useing 209 primers in a Traditional Muzzle loader.

[Aries-]

i was wondering if there was a replacement cap holder for a traditional muzzle loader so that i could more reliably use Pyrodex and the sort in a old style muzzle loader.
ive looked around and cant find anything realy, im just wondering if there needs to be a point on the hammer to set off a 209 primer, and how much pressure they make so i know if i can make one myself (im a tool and die machinist).

any help would be great. i was concidering buying a 209 primer holder for an inline and milling it down and threading it so that it would fit on a old muzzle loader.

 

[arcticap]

Most sidelock shooters that want to upgrade convert to using a musket cap nipple along with musket caps. They are often readily available from this outfit and others too:

http://blomquistpercussionworks.com/products.html

http://blomquistpercussionworks.com/default.asp

There are also conversion units that use different types of primers, but because they are more difficult to load and reload, thery are mostly used to increase the reliability of ignition while hunting.
There's the Mag-Spark:

http://www.warrencustomoutdoor.com/pl-spark-start.html

and the Accra-Shot which may be discontinued:

 

[Aries-]

i use musket caps already i shoot (at the moment) an old Enfield .58 cal rifle. it shoots well. the caps just get wet to easly due to what the explosive is made of. makes for problems hunting in northern ontario when it starts to get damp.

so i was looking at the 209 primers for more reliable aswell as for shooting the pyrodex. (not in the enfield mind you lol. looking at getting a rifle of my own)

thanks for the help.

 

[1911 guy]

Fulminated mercury.

Are caps still made from this? If they are, that's a big reason they foul so easily in wet weather. Here's a tip, though. There are caps available by mail order from several sites that are moisture resistant. Not waterproof, if you baptize them they ruined. A rain won't do much harm, though. I got a tin a few years back and use them for hunting on soggy days.

 

[Aries-]

its not really the wet that im looking at. its getting something thats reliable, consistant, and can ignight pyrodex or any of the other new non fouling black powder alternatives.

i will likely be shooting sabot in any gun i get, (much to my dad and his friends shagrin they all shoot patch ball in flintlocks)

 

[Plink]

You can get magnum caps and save yourself the trouble of swapping nipples and all. As for waterproofing, they make tiny silicone bands that will slip over the cap and nipple, sealing it from the elements. I believe I got mine at Cabelas several years ago, but I don't see them listed there anymore. Check other sporting goods places. They work very well, so I can't imagine them not being for sale anymore. I don't have them in the original packing, so I don't know the name of them. I wish I could be more helpful, but at least it's a start.