mag spark

[45north]

Has anyone used on of these, if so is it any good and is there an advantage to using a shotgun primer as a percussion cap. Also is the hot shot nipple worth looking into.

Thanks

 

[rabjr]

Gadgets...a lot people out there have a better way to get your money. That #11 cap does just fine if you do your part.

 

[45north]

What if I do not have access to real black powder and only subs.

 

[rabjr]

I can't tell ya about the subs, never used them. But if you can order 5 lbs of black over the internet and have it delivered to your door for roughly 90 bucks, why not?

 

[45north]

I would do that in a minute but everything mailed to Alaska is sent by air. I know items like that could be sent up here on the barge out of Seattle or Bremerton Washington but I am not sure how to get the item on the barge and then on a truck in Anchorage on it's way to me.

thanks

 

[kevthebassman]

Maybe one of our fellow Alaskans will chime in with some information about getting the real black stuff. :hmm:

 

[BrownBear]

I gotta do some digging for the site, but there's an outfit kinda in your neighborhood that sells black. I'll come back and post it once I find it. If you're in Los Anchorage, Gun Traders has it, too.

As for subs and such, we've had good luck with them using #11 caps when we can't (which is mostly) get real black here on an island. It kinda depends on the gun. I've got one caplock with a drum bolster that hates any sub with anything but a musket cap, but does just fine with #11s and black. Lyman's own nipples stink for reliability and require picking after only 3 or 4 shots. But with Butler Creek or one of the "hot" nipple replacements, everyone I know and all my Lymans will go about 20 shots before you have to pick the nipple.

What rifle is fighing you? Maybe I can offer specific advice when I come back up with that site link.

 

[BrownBear]

It's the Nor'West Company over in Three Rivers. Not sure how far that is from Tok, but from reading the site it sounds like they'll work with you on getting black.

 

[45north]

Hello again,
I am not having problems with any one rifle as the only one I have is on it's way to TC, my 54 cal. new englander. I have been looking at my local shop the only local shop for 100 miles, and they can only get sub powders. So I thought I would ask before I have problems.
I hate to go in amungst them but I guess my best move would be to drive to town find a shop that has BP get 10 to 15 lbs. and a few thousand #11 caps. And be done with it. I still would like to know if the hotshot or the magspark nipples help ignition in cold weather or give any type of velosity boost or is it just hype.

Thanks

 

[paulvallandigham]

I have not found a significant increase in velocity from changing nipples. As for igniting powder better in cold weather, There IS NO PROBLEM igniting BLACK POWDER in Cold Weather.

I cannot say the same for the Subs. The Ignition temperature on the subs is Higher than for Black Powder. In extremely cold weather, that may make it a problem. However, If you have cleaned the flashchannel, and Powder Chamber or breech end of the barrel with alcohol, to remove ALL grease and oils, so that the powder is able to get back down close to the nipple, you should have nothing to worry about using any nipple to ignite the powder.

You may have to use " magnum " #11 caps to ignite the subs, however, rather than standard #11 caps, from what I have been reading, and hearing, from shooters who are using the subs.

There are other valid reasons for spending the money on those more expensive nipples. The Uncle Mike Hotshot nipple has a hole located in the forward portion that vents gas to prevent the hammer from being blown back enough to allow the spent cap to go airborn and pose a danger to the shooters, and by-standers. The gas instead exits under the side of the cap, blowing it forward, and making for Easy Removal from the nipple, when the hammer is moved to the half-cock notch.

The Beryllium-Copper " Spit Fire" alloy nipple is made from extremely hard, tough metals, that resist being deformed by the usual hammer falls. The metal also allows the Orifice inside to keep its size, instead of being slowly eroded open as happens with softer steel nipples. The stepped design of the orifice is claimed to improve ignition and increase chamber pressure, thereby increasing velocity, but I have see no testing results, other than the stuff put out by the factory, to verify that claim.

As a general principle, the smaller the orifice, the less gas can escape out through the nipple, and reduce the velocity of the ball or bullet going out the muzzle.

