp. In the beginning, I shot pdex and I'd clean the heck out of my gun. The next morning I'd do it again. Then every morning for a week, I'd at least run a dry patch and and oil patch. After that, I would put it in my safe and a month later, a dry patch would come out rusty. I sold that rifle after less than 10 yrs with pits in the bore. My flinter, that I've been shooting for 3 decades, is spotless. It has never seen Pdex.

Read what DanO posted. I knows what he is talking about.

The guys that like to shoot. The guys that shoot competitions, the guys that shoot muzzleloaders and BPCR rifles in all the hunting seasons (not just the muzzleloader season), they all shoot real bp. Every one of them. There is a reason.

BP fouling still smells good, as does the smoke. Try it some time.

Without a doubt I defer to your knowledge.
All I'm saying is with due diligence Pyrodex has been fine for me.
No, I don't shoot 25 lbs of powder every year. In fact, I have had the same cannister of Pyrodex for years....still ignites fine. I never leave my rifle loaded for days on end and I'm a stickler for cleaning. Thing shoots better now than it did 30 years ago. Any issues have been nipple related.
I'm guessing humidity is less if an issue in Montana than the Midwest, as well.

 

[BrentD]

Shot it for 20 years until it was unobtanium, prefer it but can't get it

And why not? UPS will deliver it to your door. What's so hard about getting the real thing?

 

[BrentD]

Without a doubt I defer to your knowledge.
All I'm saying is with due diligence Pyrodex has been fine for me.
No, I don't shoot 25 lbs of powder every year. In fact, I have had the same cannister of Pyrodex for years....still ignites fine. I never leave my rifle loaded for days on end and I'm a stickler for cleaning. Thing shoots better now than it did 30 years ago. Any issues have been nipple related.
I'm guessing humidity is less if an issue in Montana than the Midwest, as well.

Nipple related problems are fouling problems and fouling problems are powder and care issues. They happen with bp too, but less so. Much less so.

 

[Hem]

Nipple related problems are fouling problems and fouling problems are powder and care issues. They happen with bp too, but less so. Much less so.

Okay.
What evs.
If the cap doesn't consistently spark with hammer drop I'm pretty certain this has absolutely nothing to with powder choice.
Think I will mosey on off....

 

[BrentD]

Okay.
What evs.
If the cap doesn't consistently spark with hammer drop I'm pretty certain this has absolutely nothing to with powder choice.
Think I will mosey on off....

"evs"

If the cap does light, probably not a nipple problem.

1. Are they Remington caps?
2. Did you seat the cap properly?
3. Does your hammer not hit the nipple squarely (2 ways this goes fubar).
4. Is your hammer spring failing?
5. Is your lock is messed up (several possibilities)?
6. Do you have a stock problem?

Nipples are just too simple to be a problem all by themselves.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

ive been using 777 for years myself and recomend,,ive seen a number of bad things with other powders out there.

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

This post made my Day because I bought 10tbs when WalMart was closing it out for $ 6.00 a pound. It works good in my .54 TC Rengade. I also bought #11 caps cheep also.

 

[44hunter45]

I've used Pyrodex and have the pits to show for it. In a stainless steel T/C Greyhawk no less. I switched to FF BP only about ten years ago.

Everything I "learned" about Pyrodex when I started turned out to be a lie. BP corrodes less, ingites just as easy, is more consistent, and cleans up easier.

I bought a bunch of GOEX when Hodgdon announced the plant was going to be closed, but happily it was purchased and GOEX lives on.

I'm seeing Scheutzen FF available a lot of places but I have not tried it. How does it compare to Swiss and GOEX?

 

[BrentD]

I've used Pyrodex and have the pits to show for it. In a stainless steel T/C Greyhawk no less. I switched to FF BP only about ten years ago.

Everything I "learned" about Pyrodex when I started turned out to be a lie. BP corrodes less, ingites just as easy, is more consistent, and cleans up easier.

I bought a bunch of GOEX when Hodgdon announced the plant was going to be closed, but happily it was purchased and GOEX lives on.

I'm seeing Scheutzen FF available a lot of places but I have not tried it. How does it compare to Swiss and GOEX?

Sorry to hear about your Pyrodex experiences. You are not alone, not that it will make you feel any better.

As for Goex, yes, they are still alive. But they have not produced a single grain of powder yet. There is hope that sometime this year, they will have product. We wait...

Swiss rules - it's better than all other powder out there. Schuetzen will get you a dead whitetail, but Swiss will get you a punched x-ring AND a dead whitetail.

 

[Nicoli7153]

And why not? UPS will deliver it to your door. What's so hard about getting the real thing?

