Pistols and muskets.....Alcohol, pipe cleaner, air compressor. Dry swab. Caps are too precious and not needed to get started.
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Does anyone even do this anymore?
- Thread starter SwampBilly
- Start date
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I understood that the OP ( @SwampBilly ) was writing about his revolver. Cap & ball revolvers are essentially inlines. The main charge is right up against the base of the nipple, and the flash goes straight into the powder. Respectfully, if the chambers are all wiped dry before loading the first rounds and you can see daylight clear through the flash holes (and you should look), you ought to be good to go.
It’s a different story with single-shot pistols and long guns, in which there is usually a relatively small and sometimes angled flash channel between the base of the nipple and the powder charge, and there is no simple way to check it visually. I’m with the crowd who pop a cap with the muzzle aimed at a leaf or blade of grass. If the “target” moves, the flash channel is clear. If it doesn’t, I would pull the nipple and investigate the situation before expending more caps.
I learned a lot from my dad. He was thrifty, to put it nicely, or, as other old-timers of my acquaintance said, “He didn’t throw away nothin’.” Powder, shot, caps, bits of lead… none were used extravagantly. Popping a cap on a single-shot pistol or long gun before loading the first round is prudent, but expending six caps on an empty revolver seems unnecessary to me.
Best regards,
Notchy Bob
It’s a different story with single-shot pistols and long guns, in which there is usually a relatively small and sometimes angled flash channel between the base of the nipple and the powder charge, and there is no simple way to check it visually. I’m with the crowd who pop a cap with the muzzle aimed at a leaf or blade of grass. If the “target” moves, the flash channel is clear. If it doesn’t, I would pull the nipple and investigate the situation before expending more caps.
I learned a lot from my dad. He was thrifty, to put it nicely, or, as other old-timers of my acquaintance said, “He didn’t throw away nothin’.” Powder, shot, caps, bits of lead… none were used extravagantly. Popping a cap on a single-shot pistol or long gun before loading the first round is prudent, but expending six caps on an empty revolver seems unnecessary to me.
Best regards,
Notchy Bob
longcruise
70 Cal.
How many of you folks who fire the cap do it because you have had failures to fire?
Not me. I do it to satisfy the safety officer at weapons inspection.
longcruise
70 Cal.
@Brazos John
That's interesting. I guess it involves some sort of re enactment group that requires the procedure??
I'm a no on cap snapping but if it were a range rule or event rule I'd be glad to comply.
That's interesting. I guess it involves some sort of re enactment group that requires the procedure??
I'm a no on cap snapping but if it were a range rule or event rule I'd be glad to comply.
Yes, The Texas Army.
We're a reenactor group, commissioned by the State of Texas, portraying the militia that Sam Houston led to protect the new citizens of the Texas territory. We reenact the incidents at Gonzales, Goliad, The Alamo, and San Jacinto, along with living history events at parks and communities around Texas. We've also appeared in the Veteran's Day Parade in Houston, and other parades in Ft. Worth and other cities.
It's cool to portray the Veterans, and we get to show the visitors our weapons, and explain how they work. Kids like learning about the guns, and their parents learn new things about Texas history.
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Very clever! Never thought of that! You win the Common Sense Cup for coming up with that!
I have been using a cap on my Hawken to ensure the barrel is cleared, pretty much each outing at the range and for hunting.
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I make mine own caps so I fire caps make sure clear before loading and shooting
longcruise
70 Cal.
Wonder if anybody has ever cleared their nipple with a cap and found out the gun was loaded?
I did only once now I use my ramrod first.Makes a nice hole in the dirt.
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I’m sure someone has but fortunately never me. I try to be very careful about not leaving a gun loaded unless it is specific ones for home protection. I have left a rifle loaded during deer season with a ramrod in the barrel and a masking tape “loaded” flag on the end of the rod. May years ago (40+) I grabbed my modern shotgun and found a shell in the magazine. Scared the heck out of me.
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I have not had any fail to fire issues with a properly cleaned gun on the first shot, however I have created conditions where popping off a cap before loading is beneficial.
I have been doing some lube testing in a GM LRH 45 caliber barrel, and as part of the test was ‘cleaning’ the bore (though not the chambered breech) between shots. The bore was keep horizontal while cleaning and the range rod was marked so as not to run the patch and cleaning all the way to the breech. Using 80 grains of 3F Swiss under 350 and 400 grain conicals. I had one string with a FTF on the 9th shot, and another string with a FTF on the 12th shot. In both cases the chambered breech was pretty well clogged up and took some teasing to clear. When ‘cleaning’ between shots, I went back to running a clean patch to the breech before popping a cap, leaving a slight burn mark on the clean patch indicating an open fire channel. I have fired strings in excess of 30 rounds many times using this method.
If one is using a cap to remove excess oil in their ‘clean’ gun’s breech, they are using too much oil and need to look at their cleaning and storage process. Plus as that oil is burnt away by the cap I would imagine it leaves a bit of tar each time that may build up until it’s a problem.
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No on revolvers, yes on caplocks. Some flint shooters flash before the first load; I don't and never had problems.
thixotropy
32 Cal
couple years ago in FL a fellow who had stored his muzzleloader with 'sweet oil', (olive oil) as a rust preventitive. He let it go a couple weeks longer than usual between matches. In his haste to demonstrate his prowess to some onlookers he failed to snap a cap, loaded up and tried to fire it. He spent the next three quarters of an hour trying to get ignition then pulling the ball and cleaning the now congealed oil out of the firing channnel. A cap or two is a small price to pay to avoid the aggravation. Some I've seen leave the bench rod in the Bbl. claiming it more efficiently clears the grease, I like to see a leaf move at the barrel mouth.
Trooper
40 Cal
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A while back, a friend here suggested that I put 10 grains of real black powder down the barrel first then tap the breech to settle the powder into the flash channel before I add my 70 grains of triple 7. I also add a small amount of black powder into the snail before I install the nipple. I look down the nipple to see if there is any blockage prior to installing the nipple as well. I havent had any problems since. Ive been experimenting with those DYI pop can caps that seem to work very well.
Yep, was told by a friend one of shooters didn’t point his muzzle at a leaf or blade of grass, preferred to hold muzzle up with ramrod in it and watch cap raise it when fired. Gun loaded, rod never seen again. Dimwit was asked to leave range and not come back.
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Never on revolvers, always want to ruin an ants’ morning with rifles, especially the kind with a convoluted flash channel.
My first Trail Walk as a new club member I had a Traditions that in my youthful exuberance I liked to over oil and store muzzle up. It was over 100 degrees, no shade and I had a helluva time getting the first dozen shots to go off.
They almost threw me out!
Since then I oil lightly, store muzzle down and try to send a leaf or ant on a ride.
Not one problem- with my gun that is- some days I think they still wanna throw me out!! ;-)
My first Trail Walk as a new club member I had a Traditions that in my youthful exuberance I liked to over oil and store muzzle up. It was over 100 degrees, no shade and I had a helluva time getting the first dozen shots to go off.
They almost threw me out!
Since then I oil lightly, store muzzle down and try to send a leaf or ant on a ride.
Not one problem- with my gun that is- some days I think they still wanna throw me out!! ;-)
stephenprops1
45 Cal.
I have always snapped a cap to ensure the channel is clear. As was stated earlier, I would rather use a cap for this than have to pull a ball due to a clogged channel.