However, there are trade-offs, and not the least concern is having an orifice that is large enough to be cleaned out IN THE FIELD, with a standard wire found on most BP tools. Nipples( and flash channels) get plugged, on occasion, from debris from the percussion or musket caps, from residue of black powder, AND THE SUBS, oil, grease, and even fibers left from cleaning patches that don't completely burn up in the barrel.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

If you MUST use Pyrodex, I would suggest you try the "P" grade rather than the "RS". Your T/C rifle has a very small diameter flash channel connecting the nipple seat to the powder chamber. Pyrodex RS is formed into very large granules which just cannot flow through that tiny channel even when it is clean and dry. Thus the cap flash must "jump the gap" and will loose a lot of heat by the time it reaches the Pyro. The "P" grade is a much smaller granule and can flow into the clean and dry flash channel to reach the bottom of the nipple. Pyro P is not recommended for heavy conicals as it will run up pressures quite a bit, but with round balls there is almost no difference in pressure and velocity between RS and P grades of Pyrodex.

 

[roundball]

Also is the hot shot nipple worth looking into.

IMO, definitely...first thing I did whenever I got a TC caplock was to replace the factory nipple with a Hot Shot.

You might contact one of the Goex distributors listed here and ask them if and how they might ship a case of Goex to you...without a doubt, the price per can of a case at a time is far better than any local price...but it's an out lay of money at one time of course...ideally if you could find another BP user close to you, you could split a case. Plus, they'll mix the 25 cans in different granulations you might want.
A CCI#11 magnum cap on a Hot Shot nipple with Goex 3F and you'll think you've died and gone to heaven.
http://goexpowder.com/distributors.html

 

[Little Wattsy]

Has anyone used on of these, if so is it any good and is there an advantage to using a shotgun primer as a percussion cap. Also is the hot shot nipple worth looking into.

Thanks

I love the hot shot nipple!!! Expecially with the musket cap, I dont have the little girly fingers to deal with the #11's as easily..... :wink: and my CVA goes boom more reliably with the hotter spark. Shotgun priners are good if you likem, ( I hear...NOT legal to hunt w/ here in Oregon so Ive never tried em) easy to try nipple and a few primers cheap enough...give em a tray and then give us your report.

 

[Little Wattsy]

I can't tell ya about the subs, never used them. But if you can order 5 lbs of black over the internet and have it delivered to your door for roughly 90 bucks, why not?

Im NOT dogging "REAL" BP, to each his own BUT I can go to BiMart and get 5lbs of Pyrodex RS for $55.00 and it does a GOOD job in my opinion.....

 

[rebel727]

I've used Pyrodex RS in my Cabela's Hawken for many years and a #11 cap works fine. Course it doesn't get as cold here as it does in Alaska.

 

[mbw907]

Real black powder is of course, the more sure-fire answer. But don't feel bad. I burn whatever is available and what I can afford. I don't feel like it is a sin to use substitutes when playing around on targets or plinking. But I have on more than one occasion, had misfires when hunting deer due to substitutes that just did not have the ignition that BP does. I save the real deal for gun hunting.You gotta do whatever works for your location and wallet. :wink:

 

[45north]

Today from the local shop I bought one pound of pyrodex RS FFG and 300 CCI #11 mag caps, that was all he had. $ 21.99 for the powder an 07 price he said, and $ 3.95/100 for the caps. Soon I will pickup a hotshot nipple from either butler creek or from TC. I will need a nipple pick while I am at it. I could make a nice long shopping list of all the muzzleloading items I need.

Thanks for all the replies and the help, I need it.

 

[Herb]

We pay $5 for CCI 11 caps down here, mags are more, maybe $5.50. I have tested both on my chronograph, and the "hotter" Remington caps, and there is very little difference in velocity or accuracy. But for Pyrodex or Triple 7, Hot Shot or Spitfire nipples are necessary, then CCI 11 caps work without fail. I base this on thousands of shots in a couple dozen rifles and 4 or 5 calibers. I have not tested the mag caps with standard nipples and these powders, so I don't know how well they work. I have no cold weather experience with them. Shooting rabbits with my .40 caplock and Goex 3F in zero weather was enough for me. And I have never picked a nipple, so I don't know what that problem is. Also, I have never had the hard crud ring at the front of the load in the barrel, which some sub users report. If you do have any ignition problems, put five grains of real black powder in the bore before the sub powder, and that will cure it. That's what it says on the Triple 7 "bottle".