CVA Hawken Nipples

[Grullaguy]

Hello all,

Today I had my first chance to shoot my .50 Hawken.
It was very accurate off hand, but I had to drop the hammer on the cap one time and then re-cock and pull the trigger again to fire the gun. I was using a friends #11 caps and they worked just fine in his Underhammer.

I went to Track of the Wolf's site and see that they have four types of nipples listed for CVA.
They are:
CVA-A, CVA-MA, CVA-MS and CVA-S.

Are these all interchangeable and if so, do you have any suggestions as to which is better?
I did not check the drum/nipple alignment but maybe should check that as well.

Thanks

 

[mageckman]

I have had this problem with my CVA Mountain Rifle recently. Still workin through this issue,I was using Winchester magnum caps, now I use CCI caps and this seeme to have taken care of most of my problem. It still does it occasionally though.

 

[lorren68]

I shoot a t/c hawken and each time I put a cap on the nipple I lower the hammer and press down on the cap to fully seat it on the nipple. I have had no problems with ftf using this method. I do not know if this will help with your issues, but it will give you something to try, also how old is the nipple? Check for deformations around the mouth of the nipple, I have to replace mine after a few hundred shots due to wear.

 

[Grullaguy]

The nipple surfaces look good. I just bought the rifle and it looks like it was hardly ever fired. When I got home and cleaned the rifle, I also took some fine emery paper around the spot where the cap appeared to be hanging up. The caps we were using were probably 40 years old.

I like the idea of seating the cap with the hammer. I will give that a try next time I take it out.
I am new to black powder shooting, but have read everything I could find online in the past month.

 

[cowpoke1955]

Whenever I get a used percussion rifle, I always replace the nipple with a new one. I like the Spitfire: http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=5868 or the Hot Shot 6 X 1 mm from Track of the Wolf. Never have a nipple issue :thumbsup:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Nipple shaft is to fat. Use some emery cloth or 220grit sand paper and smooth the shaft down a little bit at a time. Happened to me all the time until i got the proper fit.

 

[Swtodd]

Also, make sure there is an open path, or open hole for the "spark" to get through. You can use a needle or safety pin, and make sure you can see light through the oriface in the nipple. New and better (quality) nipples work the best. :2

steve

 

[ohio ramrod]

As others have stated your nipple needs sanded down "slightly" Also a nipple should have a sharp edge on the end. Even many new nipples are really to"flat" for good ignition. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[Rifleman1776]

We might be in the wrong forum for this discussion. Nipples and caps are accessories. Oh, well. Let the mods decide.
Personally, I believe blame is too often laid on nipples for fit problems.
Example: Yesterday at our club shoot I decided to start using up some caps that had been in my shooting box since 1976, or earlier. They were left over from when I had my ml shop. Two brands, both #10 size. Ultra-High and Replica Arms brands. Both were too tight on my nipple. I switched to current day Remington #10s which fit properly.
I have found cap sizes vary from brand to brand. It is important to try different brands for a good fit before messing with the nipple. Start up can be expensive and I'm painfully aware that not being able to use a $5.00 tin of caps or a new nipple is waste. But it is a necessary part of dialing in a new gun.

 

[Grullaguy]

Thanks everyone with the suggestions. I won't be getting a replacement nipple at this time. I just got a shipment from TOTW After paying customs handling fees, Canadian taxes and shipping, I had paid almost $65 on $105 worth of stuff.

I have been trying to trying to get powder and caps for some time now without success. There is a guy an hours drive from here who is supposed to have black powder, but I have been unable to contact him. None of the stores carry it either.

 

[Clovis]

Don't want to cause you any more headaches, but have a friend who has the same rifle and had the same problem. Changing nipples did not change anything, two strikes to get the rifle to fire. Try to either get another main spring in the lock or do what we did and found another friend who worked on the lock and wedged a piece of brass in the spring and gave a stronger hammer strike, as in the spring got weak and the first strike pushes the cap on tighter and the second would fire it. Just suggesting a different way to try to solve your issue.

 

[Grullaguy]

No worries on this side. Part of the joys of having an inexpensive (cheap) muzzleloader. :idunno:

I was considering the mainspring as a potential culprit as well. If none of the other fixes work, I will be checking that.

 

[Tom Berta]

I put a CVA musket nipple on my .54 cal. CVA Hawken that put a stop to misfires.

 

[Grullaguy]

I was back at the range today. The light use of emery cloth to the nipple, combined with seating the cap using the hammer worked great.
Shot all afternoon with no misfires.
Now to get some real powder. I was given a bottle of Pyrodex CTG today from a guy so I could stretch out my remaining 200 grains of GOEX FFF. 10 grains of FFF as a booster for 50 grains of CTG seemed to work OK for now. :thumbsup:

Thanks again everyone.