Walmart CCI caps misfire

[firestick]

CCI from Sportsmans Warehouse misfired and had hang fires for me in my .50 CVA Mountain Rifle. Remingtons have worked MUCH better. Going to try RWS.

 

[Loja man]

So my pyrodex is FF. Would it help to use some FFF? I can’t get my hands on any magnum primers in the next few days but my dad has some FFF pyrodex or triple 7?

 

[Grenadier1758]

Can you get a Hot Shot or Spitfire nipple?

RWS 1075 percussion caps are generally hotter than CCI caps.

You could try the Pyrodex P powder. Its for pistols such as FFF real black powder.

I'm not much of a fan of the substitute powders, but sometimes that is all that is available in some areas of the country. Its really worthwhile to try to get real black powder by mail from a supplier such as Graf and Sons.
Black Powder & Cannon Fuse - Powders & Primers - Graf & Sons

 

[Carbon 6]

A month or so ago I bought some CCI caps at Walmart because they had them. I know a lot of the standard ammunition they sell is kind of factory seconds.

That is an internet myth.

First Walmart CCI cap was a miss fire. Used the nipple pic then tried second cap. It hung fired. The next five also hung fired. After the third hang fire I pulled the nipple, cleaned it and reinstalled.

Sounds to me like you had a dirty or oily flame channel on the first shot, If you fire the gun with oil in there , and then it hang fires , you're screwed . You have to clean the gun thoroughly to get it work properly again. Always clean the barrel and flame channel to remove and oil before loading.
Lastly, black powder substitutes are 2-4 times harder to ignite, I recommend switching to a hot-shot nipple or using real blackpowder.

 

[Loja man]

“Sounds to me like you had a dirty or oily flame channel on the first shot, If you fire the gun with oil in there , and then it hang fires , you're screwed . You have to clean the gun thoroughly to get it work properly again. Always clean the barrel and flame channel to remove and oil before loading.”

So I think I started using the the CCI caps after about my 4 or 5 shot. I swabbed my bore with a spit patch and then dry patch after shot #4 but it was before I started using the CCI caps. Would the flame channel be oily from shooting??
I may be able to buy some Goex about a hour away. They may have more selection of caps to. Witch is just a little farther of a drive than Sportsman Wherehouse.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@Carbon 6 and I agree on most of what is the likely cause of your problems. Its not the caps except for the presence of multi-year old Pyrodex and the basic difficulty in igniting Pyrodex. Shooting generates fouling, even with Pyrodex, and by your fifth shot even that amount of fouling and oils can be built up in your flash channel. So, yes, your flash channel can become clogged from shooting.

Do the thorough cleaning Carbon 6 recommends. Do use a hard bristled pipe cleaner to make sure the flash channel is clean. You have a CVA Mountain Rifle with a hooked breech. Remove the nipple, pull the barrel from the stock, put the breech in a bucket of water with some dis washing soap in it and with a damp patch on your cleaning rod flush a lot of water through the barrel, flash channel and nipple seat. Dry everything and use Barricade to add some rust inhibiting to the steel in your barrel. Replace your original nipple with a Pyrodex compatible nipple. The CVA Mountain Rifle uses the Drum and nipple (convoluted flash channel to the ignition point). It also has a chambered breech that can get packed full of the oily fouling Carbon 6 is talking about. Then you have a very long flash channel to get to the powder you want to ignite. With the long path through the fouling even the slapping of the breech won't filter powder through the chambered breech. The flushing in the bucket of soapy water will clean it out. A 25 caliber brush with a cleaning patch will thoroughly clean that out.

Call that store an hour away to verify if they have GOEX black powder, magnum percussion caps and Hot Shot or Spitfire nipples before you go. If the clerk doesn't have the information, ask to speak to the manager. Black Powder has to be kept in a special locked case and often the clerks don't know they have black powder because it isn't out there on the shelf. The Hot Shot nipples also work great with GOEX black powder.

 

[Loja man]

Good info! Thanks. Thier websit says the have the Goex in stock. I still will call ahead.
That brings me to my next point. From my reading on this form I see that a lot of members are shooting FFF over FF even in 50 cals. Should I go to FFF in Goex if they have it?

 

[Carbon 6]

magnum percussion caps

I've never found Magnum caps to be of any benefit. A hotshot nipple, switching to P grade Pyrodex instead of RS or slightly enlarging the nipple flash hole has always solved my ignition problems. I've shot subs that magnum caps still wouldn't ignite consistently.

 

[Carbon 6]

Good info! Thanks. Thier websit says the have the Goex in stock. I still will call ahead.
That brings me to my next point. From my reading on this form I see that a lot of members are shooting FFF over FF even in 50 cals. Should I go to FFF in Goex if they have it?

I shoot 3fff in everything (12 gauge on down), but I don't load any charges over 90 grains either. But hey, that's me.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I shoot 3fg GOEX in my 50 caliber rifles. It burns a little cleaner and is easier to ignite.

 

[EC121]

Years ago someone gave me 3 cans of Pyrodex. I took one out in the yard and poured it into a circle and lit it. It made the neatest looking mushroom cloud. Because I have several flintlocks, I don't use it on my poplocks.

