Cap keeps getting stuck

[vthompson]

I have a T/C 50cal Hawken percussion rifle and here lately everytime that I shoot it the cap gets stuck in the hammer after I shoot it.
I made sure that the hammer was good and clean but it still does it. Is there anything that I can do to prevent this. All suggestions will be appreciated. Thank's.

 

[bucktales]

For me, it's part of the caplock ritual. :haha:
Many hammers have a slot cut in for easy cap removal using a knife or pick. That's what I use.

 

[Tumblernotch]

You can chuck the nipple in a drill and take a file and very lightly file it down and I do mean very lightly. Be careful to keep a slight coned profile.

I had bought some nipples at the York shoot a couple of years ago that turned out to be a little too big and very soft. After a couple of shots I couldn't even get the caps on. I made a tool to hold the nipples in out of 1" hex bar. I tapped one end at 1/4 X 28 and put a nipple in it. I then mounted it in my lathe and took a file and lightly worked it down until a cap fit it correctly. I then casehardened the nipples and they work just fine.

 

[misher]

Had the same problem for a while,tried using my fingers to get them out. :cursing: You would be amazed haw sharp those stuck caps can be, razors....ouch.

 

[ohio ramrod]

If you file a notch in the front of the hammer with a trianlur file it should help

 

[Ken Rummer]

It only happens to me about 25% of the time but when it does I need a tool to pick it loose. I agree with busktail. Getting a pick is the answer.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

I guess I am fortunate. I have rarely experienced a stuck cap, maybe one in a hundred if that much. When one is stuck, I can usually flick it out with a brush of the fingertip.
After every shooting session, I clean the hammer's recess thoroughly. I use a music wire pick to scrape out any debris that might have built up during shooting. The wire pick goes in my shooting bag for emergencies.

 

[BrownBear]

You say "lately." Does that mean it didn't used to have the problem?

I'm guessing that if it started suddenly, that corresponded with a change in nipples.

I don't have enough experience to make this comment for certain, but I'm starting to think the sticking is a bigger problem with "hot shot" type nipples than with standard. I'm going to swap back to standard nipples on my two worst stickers, just to see if there's a change.

Instinct rather than fact, but sticking caps chap my hiney.

 

[renovato]

Picking out the stuck cap is just part of the experience. I figure that's also a chore for the nipple pick. I always have it ready anyway, because I pick the nipple before putting on another cap. I just use it to pick out the stuck cap, then the nipple, and we're good to go.

 

[BS]

My cap remover, made from an old fork.

 

[BrownBear]

Sticking on the nipple is an easy fix.

But he's talking about sticking in the hammer cup.

 

[BS]

Sticking on the nipple is an easy fix.

But he's talking about sticking in the hammer cup.

It works for both. :wink:

Or use this one with a flat screw driver on the other end.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Grind a flare on the inside of the skirt of the hammer, so that the cap cannot get stuck inside the skirt. A dremmel tool long grinding bit does the job.

Also, grind or file a Hair lip- triangular shaped NOTCH in the forward part of the skirt on the hammer. This allows gases to actually blow the sides of the cap open and out towards the front of the gun, and away from your eyes! With the side of the cap torn out, no cap is going to require much effort to knock off the nipple.

IN MY personal experience, the hammers on the older CVA guns were the worst offenders. They were too narrow- barely fitting over the cap on the nipple. The skirts were deep, and they usually did not come with a notch cut in the front. Guys at my club had lots of trouble with caps sticking inside those skirts, until we did the above. After that, the only time we had to fish a cap off a nipple was when it failed to fire.

 

[nkbj]

If it started getting stuck in the hammer with the change in nipples...was the pressure out flow with the old nipple splitting the side of the cap?
Just curious. Was thinking that maybe the new nipple is holding pressure better and not disrupting the cap as much.
What brand of caps are you using? Any difference with CCI's versus euro's?

 

[Tumblernotch]

I have a T/C 50cal Hawken percussion rifle and here lately everytime that I shoot it the cap gets stuck in the hammer after I shoot it.
I made sure that the hammer was good and clean but it still does it. Is there anything that I can do to prevent this. All suggestions will be appreciated. Thank's.

I see that I misread your post. :redface: If you file out or grind a notch in the top of the hammer cup, that should help. Then the cap can expand or spread out more when fired and should fall right off. Sometimes if the cup is a bit small and some gunk gets built up, the cap will stick. Wiping it out every few shots may help or you might have to take a Dremel tool or something like that and enlarge the cup a little.

 

[BS]

When grinding a taper on the inside of the hammer, polish the surface smooth. A rough surface will hold the cap and "gunk". Plus a smoother surface is easier to keep clean.

 

[rabjr]

I have a T/C 50cal Hawken percussion rifle and here lately everytime that I shoot it the cap gets stuck in the hammer after I shoot it.
I made sure that the hammer was good and clean but it still does it. Is there anything that I can do to prevent this. All suggestions will be appreciated. Thank's.

Going to a flintlock will fix problem right quick. :grin: :wink:

 

[Tumblernotch]

When grinding a taper on the inside of the hammer, polish the surface smooth. A rough surface will hold the cap and "gunk". Plus a smoother surface is easier to keep clean.

That's right! The smoother the better!

And Swampy, you have the best idea of them all!
:hatsoff: