It sounds as if you got a good deal on a shooter!Glad y’all had this thread. I picked up a TC Hawkin in .50 perc. A couple of years ago. Nipple only seated hard the last turn. Never knew about the different threads would always retighten between shots. Guess I have been protectedfrom my own self. Shoots really good with 70 grns and a round ball. Only paid $100.00
Nipples for percussion muzzleloaders come in a bewildering variety of thread diameters and pitches, and in just looking at one, it may be difficult to tell exactly what it is. A 6mm nipple, for example, is pretty close to a quarter of an inch and the difference may be hard to distinguish (6mm = 0.2362", while one-quarter of an inch equals .250"). However, they are not interchangeable! Not safely, anyway.
It is not unusual for a nipple in a well-maintained gun to turn in easily, and the wrench may only be needed to snug it up, or break it loose if you are removing it. However, if it "only seats hard the last turn," that doesn't sound right to me. A 6mm nipple may easily go in a quarter-inch nipple seat for several turns, until the mis-matched threads begin to bind. From the description, it sounds as if that may be what is happening.
Your T/C Hawken should have been tapped for a 1/4-28 nipple (note that 1/4" is .250"). Please take that nipple that "only seats hard the last turn" to your local Ace Hardware or Lowe's to their specialty screw section and verify the thread size. Better yet, have a machinist check it. If the nipple is not verified to be threaded .250"-28, your best bet will be to discard it and buy a new nipple of the correct size.
However, sometimes the nipple seat on an older gun will have opened up a little, so that even the correct nipple feels a little loose. Track of the Wolf sells slightly oversized nipples in increments of .005" to compensate for this wear. For example, if the female threads in the gun's nipple seat started out as .250-28 but have opened up with wear, you can try a .255-28 nipple... the diameter is slightly larger but the TPI is the same. If it's still too loose, you can try a .260-28. They make these all the way up to .275" diameter with 28 TPI.
In any event, you really need to know what size nipple your rifle is intended to use, and it is essential that the nipple be sized to fit it properly. You really don't want a nipple to blow out, that close to your eye.
Safety first.
Best regards,
Notchy Bob
