Misfires

[ArcherandShooter]

I'm still fairly new to BP shooting, and I love it, but I'm having a problem I need some help with.

I shoot a TC Hawken caplock rifle, and about every 10th shot or so, I get a misfire. The cap fires, but the main powder charge just sits there. For a while (it is a new-to-me rifle) I was swabbing the barrel after each shot, so not using enough dry patches before re-charging could have been the problem, but now that the barrel is well-seasoned I don't do a full cleaning between each shot.

Any ideas why I'm getting no-fires? Is there a happy medium I should get to between every-shot-cleaning and once-after-a-range-session? Something else going wrong?

If this helps, I'm able to get the main charge to fire by removing the nipple and drizzling a few grains of powder into the hole. After replacing the nipple and placing a new cap, the gun fires OK.

Anyway, thanks for any help and ideas you can offer.

 

[arcticap]

There's lots of things that it could be, you don't mention what kind of powder, the granulation or how much powder you're loading.
Are you using coarser ffg powder? fffg powder usually burns a little cleaner and settles into the breech more reliably, but reduce the volume by 10%.
Real black powder ignites more easily than subs, but may also leave more residue.
After dropping the powder load, do you ever slap or tap on the side of your rifle to help settle the powder into the breech area?
Do you ever use a nipple pick to clear the nipple channel?
Do you ever clean out the patent breech (by using a piece of wire etc...) after each shooting session to help keep it clear?
Swabbing can also sometimes push fouling into the flash channel and block it up if there's too much fouling. Ever use a fouling scraper attachment for the breech interior?
Some folks can shoot moderate powder loadings for hours using adequate patch lube without suffering from misfires (accuracy may suffer but....)
I place a funnel in the muzzle when I load to help the powder drop straighter down the barrel. I'm sure some of it sticks to the sides of the barrel until the patched ball pushes it down. And if too much powder sticks, that's less powder that reaches the breech channel that can be readily ignited. That's why some competitive shooters use a powder drop tube to help insure that every bit of powder makes it right down into the breech.
One more tip to help get powder down into the breech channel is to place the hammer in the half cock position before loading, so that when the ball is rammed, the air can more easily escape through the nipple and help the powder flow forward down into the breech.
If the channels are clear (nipple & breech), and the powder makes it down into a dry breech, it should ignite every time.
What brand of caps do you use? There are magnum caps available and different styles of nipples too if the problem continues unresolved.

 

[sundance44s]

Sundance44s

Just my 2 cents ,,,if your swabing with a wet patch always pop a few caps before ya charge the rifle again ...and lastly when you load the rifle put the hammer on half cock , doing this will allow the powder to reach the flash point by getting rid of the trapped air behind your charge , it`ll push the air out of the nipple flash hole and allow powder to filter into the flash channel, loading with the hammer resting on the nipple will trap air behind the charge .

 

[Plink]

It could be one of several things, all of which are easy to correct. You might be pushing crud into the patent breech and somewhat blocking the flash channel. Do you have a breech scraper? Try using one when you clean. Oil, if not wiped out before shooting can clog it too or make the powder go inert. Try popping a few caps to blow out crud or oil. Also, check the hole through the nipple for corrosion or fouling.

 

[dispatch55126]

After you fire a few caps, run a dry patch down to soak up any oil you blew out.

 

[Steve499]

One of my rifles just will not fire if I've loaded it with the hammer down on the nipple. Others I have don't seem to care. I'd bet that's your problem for the reasons the others have given.

Steve

 

[ArcherandShooter]

Thanks, all

After reading all your insights and advice, for which I am grateful, I'm guessing the problem I'm having right now is that I keep forgetting to tap the rifle to settle powder down into the breech area, since each time this has happened, I've been able to get a good ignition by putting a little powder down under the nipple, which gives me "more fire" going into the breech and barrel.

I'll keep all your thoughts and suggestions in mind as I keep getting more into BP shooting. One of these days I want my smokepole to be reliable enough in my hands to take it deer hunting.

 

[Plink]

You might try swapping to one of the HotShot type nipples. Several companies are offering similar ones. They let more fire into the chamber and usually solve the problem with stubborn guns. Good luck!