Never knew about Swiss or that it was available from online suppliers in less than a 25 can case. Just did some looking around and found a few places that I deal with that carry it. Will make the switch!

 

[Scott85]

@BrentD would you recommend musket caps over #10/11s?

 

[BrentD]

@BrentD would you recommend musket caps over #10/11s?

No. If your gun won't fire, it's because you did something wrong. Fix the problem.

Using a musket cap on a percussion hunting rifle is a lot like using a .458 Lott for deer hunting because you wounded a deer with a .30-30 last time. It's not the cartridge that's the problem. In a hunting rifle it's not the cap.

FWIW, blackpowder is generally more accurate with weaker ignition sources. In fact, right now, I'm sitting in my shop loading two thicknesses of grocery sack paper into the primer pockets of some .45-70 target ammo and then seating a Federal match pistol primer on top of that paper. All for a weaker, softer flash.

If you can't get consistent ignition then look at your cleaning techniques and your loading techniques. It's one or the other (assuming you are not using Remington caps - never use Remington caps. In some tins, half of them are missing the priming compound.

 

[Scott85]

No. If your gun won't fire, it's because you did something wrong. Fix the problem.

Using a musket cap on a percussion hunting rifle is a lot like using a .458 Lott for deer hunting because you wounded a deer with a .30-30 last time. It's not the cartridge that's the problem. In a hunting rifle it's not the cap.

FWIW, blackpowder is generally more accurate with weaker ignition sources. In fact, right now, I'm sitting in my shop loading two thicknesses of grocery sack paper into the primer pockets of some .45-70 target ammo and then seating a Federal match pistol primer on top of that paper. All for a weaker, softer flash.

If you can't get consistent ignition then look at your cleaning techniques and your loading techniques. It's one or the other (assuming you are not using Remington caps - never use Remington caps. In some tins, half of them are missing the priming compound.

Thank you. It’s a brand new rifle that I haven’t shot yet. Just trying to get the best I can. Thanks to you I got Swiss powder coming, just trying to nail down primers.

 

[BrentD]

Thank you. It’s a brand new rifle that I haven’t shot yet. Just trying to get the best I can. Thanks to you I got Swiss powder coming, just trying to nail down primers.

CCI regular or CCI Mags or the RWS equivalent (No. 1075). Some of the powder dealers will have them.

I've been chatting with someone else about some of these issues yesterday and today. One thing I recommend, but rarely see people use is a cover over their cap and nipple. It makes everything drop-dead safe, weather tight, and safe. Did I say safe too?

NP0840 Safe N' Dry Kap Kover - 1/4 X 28

Probably the most significant development for muzzleloaders since the percussion cap. The Kap Kover was designed and built by a muzzleloading hunter. When properly installed the Kover will protect your cap and powder from wet conditions. It also acts as a positive mechanical safety since the...

www.dixiegunworks.com

The nipple that comes with these is one of the better ones. I recommend it for the average hunting rifle. It comes in metric as well as the standard 1/4" x 28tpi threads.

Would it be helpful to post a long, dangerously boring diatribe on how I think one should clean and prep a gun for hunting and maintain in the field? I haven't written it yet, but I warn you it will read like paint drying.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

Thank you. It’s a brand new rifle that I haven’t shot yet. Just trying to get the best I can. Thanks to you I got Swiss powder coming, just trying to nail down primers.

Brent is correct about #11 being just fine for anything at all provided the cleaning and loading methods are good. Applying disciplined consistency to anything in life gives superb repeatability in results.

Yet here’s the thing about musket caps, they may allow for negligence. So use them. Sort of like synthetic motor oil or replaceable blades on a skinning knife, you dig? Yes, conventional oil diligently changed every 3k miles works. Carrying a whetstone and knowing how to use it works too. But why would we do that if we can be lazy and use the other things?

 

[batj]

For as much as I shoot or care to hunt another Montana season I will continue to put battery acid down my barrel in hopes that one day maybe I will see the buck of my dreams. If the barrel rots away as predicted I will buy another as I didn’t pay much for the one I got. It shoots good to 100 good enough for me.

Been shootin the same Renegade 54 since 80. 1000's of round ball and several hundred No Excuses 535 gr slugs out of it all using Pyrodex. Never an issue and barrell still looks good. I do clean it with hot soapy water after every shootin sessions and wipe barrell down with a bore butter.

 

[Scott85]

Got lucky at Scheels today!

 

[TradeGun.62]

@Scott85, percussion caps for the poor, Sir!

 

[BrentD]

Someone just posted on Facebook that CCI will be making a large run of caps in June and available July/August. First run in at least 2 yrs.