Gunclinger said:
I looked for an "I", but can't see any marking other than the one in the picture. I have a Pietta revolver that has some 6 .75 nipples so I will check the threads out to see if they will fit. Thanks to everyone for your help! Can anyone tell what the riflings are by the picture?
You may want to consider an actual rifle nipple, instead of the shorter pistol nipple. I have a set of spare nipples for a Pietta revolver - they're 5.5 x .9mm and also significantly shorter than the 6 x .75mm rifle nipple.
The nipple on your rifle looks short & not original to the rifle. A shoulder or seat on the nipple body above the threads, may not be correct & may not provide proper gas seal upon firing.
You may also consider a musket nipple if you plan on using Pyrodex or Foo-Foo powders. Personally, I've never had issue with #11 caps & Pyrodex, but others have.
Treso/Ampco Nipples are tough & worth the price. Jedediah Starr has the best selection of Ampco & Track of the Wolf has stainless musket nipples.
Get a rifle nipple wrench, since your revolver wrench won't fit.
Best to check on availability of musket caps first, before ordering a musket nipple - and check to ensure your hammer strikes the rifle nipple squarely & in the center of the hammer face, since any offset or misalignment in hammer strike on the larger diameter musket nipple may cause problems.
Your rifle is definitely made by Investarms, and shares a positive reputation with Lyman, Cabelas, Thompson Center and maybe others, who all marketed the same rifle.
To use the double set triggers, you set with the rear, and fire with the front - it will also fire unset. Check to ensure that when you set the triggers, the hammer will go into and remain at full cock. In normal use, you would first fully cock the hammer, and then set the trigger. If it doesn't feel safe, or won't set properly, the trigger assembly can be removed and adjusted. For any adjustment, just ask and a number of folks here can walk you through adjustment.
If you haven't already, consider removing trigger assembly, lock and barrel. On the barrel is the underlug where the ramrod thimbles are located. In a used rifle, this is an often overlooked item, but it is a simple matter to unscrew thimbles/underlug and clean underneath. Use RIG or a quality grease to coat the barrel surface before reassembly. It is likely this has never been cleaned before - for many folks' rifles, too.
Remove the cleanout screw from the drum and scrub out the access with a pipecleaner saturated with soapy water - you want it to be clean & free of any accumulated scale or crud for best ignition.
Your barrel most likely has a 1:48" twist rate. You can easily verify this by inserting a tightly patched cleaning rod, placing a mark on a piece of tape stuck to the rod right at the muzzle. I wrap the tape, leaving a little tab sticking out too - withdraw the rod, watching for that tab to make one half revolution. Measure the distance from muzzle to mark on the tape and multiply by 2. You should end up with a number amazingly close to 48". The reason for measuring 1/2 turn on the rod is that your barrel isn't likely long enough to be able to make one full turn.
Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, 1:48" twist isn't a compromise barrel at all, since it was common for original Hawken Rifles.
A good load to start with is 65-70 gr. 3F Black Powder or Pyrodex. You can fine tune to determine your rifle's preference for best accuracy by increasing & decreasing powder loads by 5 grains. Shoot at least a 5 round group using each load before trying the next, then simply select the tightest group. I like to swab the bore after every 3 rounds fired. You can use anything from that Old WWI GI Bore Cleaner, to a mix of 50/50 water + alcohol and a little dishsoap in a small squeeze bottle. Alcohol helps the bore to dry prior to dispensing the next powder charge.
Shoot from a bench, take your time, and you should easily be able to produce a group around an inch or so with all hits touching at 50 yards.
When reinstalling your lock, don't overtighten the retaining screw.
Also, be sure your brass ramrod tip has been cross pinned; chances it hasn't been, so simply drill a 1/16" hole thru the brass, insert a tight-fitting piece of wire or finishing nail, trim a little above flush on both ends, peen down, then file flush. This prevents the brass end from coming off in the event you have it stuck down the bore with a tight fitting patch or brush - I'm guessing the end opposite the ramming end is threaded.
Also look for a stamp on the barrel: 2 Letters inside a rectangle, or maybe even Roman Numerals. This is the Italian proofhouse date and closely correlates to the manufacture date. Let me know what you find & I can check the chart & give you the date.