Caps stuck in hammer

[bendjoseph]

How can I keep caps from being stuck in the hammer after shot?

 

[robinghewitt]

I am not sure you can, the hammer should have a slot down the front so you can pick them out with a pin thing.

 

[bendjoseph]

The hammer does not have a slot.

 

[SgtSchutzen]

Some guns have a slot in the hammer face and some don`t.
I`m not sure if there is anything you can really do to prevent it either. I`ve always thought it was just one of those things that happens sometimes when you shoot a caplock.
Does your gun do it every shot? None of mine do on a regular basis, just once in a while. I just check for it as part of the loading process and if the last cap is stuck in the hammer pry it out with the pick I keep in the shooting bag. Sometimes they even just fall out if I tap hammer.
If it happens all the time you might want to try a different brand of caps. Also is your hammer "cup" (not sure if that`s the right term or not) pitted or something that would help the fired cap to stick in there?

 

[BrownBear]

It's not a 100% perfect solution, but it helps to polish the cup in the hammer. By doing so I get a higher rate of caps falling free, but almost as good, those that stick are lots easier to get out. In my experience the cut won't help much unless you also polish the inside of that cup.

 

[ccmountainman]

Mine has never been a problem with sticking caps.
But I've had to work on a few others.
Dremel with an abrasive polishing cone is quick and easy.
Don't go deeper, just polish the sides of the recess.
When the hammer hits the cap and it ignites, it swells and most times splits. This makes a snug wedge fit in the cup of the hammer.
Polishing the sides fixes it. Polish just enough the spent cap don't stick.

 

[Roguedog]

For me, it's just one of those things that happen. I keep a little pick handy so that I can pry them out if they get stuck. A small pocket knife blade works well too. It's a pretty easy solution for me at least. Like others have said, I do clean the inside of my hammer cup to clear out any residue and fouling. It has never really bothered me that much.

Jeff

 

[Rifleman1776]

You didn't say what kind of rifle. High probability it is a TC.
You can cut a V notch in the front of the cup.
You can switch your nipple to a Hot Shot style.
You can change brands of caps.
One or all of those might be needed to eliminate the problem.
And/or carry a pick of some kind to remove them.

 

[M. De Land]

It helps to shorten the skirt on the hammer cup.
The notch in the cup is to direct back blast out the front, away from the shooter and it also helps to dislodge spent caps in my opinion.
An other reason caps stick in the skirt is because of hammer nose misalignment with the nipple or a short nipple.
The caps get wedged between the hammer skirt and the nipple and the fouling causes them to stick.
Bending the hammer arm so it centers the cup on the nipple will aid in spent cap dis-lodgement.

 

[hanshi]

This has been just a once-in-a-while thing for me, too. Filing a "V" shaped notch in the front of the hammer skirt is almost a must. Polishing the hammer nose cup and shortening the skirt is also good advice. I'm usually able to get spent caps out of the hammer nose with my fingers because the V notch makes them accessible.

 

[nhmoose]

New nipple time

 

[Zonie]

Thompson Center Hawkens are notorious for retaining the spent caps inside the nose of their hammer.

I have two of them and they both do the same thing.

When shooting by myself I just ignore it until it starts causing problems with the gun firing. Then, I get out my pocket knife and pry the caps out of the hammer nose relief.
I've had as many as 6 of them stacked one on top of the other before any problem came up.

By the way, both of the hammers on my TC's have a nice V notch filed into them on the forward side.

It doesn't have much effect on the caps blowing off the nipple and pasting themselves inside the hammer nose on my TC's.

This doesn't seem to happen with my Pedersoli Tryon or the custom guns with Siler or L&R locks.

I suspect other brands of guns might be affected more or less too.

 

[bpd303]

Must have something to do with the caps. I have 2 T/C Hawken's and use RWS 1075 caps in all my guns. Never have caps stuck in the hammer nose, that I can't brush out with my finger.

 

[Colin Sprute]

I don't own a t/c hawkin but I do own 6 different t/cs and I have never had that problem. but years ago when I learned of musket caps I swithched to them and never really had any ignition problems.

 

[gwalker]

Track of the Wolf sells musket nipples that will fit or screw right into your cap lock rifle's drum. Although I only shoot my flintlock rifle, I have noticed in our town's sporting goods store that musket caps are always available but never any caps.

 

[Vaino]

I use CCI Magnum caps in my TC Hawken and most of the time they don't remain in the hammer cup, but every o often one does and is just brushed off w/ the finger before recapping. The caps are split open and aren't "stuck" in the hammer cup, just lightly hanging on.

I did polish the hammer cup's bottom and side surfaces and slightly shortened the hammer cup depth and this did facilitate removing w/ the finger because the spent, split caps protrude past the lip of the hammer cup.......Fred

 

[coloradoclyde]

Caps stuck in a hammer ....not a big problem.
Now a stuck lid on a cap tin ...that's annoying!

 

[azmntman]

OH YEA! almost as bad as a stuck can of chew...upside down...in a chevy drink holder (a perfect fit on some).