musket caps

[sethb]

i was planning on using musket caps with my double rifle. i was looking for replacement nipples, since the old ones were beat up. all i could find were no. 11 nipples. are these alright? should i stick with musket caps? the store i went to wasnt well stocked. the nipples on my gun now appear to be brass and theyre pretty dinged up. the store only had stainless nipples. still new to this, getting everything piece by piece, wondering if anyone had any recommendations where to look online for the stuff i should get. it came with a nipple wrench and a blunt aluminum ramrod that was no that original.

 

[RADeO]

What make, model, and caliber rifle do you have?

Musket caps shouldn't be necessary for reliable ignition, although they won't hurt anything. Just more expensive than #11s.

Try Track of the Wolf Link , Dixie Gun Works Link , or The Possible Shop Link for your supplies. Lots of folks here (myself included) have had good results with Ampco nipples, available from Track and other suppliers.

 

[sethb]

it's a pedersoli kodiak .50 cal.
both caps will shoot of the same type of nipple? i wasnt sure cause they have no.11 specific nipples.

 

[Swampman]

I see no reason to use musket caps. #11s work just fine.

 

[RADeO]

A musket (cap) nipple is larger in diameter than a nipple for a #11 cap. You could conceivably use a musket cap on a #11 nipple but it would be VERY loose and may not even stay on. In addition, most of the cap flash would be wasted by escaping around the outside of the nipple due to said loose fit. Don't even waste your time trying it. A #11 cap would not even remotely fit on a musket nipple.

My Dixie catalogue says your Pedersoli Kodiak uses a 1/4x28 thread nipple. Check out Track's item number RST-MA. It should fulfill your need.

As Mark Lewis stated, a #11 cap should be all you need, unless you have a supply of musket caps you need to use up. I've used #11s on my 12-gauge side-by-side shotgun for years and never had the least amount of trouble with them.

 

[sethb]

i was holding one of those today at the store. drove all the way out there, but i wasnt sure cause it looked smaller than the nipples on the gun already. they only had no.11 nipples and only had musket caps. go figure. i'll pick up a set wednesday. i read something about lubing the threads before putting them in, right?

 

[paulvallandigham]

After cleaning the gun and the flash channel, and the threads in both the bolster or patent breech, and the threads on the nipple, Always put a drop of oil on the threads of the nipple, and on the threads in the bolster where you screw the nipple into the action, so that you can more easily remove the nipple for maintenance the next time you finish shooting. Keep pipe cleaners in your kit to clean out the flash channel. On a new gun, take a drill bit that fits in the flash channel, and check to see there are no casting burrs, or crud in the flash channel. If there are, use a slow speed drill to open up the channel, and remove the obstructions. If you have them, go a couple of sizes larger in drill bits, and use the larger bit to open the flash channel larger. ( ie., if the channel is 1/16", use a 3/32" bit to widen it some.) Polish the channel smooth. This makes it easier to clean, and keep clean between shots, and widening the hole makes it much easier for the flash from your percussion cap to reach the powder and ignite it. If you shoot 3Fg powder in guns with flash channels, some of the powder will spill into the flash channel, speeding ignition but also leaving powder residue there which can take on moisture from the air. The larger the flash channel is, the less likely it is going to clog up so that the gun stops firing. In really hot, humid conditions, or on warm days when its raining, be prepared to dry out that flash channel with a pipe clean after ever 10-20 shots. That means you have to have a correct fitting screwdriver, and your nipple wrench with you when doing long bouts of shooting, but they should be in your range box along with other tools needed to take the gun apart for cleaning and maintenance, anyway.

Maintain the clean-out screw in your gun the same way you oil the nipple. It actually is subject to much more pressure when the gun fires, than the nipple is, and is more likely to become stuck.

 

[Swampman]

I use grease on the threads. Oil is more likely to contaminate your powder.

 

[walruskid1]

for what its worth - for the last few years i've been using choke tube lube on nipples and choke tubes with good results. i also used never-seize on revolver nipples before i found out about the choke tube stuff. little bit goes a long way.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I use a little dab of breech plug grease on all my nipples and clean out screws. I have 4 tins of musket caps, cause they were cheap. Have yet to get around to trying them, but will one of these days. Since they were cheaper than regular caps, thought I couldn't go wrong.

