Traditions Shedhorn failing to set off #11 caps

I will use nothing but Rem or CCI caps. The RWS caps had me picking pieces of caps out of my nose and chin. Good thing for safety glasses. RWS and Italian caps really make you bleed. I now only use them to clear the nipples and hold the gun upside down.

longcruise said:

The Traditions site says they use a musket cap. Maybe the configuration requires the musket nipple and cap.

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Yes, they are designed to use a musket cap.

longcruise said:

The Traditions site says they use a musket cap. Maybe the configuration requires the musket nipple and cap.

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I looked one over at my local sporting goods store and I believe this is correct, and it seemed to me it came equipped with a musket nipple. Overall quality seemed quite good. IIRC, it is a 28 twist so it is pretty much dedicated to conicals. They have several models in stock that I looked at so I'm not sure on that. The confusion about 'stainless' is understandable because in some of the adds I saw online it said cerakote and stainless. I think it is only cerakote, as mentioned. SW

bassmastar34 said:

I just recently bought my first muzzleloader and got the traditions shedhorn and after first trip to the range I am running into a issue with my caps. I have the stainless #11 nipple installed and my RWS 1075 plus caps will not go off from the hammer reliably. I had some that took 5-10 hammer falls before the cap would go off. out of 20 caps that i tried maybe 3 fired first try. When the cap goes off the rifle shot fine. The caps are seated all the way on the nipple to the best of my ability. I question if it could just be bad batch of caps because it took 3 hits from a hammer to set one off on the concrete as well. anyone else have this same trouble with rws caps or is there something I am doing wrong?
any help would be great.

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I use rws caps works fine for me.mine or just bought and bought them from powder valley

Get a caliper, take the nipple out. Measure the inside diameter of your cap at the open end. Now measure the nipple where this open end should be if fully on the nipple. I put the nipple in a cordless drill and use a small file to reduce nipple diameter. Remember you have to reduce the entire mating surface of the nipple.

bassmastar34 said:

i swapped nipples and still takes multiple strikes to set them off best i can tell there is slight offset from the hammer to the nipple face. would that be enough to prevent them from firing?

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I have had this problem with CVA rifles. The hammer is offset and not getting a good strike. I have shimmed hammers outward and I have bent them inward.

Some rifles STILL require a double strike to fire. The first hammer fall “seats” the cap on the nipple and the second strike usually fires.
I have not thought of trying #10 nipples until just now.
I feel that the coil mainspring is weak in these locks. That is MY OPINION.

bassmastar34 said:

i swapped nipples and still takes multiple strikes to set them off best i can tell there is slight offset from the hammer to the nipple face. would that be enough to prevent them from firing?

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If the hammer is not aligned properly with the nipple it is an issue that needs addressed.

In the early 1980's there was a book on "Black Powder Gunsmithing". One of the major topics in the chapter on building a CVA Mountain Rifle was the bending of the hammer to align the hammer with the nipple in the nipple seat. There were some comments about the weakness of the lock mainsprings. The simple fix was a small wedge in the V of the spring to apply a bit more tension and force to the strike. A second fix is to get two 6-1 mm nuts to thread the nipple on while holding the nipple in a drill then filing a little bit from the diameter of the nipple. The two nuts protect the threads of the nipple as the nipple is gripped by the drill chuck. This seats the cap further along the cone and places the priming charge on the top of the nipple.

bassmastar34 said:

I just recently bought my first muzzleloader and got the traditions shedhorn and after first trip to the range I am running into a issue with my caps. I have the stainless #11 nipple installed and my RWS 1075 plus caps will not go off from the hammer reliably. I had some that took 5-10 hammer falls before the cap would go off. out of 20 caps that i tried maybe 3 fired first try. When the cap goes off the rifle shot fine. The caps are seated all the way on the nipple to the best of my ability. I question if it could just be bad batch of caps because it took 3 hits from a hammer to set one off on the concrete as well. anyone else have this same trouble with rws caps or is there something I am doing wrong?
any help would be great.

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The 1075 in RWS indicates a slightly smaller cap. I would try a Cci #11 cap

flconch53 said:

The 1075 in RWS indicates a slightly smaller cap. I would try a Cci #11 cap

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If it is indeed a musket nipple disregard.