Firing a Cap Before Loading

[FishDFly]

What do the cap poppers do with cap and ball revolvers? Fire off 6 or 12 caps before loading?

Yep, it's the thing to do. That clears the nipple for sure and you can use the 6 or 12 caps as drying firing.

 

[FishDFly]

One cap? I pop about 5 and dry patch the bore, then load it. Then a lightly natural lubed patch on top of the bullet. Never had a misfire in 25yrs. And it stays loaded for a year sometimes.

If you read here long enough you find an idea that makes sense and you say I need t adopt that idea.

Not sure about leaving a natural lubed patch on top of the ball/bullet, but I see a lot of value in swabbing with a lightly oiled patch after loading.

After getting the barrel squeaky clean I see value with a touch of oil to stop any rust from forming,, especially if you plan on leaving it loaded for some time or hunting is very humid conditions.

 

[Packrat]

comments about compressed air, many times the air from a air compressor is very damp due to moisture in the tank.

 

[FishDFly]

comments about compressed air, many times the air from a air compressor is very damp due to moisture in the tank.

The dampness is caused by the pressure drop as the air goes from high pressure to a lower pressure and is a very valid concern. There are better alternatives than an air compressor.

 

[Bad Karma]

What do the cap poppers do with cap and ball revolvers? Fire off 6 or 12 caps before loading?

I’m not a cap popper so... but I use Eezox for rust prevention because it’s so effective and because it dries to a non oily film. 15 minutes after it’s applied it has dried and there’s nothing left to contaminate the charge. It also seems to promote easier cleaning after it’s been in use for some time... maybe it’s “seasoning” the bore?

 

[Dave Cross]

I don't know if you all approve, but when I need the Hawkin not fail me I always load a light load and fire it into ground from 2 inches. Hardly makes much noise. Load hunting load and good to go. Deers don't know whats going on.

 

[SDSmlf]

I’m not a cap popper so... but I use Eezox for rust prevention because it’s so effective and because it dries to a non oily film. 15 minutes after it’s applied it has dried and there’s nothing left to contaminate the charge. It also seems to promote easier cleaning after it’s been in use for some time... maybe it’s “seasoning” the bore?

I also happen to use Eezox, have for years. I do not put oil down the bores of my muzzleloaders, only asking for problems. If I did use oil, I flush with some type of solvent rather than pop some caps. A previous poster suggested popping caps on revolvers was the right thing to do. Can’t imagine doing that when I’m going to a SASS match. I typically took a dozen preloaded cylinders. 2 or 3 dry firings per cylinder and I would go through more than a tin of caps before firing a load. When I was seriously shooting SASS I would put over 1k rounds through my guns a year. That’s 2k to 4k of dry firing if I popped caps before loading. For what it’s worth, the typical misfires I have had in my cap and ball revolvers were due to primer material missing from caps (almost always Remington caps) and some purchased pre-lubricated wads that contaminated the powder.

 

[TCMonts]

After poping a lot of caps over the years, at rabbits, squirrels, birds and deer, I now swab with alcohol, pop caps and then use anipple pick. never misfired that way. And yes I've kinda turned into a belt and suspenders kind of guy in my old age. Also allways use dry felt wad between powder an any bullet or ball.

 

[Bad Karma]

I also happen to use Eezox, have for years. I do not put oil down the bores of my muzzleloaders, only asking for problems. If I did use oil, I flush with some type of solvent rather than pop some caps. A previous poster suggested popping caps on revolvers was the right thing to do. Can’t imagine doing that when I’m going to a SASS match. I typically took a dozen preloaded cylinders. 2 or 3 dry firings per cylinder and I would go through more than a tin of caps before firing a load. When I was seriously shooting SASS I would put over 1k rounds through my guns a year. That’s 2k to 4k of dry firing if I popped caps before loading. For what it’s worth, the typical misfires I have had in my cap and ball revolvers were due to primer material missing from caps (almost always Remington caps) and some purchased pre-lubricated wads that contaminated the powder.

Eezox is just the best. I experimented with cleaning using Eezox too. It works well enough but plain old water works better and it’s free so other than experimenting with commercial bore cleaners from time to time, or whatever happens to be handy, I’ve pretty much gone back to clear water for daily cleaning.
Often, if I know I’m going to use the gun again within a few days, I don’t clean at all, just spray a bit of Eezox into the bore and chambers, run a brush and a few patches in and out and after everything dries, load it up and put it back in the holster. We get away with this up in the high desert I don’t know if that would fly in the East or any of the more humid climes...
Another point WRT popping caps. , given the current political situation, I’m much less likely to waste caps... I go through a lot of caps just using them normally.

 

[troy2000]

You "swap out the bore?" Well I guess changing barrels would eliminate any oil, assuming the new barrel is clean.

Back when I muzzleloader hunted (at least 13 years ago) I'd charge the barrel at home, put the weapon into its case, and put that into the trunk of the car. I did this the night before. I only capped when I reached my still hunting location.

I was going to bag on him for that too, but decided not to go for the low-hanging fruit. Besides, it might tempt someone to go through some of the texts I've sent lately. My user name should probably be 'fumblefingers.'..

 

[HiDesertHunter]

I don't know if you all approve, but when I need the Hawkin not fail me I always load a light load and fire it into ground from 2 inches. Hardly makes much noise. Load hunting load and good to go. Deer don't know whats going on.

Well I approve, have done similar and always pop a cap or two (and at least six out of my 1851 Colt Navy) to see that nice puff of smoke out of the muzzle before loading.

A cap or two is a whole lot easier than some of the things I have read about doing to ensure the drum, and nipples, are clear.

 

[troy2000]

Curious what the cap poppers do when confronted with a flintlock?

