I recently purchased a used .45 cva hawken style rifle and it is not igniting the cap on the first hit. It smooches a little and then it fires next hit. I am sure the cap is down on the nipple properly. The hammer to nipple angle looks a little off an i don't know if I should buy a different nipple or if the drum needs to be rotated a little. Any suggestions thanks
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Cap lock ignition issues
- Thread starter .36navy
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hanshi
Cannon
A bad hammer nose to nipple angle will mess you up, alright. It still sounds like the cap might not be seating all the way since it does fire every OTHER time. Are the caps tight? Try a different cap and see if it seats better.
Len Graves
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I think you almost answered your own question. Of course the hammer should cleanly strike the nipple . If it drags on one side of the hammer cup it may be slowing down enough to not strike hard enough. Or, if you think you are smooshing the cap a little. It may be the cap is not completely down on the nipple and cushioning the blow of the hammer. In the first instance you may have to either bend the hammer, or enlarge the hammer cup. For the second fix you may have to check the nipple. Inspect for mushrooming at the top of the nipple A little file work will take that off, or you may have to chuck your nipple in a small drill motor and file till your caps set firmly all the way down on the nipple. I have been there. Good luck
Fred_Dwyer
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Oh, you don't wanna do that. For a couple reasons.
paulvallandigham
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Replace the nipple. Its worn down, from too many blows. The original owner was either too lazy, or uninformed on how and where to find replacement nipples. You should be able to see a small bulge in the trunk or "neck" of the nipple, just back of the rim.
If you also see that the nipple's rim is beaten down more on one side, it means that the face of the hammer is not squared to the top of the nipple. Get a narrow Dremel Tool grinding bit from your hardware store, ( a steel shaft with a long narrow round grinding stone) to chuck into a power hand drill.
Now use lipstick or some other marking dye to paint the rim of the nipple. Lower the hammer down onto a brand new nipple to transfer dye to the face of the hammer, inside the skirt. Lift the hammer back to its full cock notch and turn thee lock in your hand to you can see the face of the hammer. I do this work with the lock in the stock, rotating the gun, and always pointing the barrel of my UNLOADED gun in a safe direction.I then use the grinding bit to grind away the steel under the dye, as the dye will show the "High" spots.
Lower the hammer again to mark the face again, to see how much of an improvement you have made. It the dye starts getting thin, give the rim another coat of dye. Keep grinding the high spots down until you achieve a complete "donut" ring of dye on the face of the hammer.
Now, the face is squared to the nipple. Because all the rim is taking the hammer blow when a cap is fired, less damage is done to the nipple, and it will last much longer! Because the new nipple will let you put the cap fully down on the nipple, each cap will now fire on the first blow of the hammer. Because the hammer now hits squarely on the rim of the nipple, you get reliable ignition from every cap. :hmm:
ERGO- no more worrying if the gun is going to fire. :hmm: :v :grin: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:
If you also see that the nipple's rim is beaten down more on one side, it means that the face of the hammer is not squared to the top of the nipple. Get a narrow Dremel Tool grinding bit from your hardware store, ( a steel shaft with a long narrow round grinding stone) to chuck into a power hand drill.
Now use lipstick or some other marking dye to paint the rim of the nipple. Lower the hammer down onto a brand new nipple to transfer dye to the face of the hammer, inside the skirt. Lift the hammer back to its full cock notch and turn thee lock in your hand to you can see the face of the hammer. I do this work with the lock in the stock, rotating the gun, and always pointing the barrel of my UNLOADED gun in a safe direction.I then use the grinding bit to grind away the steel under the dye, as the dye will show the "High" spots.
Lower the hammer again to mark the face again, to see how much of an improvement you have made. It the dye starts getting thin, give the rim another coat of dye. Keep grinding the high spots down until you achieve a complete "donut" ring of dye on the face of the hammer.
Now, the face is squared to the nipple. Because all the rim is taking the hammer blow when a cap is fired, less damage is done to the nipple, and it will last much longer! Because the new nipple will let you put the cap fully down on the nipple, each cap will now fire on the first blow of the hammer. Because the hammer now hits squarely on the rim of the nipple, you get reliable ignition from every cap. :hmm:
ERGO- no more worrying if the gun is going to fire. :hmm: :v :grin: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:
I had that same problem with a TC Patriot pistol. A friend of mine took the nipple and chucked it into a cordless drill. Spin the nipple and use some emory cloth to take a little metal off the outter diameter of the nipple.
The problem is the nipple is sometimes too fat. The cap may feel like it's squished down there tight and fully seated. But it's not really touching the top of the nipple. It just feels like it's seated because the nippel stem is too large.
So what happens is that first strike from the hammer actually seats/pushes the cap down tight onto the nipple all the way, but not hard enough to make it explode. The 2nd strike makes it explode because the cap is finally seated all the way down and touching the top of the nipple.
