First BP long gun, is this normal?

[Caliper_Mi]

So, this is my first BP long gun, a Zouave replica made by Mikoru I picked up at a yard sale. Finally got the gun out to the range but not sure if it is behaving right. When fired, there is a great amount of gas escaping from the nipple. Enough that the caps are bent and a number had a hole burned in the center. I took a pic of the nipple area after no more than a dozen shots fired. Mostly at 45-50gr powder (Pyrodex rifle), but ended up with 60 gr pushing a 400ish gr mini ball. The photo makes things look a bit worse than reality - everything wiped clean after a bit of scrubbing with a cloth. Is this typical on a longarm?

 

[azwizard]

Sounds to me like maybee the wrong size caps. You could also proabably remove the nipple and try and fish a small stiff wire thru the passage way towards the barrel in case there is a lot of build up in there. You may also want to have it checked out buy a smith incase the opposite has happened and the fire hole has been eroded and there is a little blow back comming back thru the nipple.

 

[Chawbaccer]

Your nipple looks like it is for a muskett cap. Anyways, some caps are softer than others, another place to look is your main spring as the hammer should provide a seal of sorts to escaping gasses.

 

[junkman_01]

It appears the hole in the bottom of the nipple is too large. This can happen from gas erosion (from firing a lot) or the manufacturer made it that way. Any way get a new quality musket nipple. They all take the same size musket caps. Musket caps can be had 4 winged, 6 winged, and solid. Get the 4 wing ons for a shooter musket.

 

[Caliper_Mi]

Yes, using the winged caps. Have some 4 and some 6. Both fit tightly before firing. One thing is that the hammer is not centered on the nipple when down, could that cause this?

There did not seem to be any buildup in the channel from cap to barrel beyond the normal BP soot. I had one misfire at the range and pulled the nipple to check that it was clear (forgot a nipple pick) and saw that the powder had filled that channel all the way back to the base of the nipple threads.

 

[col.lemat]

It does look like there is excessive blowby, try another nipple & try to center the hammer.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Never saw that much flash residue on any of my guns. I think the cap and nipple fit aren't right.

 

[Hellgate]

My Zoli Zouave started to do that (scorching the wood) so i made a flash guard out of aluminum flashing about 3/4" wide by 1.5" long in an elongated elliptical shape and then cut a diamond shaped hole in one end of it so it would fit over the nipple and protect the wood. If I were to buy another Zouave I would first look at how much cutting there was in the wood to tell if it had been shot a lot and not buy one that was burnt. I have also used leather and inner tube rubber to protect the wood. If you look at most MLs you'll see there is a bit off a flash guard (shelf) built onto the gun behind the nipple to prevent such burning. For some dumb reason they don't do that well enough on the Zouaves. It's too bad as my other 58cal rifles don't burn the wood when fired (except the Buffalo Hunter which is a chopped & sporterized Zoli Zouave). Make several guards, put them in the patch box as they sometimes fall off. You can buy flash guards from Track of the Wolf but I don't know if they would fit a Zouave. I don't really think there is anything wrong with your rifle or nipple. I shoot 90grs FFFg in mine all the time and the guard protects the wood just fine. Mine uses musket caps but there is also a spare smaller (#11?) nipple screwed into the wood of the stock inside the patch box.

 

[Hellgate]

I looked at that picture again and there may be a miss fitting and a gap on one edge of the nipple or hammer surface. There is a lot more fouling than i am used to seeing with heavier loads. Look to see if the hammer face and nipple rim are flush or is there a gap along the front and left side. You might need to dress the nipple top to get a flush fit. If your mainspring is too light that could allow more blowback of the hammer and let more fouling fly out. My hammer falls are pretty stout.

 

[junkman_01]

Blueyes,

Why is the tang so much higher than the wood? Is the barrel fully seated in the stock? If not, it could be causing misalignment of the hammer and the nipple, allowing hot gas to escape.

 

[Hellgate]

GOOD EYES JUNKMAN! Yeah, see if that tang screw can be snugged up.

 

[Caliper_Mi]

Yes, the tang is fairly proud of the wood. I can snug it down farther but then the forward end of the barrel wants to stand up out of the stock.

I think I will have to file either on the side of the breechplug or the back of the lock to fit the lock closer, but it the hammer definitely needs to move inward by a fair margin. The face of the hammer looks to hit the nipple pretty squarely at least.

Looks like the nipple has M8x1.25 threads, but Track of The Wolf has a few in that size. Will have to give it a shot (haha).