missfire

[vincent a walker]

I would throw the bore butter, all it does is make a mess, if you have to swab the barrel get a bottle with a flip top and fill it up with water and a squirt or two of Dawn dish soap. Just wet (not soak) a cleaning patch and use this to swab your barrel. one wet patch followed by a dry patch(I use both sides),an your good to go. Its what I do when loading gets a little hard.

I see the light, no more buttered bore :thumbsup:

 

[vincent a walker]

I just want to say THANKS to everyone who replied to my post. This is a great source for me as I have no mentor at all. I am much more confident thanks to your help. Feel free to keep the advice coming; I can still use it.

I promise to pass on any help I can and to pramote the traditional aproach. Hats off to flinters, prcusion is primative enough for me (for now).

I will be hunting again this weekend and will surely keep you updated.

 

[majg1234]

Glad you found the problem.All the advice here was good to a point make sure she is clear of oil and dry she'll go off.Back duing the late 70's had a 10point dead to rights it was about 17 degrees with snow on the ground,he stopped about 15yrds from my climbing stand I drew down on him and "snap" cap didn't go off.I was too poor to own a capper and the other caps were in the can in my pocket (I hadn't learned about pieces of leather with caps in them)I fished out the can with my gloves on, took a glove off, dropped the can spilled all the caps but 2 into the snow 20ft down.The two remaining I managed to pick up cock the rifle pry the cap off and put on the second cap the rifle snapped again.Did I say the deer was nervous by now :hmm: Well anyway was able to repeat the whole process and this time the cap went off but the gun didn't :redface: :cursing: Well the big ol guy looked up @ me and waved the white flag headed toward the next county :cursing: Since that time Ive only had one misfire by using lot of the examples discussed here bottem line keep @ it and it'll work,the unmentionable so called ML are not nearly as rewarding or fun in my opinion :thumbsup:

 

[crockett]

My thought was also a bad nipple; if you removed it and there was a clear path to the powder. If the cap doesn't seat all the way down the hammer just moves the cap closer to the top of the nipple. I'd buy a new nipple.

 

[vincent a walker]

Majg1234, great storry! Sorry for your loss but it sure is comforting to know my pain is shared. Like you said; it just makes the next one sweeter. Good hunting.

 

[Shifty]

had about the same thing happen to me this yr,I was using a 58 cal Hawken that I just finnished building this yr. the barrel had been in another gun that i had shot hundreds of times in the past,and had shot about 30 times since finnishing this gunhad never had any firing problems until last tues morning ,had hung a stand over looking scrapes and was in stand long before light,well just when is was beginning to get where I could see a little there was movement near the scrapes,so i proceded to put my glasses on which normally hang around my neck well no glasses, had left them at home. well when finnaly light enuff to see i saw a buck checking the scrapes waited for good shot angle finnaly got it broadside at about 20yds,pointed gun toward deer cocked hammer could not see front sight so guessed pulled trigger, cap did not fire tried again cap fired but not powder,removed cap put new cap on with great diffulty not having my glasses but i do use a capper minutes later got another brodside shot at about 18 yds guessed at sights again gunfired buck goes down then lays still i thought he is dead will get down then reload, first time I have ever failed to quickly reload, well while I am letting gun to ground with rope i see buck walking under stand a quick look back to downed deer, no deer there this is same deer, pull gun back up cominced to reload deer has walked off before can finnished reloading,wait about 30 minutes look for blood can't see go back to house get glasses (feel like fool ) go back to stand find blood about 20yds from where I shot him blood continues for about 30yds ,blood stops , call fiend we look for blood and deer for most of day no deer( i kick my a s two times now)go home shoot gun 6times no problems, you figure.

 

[vincent a walker]

Shifty, I feel your pain. This is what happens when we take a step back from the modern fire arms. things can go wrong. But when it goes right it is even sweeter. Sorry to hear about your missfortune though. Sounds like everything was working against you that day. Ho well you made an honest attempt to recover game, and buzards have to eat to.

 

[oldfrank]

I had the same thing happen to me this year and this is the second time it has ever happened to me with a sidelock. The first time I sat in a rain storm for two hours and then tried to shoot an armadilla and only got a pop.

A few weeks ago I was hunting with my Cabela's Hawken. I always hot water/soap wash. The night before I ran alcohol patches down the bore and blew everything out with the air compressor. All channels were open.
I was using a musket cap and pyrodex. I had a big doe step into a small opening about 30 yards away. I brought up the gun set the trigger and fired. POP. Deer just looked around and went back to feeding.

I gathered my senses, pulled off the old cap and dug a fresh one out of my pocket. Deer was still there so I brought the gun up and launched a 385 gr Great Plains Bullet. Through the smoke I saw two deer run off and neither looked hit.
I reloaded and sat in the stand and hunted another hour and a half, had a nice small 8 point walk right past me at about 15 yards.
I got down and went to the doe was and blood was everywhere. I found a button buck piled up about 40 yards away, complete pass through both lungs.
I guess during my recapping the doe and the button changed places, I had no idea there were two deer there and I only had a small opening to shoot through.

[/img] .
Deer will still eat good but I sure was surprised when I saw it wasn't the doe.
I don't know why it didn't fire, maybe the cap wasn't seated completely but I guess that is part of the fun and challenge of muzzleloading.