 

[Carbon 6]

Years ago someone gave me 3 cans of Pyrodex. I took one out in the yard and poured it into a circle and lit it. It made the neatest looking mushroom cloud.

What a waste.
I have dozens of guns that would gobble it right up.

 

[White Oak]

Keep in mind I am not a Wally World fan. I have used CCI caps from them for years with out a hitch.After our muzzleloader season ends I can often pick them up for half price or less when they are on clearance. I shoot black powder only under stock TC nipples. None of my 4 percussion guns seem to care about the brand of cap or where it came from.

 

[1853enfield]

I have had good luck with cci caps.. I do think that once in a while with any brand there can be quality control problems. i bought 700 remington musket caps from a store that was going out of business. turns out they are no bargain at all. They are just so weak you can hear the large difference between them and other brands. now i dont think all remington caps are bad but i sure got some.. i looked and they are still on the shelf where they have been for the last 15 or so years. I wont sell them to a friend. couple years ago i had a shooting buddy order 1000 eash of #11 and musket caps. he ordered 2, of musket and 1 k of @11 not that there is a shortage i am real happy to have them.

 

[Steve-in-Kentucky]

I have used CCI caps, #11, #10 and #11 Magnum that I have bought from Graf and Sons. They have performed well. There really shouldn't be any difference in CCI caps retailed by Walmart or Graf and Sons. If the caps fired, then there may be something in the flash channel that needs to be cleared. Verify that there is a clear flash channel from the nipple seat to the powder chamber. Remove the nipple and run a pipe cleaner from the nipple seat into the powder chamber. The CCI caps may contain a bit less primer material than the Remington caps, but they still should be adequate to get fire from the nipple to the main charge.

Are you using Pyrodex? Hang fires are common with Pyrodex and most of the substitute powders. Get the CCI Magnum caps.

If you, @Loja man, want to avoid hang fires, only use Real Black Powder such as GOEX, Scheutzen, or Swiss.

I shoot revolvers only, however I'm using Pyrodex P and #10 Remington caps. The combo works well for me. BP is scarce around here, and by the time you add shipping charges and a hazmat charge, it's darned expensive.

 

[chix2111]

I graduated from the small caps entirely long ago. Went to musket nipple and caps. Waterproof and lots of fire. That said, I have had a misfire or two with CCI musket caps, and as far as I am concerned they are only fit for reenactment guns. I use only RWS 1081's for hunting....never a hint of a problem lighting 100 gr. triple 7 in my .54 Hawken.

 

[Irishmusket]

triple 7 is notorious for hang fires and misfires in side locks and pyrodex can also be an issue though works better in side locks though real Black powder is much more reliable than either of these substitutes its hard to find in some places .Tripple 7 is very easy to clean with less fowling than real black powder and not as corrosive it is not reliable in many traditional muzzle loaders TC s have issues with some If you don't flush your breech out they are notorious for not going off you have to keep the venting and fire way as well as the nipple clear these rifles are known not to go bang if you don‘t.If all you can get is pyrodex Rs clean your rifle well pay attention to your breech fire way and nipple replace your nipple for no 11 caps with one for musket caps which are more reliable hotter spark and More spark TC made them never never buy cci musket caps never the german caps are vastly superior musket cap s cci caps are the worst and most unreliable musket caps on the market .their no 11 caps are good the magnum cci no 11 caps are pretty good and might help you as well .Ive seen some people say that pyrodex dose not fowl your bore as bad as black powder this is false andwill cause rust if neglected just as bad or worse than real stuff that is an absolutely a fact .Ive been around black powder guns since middle 1960s been an active and successful gunsmith since early seventies Still at it worked on many TCs great rifle but you really need to take care of them as can be said of most of their kind .l have pulled stuck ball s out of barrels taken out rusted nipples been good business for a long time .

 

[Dibbuk]

From your description, I would guess the CCI caps were a few years old, and probably not well stored.. Unlike black powder, percussion caps can deteriorate over time. CCI caps, in my experience, do as well as any other percussion cap.

 

[chix2111]

My Hawken has a 36" barrel. I ran a little test once by just dry firing a CCI musket cap outside in the dark, then a RWS 1081. The CCI popped and a little wisp of smoke came out. The RWS blew fire clear out the end of the 36" chunk of iron.

 

[Oldhickory]

Loja Man Ignition of synthetic powders is a blessing and a curse. One solution not mentioned is putting powder under your cap in the nipple. Not much, but it will vastly improve your ignition . You mentioned that you bought the rifle used. Most likely the breech and flash hole to the breech are clogged with crud build up. I would not hurt to purchase a scraper to put on your ram rod to work the crud out of the breech as well. I own a Blue Ridge Pedersoli. It had ignition problems early on, and I had a gun smith pull the breech, which had a breech insert. He opened that up somewhat and ignition is now first time every time with Triple 7. Years ago many of us used to open the flash hole on the nipple. I do not wish to recommend this as if the flash hole gets too big it becomes a self cocker. Try everything else recommended first to see if it solves your ignition problems.