Might not be the problem with your gun, but it's something to think about.
The problem is the nipple is sometimes too fat. The cap may feel like it's squished down there tight and fully seated. But it's not really touching the top of the nipple. It just feels like it's seated because the nippel stem is too large.
So what happens is that first strike from the hammer actually seats/pushes the cap down tight onto the nipple all the way, but not hard enough to make it explode. The 2nd strike makes it explode because the cap is finally seated all the way down and touching the top of the nipple.
Might not be the problem with your gun, but it's something to think about.
The screw on the end of the drum is likely a clean out screw, not to rotate the drum. My Traditions Caplock has one on the end that I can remove to gain direct access to the drum during cleaning. If yours is buggered even slightly, its likely it is a clean out screw and it was just too tight, and got boogered removing it. (don't ask how I know this :redface: )
paulvallandigham
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Yes, there are different length nipples, with different thread sizes. You have to remove the nipple to expose the threads, so that you can measure them with metric thread gauges( see your local hardware, or auto supply stores) to get the size correct for your gun.
Use a nipple wrench to remove the nipple, and put it back on. If its "stuck" soak it with a penetrating oil, like Break Free, Liquid Wrench, or Kroil. Even Break cleaner works, as does kerosene. Don't hesitate to pour some some of this penetrating oil down the barrel, while you put a tooth pick into the nipple to seal that hole, and stand the barrel in the corner some place for a week! Let the oil do its job. When all else fails, applying heat to the bolster or drum( where the nipple is screwed into the barrel, to expand that metal while turning the screw out, will get the job done. If all else fails, you may have to drill the nipple out.
It happens. Sometimes someone has bought the wrong sized nipple, and cross-threaded it into the bolster! :nono: :shake: :shocked2: Don 't hesitate to take the barrel to a qualified gunsmith, or machinist with a good drill press to do this work. :hatsoff:
Use a nipple wrench to remove the nipple, and put it back on. If its "stuck" soak it with a penetrating oil, like Break Free, Liquid Wrench, or Kroil. Even Break cleaner works, as does kerosene. Don't hesitate to pour some some of this penetrating oil down the barrel, while you put a tooth pick into the nipple to seal that hole, and stand the barrel in the corner some place for a week! Let the oil do its job. When all else fails, applying heat to the bolster or drum( where the nipple is screwed into the barrel, to expand that metal while turning the screw out, will get the job done. If all else fails, you may have to drill the nipple out.
It happens. Sometimes someone has bought the wrong sized nipple, and cross-threaded it into the bolster! :nono: :shake: :shocked2: Don 't hesitate to take the barrel to a qualified gunsmith, or machinist with a good drill press to do this work. :hatsoff:
Here's a quick check to determine where the fault lies. Make a couple of splits down the sides of the caps you are using, so they are lose on the nipple. Fire off a cap (rifle unloaded) to see if it fires with the first hammer hit. If it does fire, then the problem is either with the caps being too tight, or the nipple too wide. If it still takes two hammer hits to set it off, the problem is probably with the hammer/nipple alignment, or the hammer spring is too weak.
Give it a try. :thumbsup: Bill
Give it a try. :thumbsup: Bill
Ken Rummer
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M6x1.0 is a 6mm thread diameter (.236).
The 1.0 is the pitch which is the distance between threads in mm and is .039.
There are 25.4 threads per inch.
The 1.0 is the pitch which is the distance between threads in mm and is .039.
There are 25.4 threads per inch.
Fred_Dwyer
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You'll break the gun.
What brand and # caps are you using?
Rat Trapper
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Replace the nipple and try another lot of caps and see what happens.
[quote A friend of mine took the nipple and chucked it into a cordless drill. Spin the nipple and use some emory cloth to take a little metal off the outter diameter of the nipple.
The problem is the nipple is sometimes too fat. The cap may feel like it's squished down there tight and fully seated. But it's not really touching the top of the nipple. It just feels like it's seated because the nippel stem is too large.
So what happens is that first strike from the hammer actually seats/pushes the cap down tight onto the nipple all the way, but not hard enough to make it explode. The 2nd strike makes it explode because the cap is finally seated all the way down and touching the top of the nipple.
[/quote]
Listen to what Chris Harris says, when your problem occurs, 99% of the time this is the solution.
Deadeye
The problem is the nipple is sometimes too fat. The cap may feel like it's squished down there tight and fully seated. But it's not really touching the top of the nipple. It just feels like it's seated because the nippel stem is too large.
So what happens is that first strike from the hammer actually seats/pushes the cap down tight onto the nipple all the way, but not hard enough to make it explode. The 2nd strike makes it explode because the cap is finally seated all the way down and touching the top of the nipple.
[/quote]
Listen to what Chris Harris says, when your problem occurs, 99% of the time this is the solution.
Deadeye
