Well i got my Traditions Woodsman today...

[GreenSmoke]

Beautiful rifle, fit and finish is very nice, everywhere except the Patchbox, which is pretty rough and ill fitted to itself, the lid is lopsided as heck. But oh well, doesnt bother me.

Got everything set up and ready to go. Wiped down the rifle with a ballistol damp rag like i do all my stuff. Cleaned and dryed the barrel with several patches. Stuck my pick through the nipple hole.

Preparing to shoot, first thing i notice is that the 1f i got cuz the 2f was put of stock when i ordered, absolutely hates to flow out of both my flask AND the measure. Just doesnt come out at all. I worked through it and got everything all loaded up regardless.

Put my cap on. Took aim. Annnnnnnnd, click, snap. Nothing else. Waited a minute expecting a hangfire.... nothing. Finally stopped shouldering the rifle, looked at the nipple and hmmmm, the nipple full on ripped in half. Cap stuck in the hammer, nipple ripped in half.

So i called traditions, they are sending me a new nipple for free, said that it sounds like it was just a bad nipple. The one tool i neglected to get so far is a nipple wrench, so i guess im gonna get one of those and probably some 2f. And then wait "a couple weeks maybe" for my nipple from traditions. Maybe ill just buy a new nipple too, get it in 3 days, and keep the other as an extra.


So gang, what the hell happened? Is it just a faulty nipple like they say?

Im gonna head out and get to work with my ball extractor so i dont have to keep the damn thing loaded til i get a new nipple on it. Wish me luck. Been probably 20 min since the failure

 

[Dwight Rutherford]

If your rifle is 50 caliber then I suggest using 3F powder.
No reason to attempt to remove the charge while waiting for the new nipple. Unfired black powder will not harm the gun.

 

[GreenSmoke]

I'll probably get some 3f when i order my 2f as well. I already got it unloaded, i didn't want to leave it sitting around as a "this rifle was fired but never went off, but its still loaded" type situation.

Im bummed out now... i was really looking forward to shooting some blackpowder today. Gotta wait for ANOTHER order now before i can try again, and hope it was JUST a faulty nipple. Im honestly half expecting to take the nipple off and find out theres no hole into the barrel, the way its set up i can only pick the nipple down to a certain point then it takes a hard left turn towards the barrel.

 

[GreenSmoke]

There the rifle is, took this before i went out and discovered its broken. A couple accessories in the shot as well, many more off camera.

 

[azmntman]

I have never heard of a nipple splitting half. Please post a photo, sure the guys are as interested as I am. Nice reifle, I would use 3f (unless it likes 2f better for accuracy). Photo targets too!

 

[appalichian hunter]

A question did you take out the clean out screw from the nipple bolster assuming it has one,and check that the hole in the bolster goes clear through into the barrel. Never heard of a nipple splitting and been shooting both the cap and flint rifles a long time. Also buy a nipple wrench that has the barrel type part where it fits the nipple chances are if this happened from explosive force from the cap(did not see where you stated if the cap went off, am assuming it did by your statement of a hang fire) The nipple may be really tight. I would soak the nipple that is now on the gun in some penetrating oil until the new one arrives and you get a good fitting wrench. Not to rain on your parade but this seems to me a situation beyond a faulty nipple. Just some suggestion's.

 

[GreenSmoke]

I took the nipple off, it came out pretty easy actually. Just used some pliers since its split anyways, but i didnt have to fight with it. With the nipple off i managed to get my nipple pick around the corner and into the barrel, so it definitely goes all the way through.

Im thinking what happend is, it was a shitty weak nipple to start with, and even though i put my pick through the nipple to start with, it had enough factory lube down on the backside of the nipple that it re-plugged the hole when i took my pick out. So it just had full cap pressure in the nipple with no where to go.

Heres the best picture i could get of the nipple, really hard to get my camera to focus on something this small.

 

[GreenSmoke]

And, nipple bolster? Unfamiliar with that term (im brand new). I assume thats the part the nipple screws into. I see there is a screw on the side of that, but it looked like it might be a solid part of that whole assembly that holds the nipple in the right spot for the hammer, so i didnt want to fiddle with that. I did manage to get my nipple pick around the bend and into the barrel though so i know thats actually open at least.

 

[wiksmo]

Sorry about your out-of-the-box troubles, @GreenSmoke. BTW, your photo of the unfortunate split nipple was helpful. I agree with you as I'm challenged getting good photos of small parts.

Here is an older MLF thread discussing bolsters and their function in a lock. I'm sure there are other threads in our forum about that part. bolster

Best on getting some good help from the manufacturer.
~wiksmo

 

[Tasbay]

Is it just me or does that nipple appear to have not had a flash hole through the end of it?

 

[SDSmlf]

Couple of questions.

• Before you loaded the gun the first time, how did you clean the bore out?
• Before loading did you confirm the nipple and bore were clear of oil/contamination by popping off a few percussion caps?

 

[Frontier's]

Its because the drum is turned slightly off and the hammer hit more toward the front of the nipple, peeling the steel. Replace it with a quality stainless steel nipple. Had one do that on mine and it was just the steel they used.

 

[GreenSmoke]

There is a very tiny hole in the bottom of the nipple, large enough for my pick to get through, and not much bigger, i dont know if thats normal.

Before my first attempt at firing, i used a ballistol damp patch, followed by dry patches until they came out clean, the barrel, before firing, was making the patches come out black, right from the box.

I was going to fire just a cap or two before loading, but in my excitement i forgot. I did pick the nipple to the bottom of the, im guessing, bolster, but i dont think that did a good enough job.

So, is the drum and the bolster the same thing (im gonna read the link on bolster in a minute)? Do i need to adjust that so it hits more squarely? It looked fine to me but if thats the cause of the nipple splitting like that id like to fix it.

 

[Frontier's]

No not unless you know what youre doing. Just replace is eith a better nipple.

 

[Kansas Jake]

In a pinch a 1/4" open end wrench will work to remove a nipple if it wasn't put in by Luigi the gorrila. I keep on in my truck for emergencies and another in the range box. They don't work well on revolvers but fine on rifles if you don't have a nipple wrench.

 

[GreenSmoke]

So the bolster/drum is what we are all on the same page about, it looked lined up fine for me, so im definitely just gonna put the new nipple in and see how it lines up. Ill also see if that cleanout screw comes out or not later, but i think its just a screwhead for taking the bolster/drum on and off.

Cross my fingers a new nipple fixes the problem and it doesnt rip in half again

 

[longcruise]

It's a clean out screw. Make a decision to always remove it when cleaning. It's a fairly large hole and in case of a dry ball it's easier to leak some powder through than through the nipple hole and around the corner. 1f might have trouble getting through either way.

 

[SDSmlf]

I would suggest leaving the so-called clean out screw alone, just asking for problems if you don’t know what you are doing. Just make sure the bore and the breech area of your gun are clean, clear and dry before you load the gun.

 

[Carbon 6]

You are just asking for trouble removing the "clean-out" screw. First off they are a cheap soft screw, you need a proper fitting screwdriver to remove it or you will bugger it up. The internal threads have to be meticulously cleaned or corrosion will set in. Upon reinstalling Anti-seize compound must be added to prevent the screw from corroding in place which will cause more screw head damage the next time you try to remove it. If too much Anti-seize gets in the bolster chamber it will lead to hang-fires or misfires.
Easiest thing to do is leave it alone. Messing with it is like having a pet goldfish.

 

[sportster73hp]

When installing the new nipple make sure to seat it fully. I discovered during a match that the hammer doesnt work well when it strikes the nipple wrong