 

[59sharps]

go here order what you need direct. http://www.blomquistpercussionworks.com

 

[Dphar]

i was planning on using musket caps with my double rifle. i was looking for replacement nipples, since the old ones were beat up. all i could find were no. 11 nipples. are these alright? should i stick with musket caps? the store i went to wasnt well stocked. the nipples on my gun now appear to be brass and theyre pretty dinged up. the store only had stainless nipples. still new to this, getting everything piece by piece, wondering if anyone had any recommendations where to look online for the stuff i should get. it came with a nipple wrench and a blunt aluminum ramrod that was no that original.

I am not a fan of the Ampco nipples. They look like brass. The ones I used used to turn in a little farther everytime I put them in. Figured it was pulling the threads.
Stainless is OK, I prefer steel. Stainless will not erode as fast.
Check with Track of the Wolf dot com.
If you want to lube them with something besides a light wipe of oil then use the choke tube lube used on modern shotguns most gun stores have it.

Dan

 

[jmforge]

You had better check with Pedersoli or Dixie. I read recently that the hammer faces, etc on the Kodiak are not size correctly to use musket caps. That may be wrong, but worth checking out before you spend money!

 

[Rancocas]

I've never picked up a Kodiak, so I don't know anything about them.
Anyway, for myself, I prefer musket caps. I made my own, favorite, percussion longrifle specifically for musket caps. I was living and hunting in a land of snow and ice then, and I had a devil of a time with those little #11 caps. I found that the larger musket caps are much easier for my fumbling, frozen fingers to manipulate. Of course, that is a moot point if you use a "capper", but I also prefer the additional fire of a musket cap over that of the tiny #11.
Be aware, however, of what Paul was saying about using a drill to ream out the hole in the nipple. I had what I think was a defective musket size nipple once. The hole was too large. At the shot, the blow-back through that nipple would set the hammer back to full cock! I simply changed the nipple and eliminated that problem.

 

[Billnpatti]

Musket caps will work just fine on your Kodiak but are unnecessary. Musket caps offer two advantages over the #11 caps. First, they are a bit hotter but since the Kodiak ignition system is designed so that the flash goes directly into the chamber and not through a nipple drum, the little bit of added ignition is of no value to you. Secondly, and this may apply to you, the musket caps are larger and easier to handle. When your fingers are cold, it is easier to put a musket cap on a nipple than it is a #11 cap. If you use a capper, this becomes moot. The one major disadvantage to musket caps is that they will require a change of nipples (no big deal but an added expense of around $10) and they cost more. If I were you, I'd stick with the #11 caps. That is what I use quite successfully on my Kodiak.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The real problem I see using these strong Musket Caps, in a straight flash channel design is that you have to worry about all that power pushing the PRB forward a bit, lengthing the amount of barrel the powder has to burn in, and the length changing with each shot depending on a lot of minute factors that are difficult to control. The point is that you get a wider range of pressure and temperature in that burning powder charge, and that leads to different Points of impact for successive balls. INACCURACY!

This is a problem for even the BP cartridge guns with their large casings of powder behind long, heavy bullets. In fact, the current prevailing recommendation ( from Paul Matthews, the Dean of the .45-70), is to use standard small pistol primers to ignite these large volumes of powder, rather than large rifle primers, or even Magnum Primers.

Musket Caps are to MLers as Magnum Primers are to cartridge guns.

In reality, with that Kodiak rifle, the length of the flash channel( from the base of your nipple to the rear of the powder charge) is SHORTER than the flash channel in a LYMAN GPR. Use a capper, and use standard #11 caps. You will get better accuracy. A capper is much larger to handle in the cold than a musket cap, I can assure you!

As for AMPCO nipples, google Ampco, and do your reading. The things may look like brass, but they are made of a very tough BRONZE alloy, and most members here who use them report long life- much longer life than any steel or stainless steel nipple.