Percussion nipples

[old iron]

I hav a 58 TC and about every 12-15 shots it will not ignite, the cap goes bang but not the charge , wondering if it’s the nipple or fouling? Also have two different nipples ,which style do you guys like?
Thanks

 

[Dave Markowitz]

A few questions:

First, how do you clean the rifle after each session? Do you flush the breech with water to ensure that the flash channel is clear?

Second, in what position do you store the rifle? In my experience it's best to store rifles with patent breeches like your T/C muzzle-down, so any excess oil in the bore drains away from the breech.

Finally, are you swabbing between shots? If so you may be pushing fouling down into the breech, causing the misfires. When I shoot at the range I use a wet lube that allows me to shoot as long as I want without swabbing. In effect, you're swabbing each time you load but the fouling doesn't go past the powder charge into the breech. In my experience this makes my rifles more reliable.

 

[Grimord]

For my percussion guns, I prefer the "Red Hot" nipples from Knight. With heavy charges in my 58, I make a point of picking the nipple after a few shots as cap residue sometimes blocks the hole due to the excess pressure.

 

[old iron]

Dave, i was swabing between shots as I was at a 100 yd match ,first time cleaning between shots and thought it might help accuracy, I do put barrel in bucket of water and clean at the end of the day.
Grimorrd I did remove nipple and checked it and it wasn't cloged so I dribbled a little powder in the breech and installed nipple and it fired.
How are you target shooters cleaning while at a match?
Thanks still learning

 

[renegadehunter]

When you swab between shots you are pushing fouling down into the patent breech. I've had that trouble as well, I always swab between shots too.
It doesn't happen every time you swab, but the more you shoot the more it seems to start happening. Especially on a damp day when there is a lot of moisture in the air.
There are a few fixes.
First, you can just snap a cap after you swab, that will usually blow the crud back out. Works great but doubles your cap use.
Second, you can load back up again and then swab.
Third, my favorite, is find the right fit for your jag and patch combo so that the patch goes down smoothly but then bunches up and pulls the fouling out of the barrel rather than pushing it ahead of the patch. Not my idea, I read it on here: chuck your jag into a cordless drill and spin it on a flat file to turn it down. I tapered mine a bit, wanted the front a bit smaller diameter than the back. Go slow and check fit often.
I have not had a fail to fire from pushing fouling down when swabbing since doing this and I do not have to pop a cap after swabbing.

I use a 1.5" diameter cleaning patch. After turning my jag down I put some calipers on it. I have a .54 cal TC and I believe that a jag for a .52 cal would've also done the trick for me. In your case, a .54 cal cleaning jag may work about right. If you want to try that rather than turning the jag down.

I do keep a tighter fitting factory sized jag to use when I clean at the end of shooting, the turned down jag is just in my shooting bag for swabbing.