[Coyote Rider]

My Lyman caplock has started misfiring fairly often (maybe 15-20% of the time) the last couple of times I went shooting. The caps pop, but the powder doesn't go BOOM. I think that for some reason the powder hasn't been making it all the way down the flash channel. Don't know if it has anything to do with the fact I've started using Elephant powder (made in Brazil); I never had this problem with Goex. Anyway, finally I started smacking the barrel with the ball end of my short starter about half a dozen times before stuffing in the patch and ball, and didn't have any more misfires, but it was towards the end of the day and may have just been coincidence. Does anyone have any theories or knowledge of what might be going on? Thanks in advance.

[Pancho]

I'd try a breech scraper and if you haven't already I'd remove the nipple and make sure you get all the fouling cleaned out.

[mykeal]

Yep, Pancho's right.

Remove the nipple, pour some bp solvent into the barrel until it shows up at the nipple hole. Scrape the breech area. Clean out the flash channel with one of those pipe cleaners that has little metal spikes in it (CVA sells them as nipple cleaners). Dry out with patches, then repeat at least once.

[nicholst55]

I've experienced this periodically with two different barrels on my Lyman GPR. Here's what I do - first, remove the cleanout screw and insure that the vent channel is C-L-E-A-N! When you load, turn the rifle with the right side down, and tap the left side of the rifle opposite the lock 3-4 times to help the powder enter the vent channel. Last, always carry a nipple wrench and a flintlock primer; when you have a misfire remove the nipple, deposit a few grains of FFFFg under the nipple, reinstall the nipple, re-cap it, and try again. They ALWAYS fire when you put 4F under the nipple!

It's frustrating, I know, but short of drilling the vent channel out to a larger diameter and then tapping it for a larger cleanout screw, I don't know what else one could do.

[Pancho]

nicholst55 has a good point if you have a clean out screw and you can get the screw out you are ahead of the game. Not all sidelock cap and ball guns have clean out screws and if you or the previous owner didn't use anti-seize on it when new it might not come out. Having the flintlock primer loaded with 4F is a great idea.

[Wildfire]

Hey there:
Fire is not getting to the powder !
The nipple is pluged or damaged, Or there is so much rust and or build up in the breach that the fire can not get to the powder. If you had a bad cap that didn't go bang , it more then likely pluged that nipple. New Nipple and clean out that breach.

[Brillo]

I've heard that Elephant powder doesn't have as consistent a granule size as Goex or Swiss black powder which may keep it from getting far enough into the flash channel. I've not used it so I'm only speculating here. In addition to the advice written above you might also consider your selection of caps. I've used three different brands of caps and they definitely vary in the amount of flash. RWS seems to have the greatest amount of flash, CCI Magnum is next, and CCI standard has the least. My experience is with #11 caps. I use exclusively Triple 7 (FF), which is more difficult to ignite than black powder, and RWS caps (now) and don't have any ignition problems in my 50 cal. Great Plains Hunter. I have also heard from many members who have changed to musket caps which have an even greater flash than the best #11 caps.

[arcticap]

Try a 6 X .75 Spit Fire Replacement nipple from Cabela's, (at least until you run out of Elephant powder).
Does it foul more?

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/content/Item/21/02/68/i210268sq01.jpg

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0012627210268a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=nipples&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=nipples&noImage=0

[Coyote Rider]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Most of what you've been suggesting I already do. The nipple itself is fine, and there's no rust or blockage in it. I did discover something though. I don't have a proper breech scraper, and I've been using a mickey mouse setup which I thought was working fine, but after I went shooting last time and thought I'd cleaned out the barrel properly, I squirted some Ballistol into the barrel and let it sit overnight because I wanted to try to clean it up a little better the next day, and then when I went in with my mickey mouse breech scraper, a big blob of soft fouling came out. It was kind of horrifying.

Does anyone know where I can find a good breech scraper that will work on a 54 cal. Lyman Trade Rifle? I think my manual says the breech channel is 3/8" wide and recommends a 3/8" brass bristle brush, but all the ones I can find that size are for pistols and have a different thread size than yer basic rifle ramrod. Heck, maybe all I need to do is find a thread size adaptor?

[sundance44s]

Try DixieGunWorks or Trackof the Wolf for a good fouling scraper ...with all that soft mess you said you have in the breech ..I`d say use more Hot Water , and flush more . Something else you can do to help , when you store it , put an old rag over the muzzle and store it muzzle down , that will let any left over wet drain out instead of settleing in the breech end.

[Pancho]

Coyote Rider, I just started using Ballistol and like it a lot. Check out the website, www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments.html
They have a great corrosion test where they try most of the popular corrosion preventatives and Ballistol was one of only two that did anything.

[mykeal]

Corrosion isn't the problem. Fouling buildup is the problem, and while Ballistol will help correct that to some extent, fouling that's already hardened must be scraped out.

Here's a link to some thread adapters:
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(cu1eyi45z0ykjc45sqjdb2q4))/categories/tableList.aspx?catID=6&subID=49&styleID=581

[Coyote Rider]

I checked both my owner's manual and with Track of the Wolf customer service, and both said to use a brash brush for the breech cavity. The manual said to use a .35 cal brush. However, Track of the Wolf also has a .36 cal brass "fouling scraper" which ought to work (might need to be filed down just a hair) if the end of the breech cavity is flat. What do other Lyman Trade Rifle owners use?

[Pancho]

Coyote, you could buy a 50 cal. scrapper and take it to an anvil or a solidly mounted vice and using ballpeen hammer you could upset it enough to get it to 54 cal.

[Coyote Rider]

I could just find a .54 cal scraper and not have to hammer out a .50 cal one, but that's not the problem. At the breech end of the barrel there's a narrower channel that goes down to the breech plug. It's about .35 cal in diameter, but I don't know if the very bottom is flat or not. Unless it's flat, a breech scraper wouldn't work. I guess I'll order one (they're only $1.95) and a brush (the problem has been finding the right thread size, which Track of the Wold turns out to carry) at the same time.

[Niner]

I squirted some Ballistol into the barrel and let it sit overnight because I wanted to try to clean it up a little better the next day, and then when I went in with my mickey mouse breech scraper, a big blob of soft fouling came out. It was kind of horrifying.

But my fix would be what arcticap said. There is no subsitute for a decent nipple. I change all of mine from what came with them on my caplock rifles.

[Pancho]

Coyote Rider you're educating me, I didn't know there was a muzzleloader with a reduced diameter breech chamber. That sounds like a real pain in the butt.

[dwave]

I converted my Pedersoli to use Musket caps, those things work great for getting fire in the tube.