I came up with a simple solution to that: I bought a .45 Kibler southern mountain rifle kit, and put it together. That is one fast and strong lock; I don't think it cares what I prime it with, or how much I use.. I've shot the rifle with powder almost overflowing the pan, and with just a thin layer of powder, and it has never failed to go bang. Some weekend when I'm bored, I'm going to figure out the least amount of primer powder it'll fire with.

I had some 3fg powder in the flammables cabinet, when I put the rifle together. So I ignored the common online recommendations to use 2fg for the main charge, and 4fg for priming powder. Hasn't been a problem so far... the 3fg powder seems to work fine in both roles.

 

[Josephg]

If everyone uses one cap per season, demand will fall and so will cap companies. That scenerio would not be good. So pop some caps. Pop a lot of caps.

 

[jlatz]

Snapping caps on muzzle loading shotguns prior to loading is good practice. After popping caps put down a "foof" load, just powder and a over shot wad. Igniting that will insure good performance with loads on the trap range or in the field.

 

[Newtire]

I don't know if you all approve, but when I need the Hawkin not fail me I always load a light load and fire it into ground from 2 inches. Hardly makes much noise. Load hunting load and good to go. Deers don't know whats going on.

I'll have to try your method. I have been loading about 1/2 a charge and then load the regular load and never had a misfire yet doing this. This is with Black MZ. Real black, give it a wipe after the light charge & then load. Guess that might push some fouling down and plug things up but so fa so good.

 

[Nuthatch]

I was under the impression that caps were non-corrosive.

I pop a cap at home or in camp before the hunt. Alcohol takes a while to evaporate when it's cold & humid. My kids make bottle rockets & fire them off with alcohol all the time so we've gotten familiar with its properties at different temperatures. Below about 60 deg, it won't even give off enough vapors to fire one off. The kids had to switch to butane to get night-time footage. I've also messed around with alcohol stoves while backpacking & quickly gave up on them once I camped near rivers & such where humidity is higher. So I'm a little more wary about whether or not the alcohol would evaporate off in time if I dumped an ounce or so down the barrel. Take the temps down to the high 30s or low 40s with 80% humidity and it just doesn't behave the same.

 

[megasupermagnum]

I've popped caps, and did not have an issue. The reason why I stopped is because it fills the nipple up with crud. While I never had an issue, why would I want to fill a perfectly cleaned nipple up with crud? I had a rifle that was particularly fussy about shooting on a clean bore. What I found was that popping 3-4 caps did absolutely NOTHING to help. A squib load of say 30 grains of powder with a felt wad on top did make it so the next shot was dead on, but that is essentially shooting the gun. As so many other have, I found the best option is to swab the bore. It is the excess oil that really throws that first shot. Alchohol works, but more often than not, I'll just run 3 dry patches through. I listen to the air coming out the nipple. If air is coming out, everything is clear. No need to put cap gunk into the works.

I've tested this a number of times, the the most recent was at the end of our antlerless season I did not fire off the shot. I had prepared the fully clean gun by swabbing 3 dry patches, then loading a patched round ball with a dry felt wad between the powder. I was using bear grease for patch lube. I left the gun for over a full month outside. Before the regular season I took it to the range, and fired that shot at 100 yards. It hit 1" left of where I intended. I'll take that every time.

I have never, ever, had a muzzleloader prepared in this manner fail to go off instantly. I only use real blackpowder for this reason. I will not accept anything less than absolute certainty that it will go off. If ever it failed to fire, I had better have been the reason, or I may never use that rifle again.

 

[renegadehunter]

I don't pop any caps. I've only been at this for 6 or 7 years, but haven't had the first shot fail to go off yet. Hunting or range. I'm not superstitious so I'm not knocking on wood right now either.

I've previously cleaned by pushing/pulling a bunch of water through that area, blew air through it, poured alcohol through it, and then blew more air through it. I've applied Barricade lightly to the bore, not near enough to pool or run anywhere, with the rifle sitting angled muzzle down slightly. It dries to a film. I've stored it muzzle down as a precaution anyway.
I've soaked the nipple, ran a pick through it, and blasted air through it. When I blasted air through it pointed at a paper towel it left a black spot where the dirty moisture sprayed out. It then got dropped into some denatured alcohol, got air sprayed through it again, was allowed to dry, a spot of anti-seize applied to the threads, and then it was put back in.
Three days after the cleaning I ran a dry patch down the bore to ensure all looked good.
The Barricade doesn't need to be stripped back out. I know from checking numerous times that after adding the powder charge and thumping on the side of the stock, and then pushing my tight fitting PRB combo down the bore with the hammer at half cock, that there is powder directly under the nipple. My clean bore shot hits a bit lower than the subsequent fouled bore shots, working out to a 50 yard zero on a clean bore and a 75 yard zero after that, so I don't need to foul the barrel to be accurate.

 

[Captndan]

Just one more opinion...

I learned early on to check with the rod to ensure the firearm is not loaded, then pop a cap with the muzzle pointed at a leaf or blade of grass on the ground, downrange or in a safe direction, obviously. If the leaf moves, you know all is clear and you're ready to load. This has always seemed to be standard procedure with percussion shooters in the relatively few matches I have attended, and we always did this before loading for hunting.

Notchy Bob

I have to wonder how the old boys back in the Civil War did it.

 

[Greg Blackburn]

I was going to bag on him for that too, but decided not to go for the low-hanging fruit. Besides, it might tempt someone to go through some of the texts I've sent lately. My user name should probably be 'fumblefingers.'..

I enjoy it, thus, I do it. Sometimes I too mess up but usually I proofread everything (and I mean everything) I type at least once before sending and then a few times after I post it. Even when I do "text" someone I proofread that too before hitting "send."

It helps that I ditched the smartphone years ago and only use a computer or laptop for internet. I also hate texting and don't do it very much.