Newbie Needs Help

[John L Venable]

Hi Guys,
Basically new to BP Rifles, although have several revolvers.... of the "Navy" Ilk. Just picked up a Pedersoli 1858 2 Band.... went to my local shop picked up some Minie's, 2fg and "Musket Caps"... the guy gave me RWS 1081 caps, although I have not yet fired the rifle.... the caps seem extremely loose... but being a novice to the BP Rifle I tend to proceed with caution. I'm told a Musket Cap is a Musket Cap. Frankly I'm suspicious of the wiggle room with these caps.

Can someone educate me?

Thanks in Advance,

John V

 

[alexander45]

Shouldn't be a problem as you don't cap untill just before you fire and you don't have other Chambers to set off via flash

 

[rodwha]

Some people pinch caps a tad that don't fit tightly.

 

[big-ugly]

fire that sucker and don't worry about it. Life is good, brother.

 

[DD4lifeusmc]

Make sure you have a musket nipple on the rifle
Some have been known to come with # 11's
musket nipples usually have a square drive for screwing in and out
although I have seen oval ones. but they are quite a bit bigger than the ones for pistols

 

[BullSlinger]

RWS 1081 caps if I recall are #11 caps. Surprised they would be loose on a musket nipple.

 

[drobs]

I just ordered a Lyman GP rifle. Lyman has pretty good instruction manual for rifles:
https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/medi...s-Rifles/Lyman-Great-Plains-Rifles-Manual.pdf

 

[Loyalist Dave]

OK First...,
Get yourself a nipple wrench that will fit the nipple, and remove it. If it's really tight..., it may be rusted a bit, and some Liquid Wrench will help get it out. It's very important that the wrench that you use is the correct fit or you will booger the nipple, and it will then be a pain in the arse to extract.

Once out, you will want to use a pipe cleaner to ensure the hole from the nipple to the interior of the breech is not clogged nor dirty. Clean out the hole in the actual nipple too. Clean the barrel while you're at it. Some folks like to cover the butt end of a 9mm or .38 special casing with the shiny side of some aluminum foil outward, then drop that down the barrel as a reflector, so when they use a small LED flashlight, they can inspect the bore. Other folks splurge and get a few packets of chem-light, night, fishing bobber lights, and activate one and drop that down the bore to illuminate it.

Next...., replace the nipple and some folks like to put a very very tiny amount of shotgun choke tube lube on the threads of the nipple. The problem is if you put too much..., it can heat up during firing and seep into the flash hole. Treat the barrel inside and out with a thin coat of rust preventative, and you're ready to store it.

When it comes time to fire..., before you load..., shoot two or three of the caps through the unloaded barrel. This burns out any residual oils and ensures the flash hole is clear..., it should pop and have a sort of hollow sound. Some folks like to point the muzzle near some grass on the range and see if the blades of the grass move at all. (and some guys when it has been very dry have ignited dry grass on their range, so do this test with caution. )

Then with the hammer down on a nipple that is free of the last spent cap..., follow the loading procedure for firing live rounds.

LD

 

[4v50 Gary]

Take a micrometer to the nipple and see what you have. Then take your calipers and measure the inside of the musket cap. Report back to this august forum. Someone will be able to help.

I've only used CCI caps, but that's all I could get. I was told RWI are hotter and give more positive ignition.