Percussion Nipple Protection

[pietro]

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Well, Winter's here, and the damp weather can cause ignition issues.

I use a leather piece between hammer & nipple when storing my uncapped percussion guns, when transporting them, or bringing them into camp for the night.

When hunting in wet weather, though - I use disposable commercial cap keepers.

What do others here use ?

[bimus]

On my Thompson center I soldered a lanyard loop on a 9mm case and tied a cord to it that I tied the other end to the trigger guard .The case covers the cap and the hammer holds it on till the hammer is cocked .

[megasupermagnum]

For carrying/storing uncapped, whatever is handy. Usually that is a tiny strip of electrical tape over the nipple, hammer lowered on it. During hunting, nothing. I've hunted through some real downpours. This year bear hunting it rained 3 days in a row, including overnight. I kept the rifle in the truck overnight, but during the day, the rifle was only guarded slightly by my body. On day 3 a bear came out the first sunny afternoon, and the shot went off as always. With a well fitting nipple, there is no real way for rain to get in. The patched ball seals the bore ok, and the cap seals the nipple. Neither is waterproof, but rain is no detriment.

[OverMax]

Informational:
Leatherman LC900 lock cover. aka caplocks Leather Hoof.
For a flintlock. Frizzen Stall.__i.e. frizzen cover.__ cut/trimmed and stitched from a piece of thick leather.
Both work well in inclement weather and are easy to remove in a heated hurry.

[40-82 hiker]

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I make these out of 1/4" OD clear vinyl tubing. Use them too, cut to proper length, to shoot using small pistol primers with my .45 Hawken. Seems like the hammer cup keeps things contained. YMMV.

[Hellgate]

It rains alot here in Western Orygun during the fall & winter. When hunting in rainy weather I tear out the bottom of a sandwich bag and slide it down the barrel and over the capped nipple. The bag is secured by a couple of rubber bands and can be easily removed if a game warden shows up (we are required to have "open ignition" in Orygun).

[cas]

Loaded and uncapped, I'll use a automotive vacuum line cap.



For years I would always unload my gun every night while hunting. Sometime I'd even unload and reload mid day.
After reading so much about it from enough people, they convinced me I didn't need to. So I left the gun loaded for three days. At the end up the trip I unloaded the gun... or attempted to. My charge had become what looked more like chocolate pudding than powder.
I went back to unloading after that.

[centershot]

Loaded and uncapped, I'll use a automotive vacuum line cap.



For years I would always unload my gun every night while hunting. Sometime I'd even unload and reload mid day.
After reading so much about it from enough people, they convinced me I didn't need to. So I left the gun loaded for three days. At the end up the trip I unloaded the gun... or attempted to. My charge had become what looked more like chocolate pudding than powder.
I went back to unloading after that.

I'm surprised by that! Are you using REAL black powder or a sub?

I use no special protection on my caplocks, just a strip of electrical tape over the muzzle in case I fall and stuff the gun into the snow/dirt. The tape has saved me a couple of times over the years. I also never unload once I've loaded the gun. I leave it in the Forester overnight until season is done. If I never shoot a deer all season (5 weeks) I'll unload on the last night on my way back to the car. It always goes bang!

[megasupermagnum]

Wow 3 days and no good? Are you using Pyrodex or 777? I've used both BH209 and Goex blackpowder with zero failures. I could leave it 3 MONTHS and the shot will not only go bang, it will hit exactly where intended.

[pietro]

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While I usually get at least one deer every year (we're allowed multiple deer tags here), every once in a while I finish the season with a loaded rifle.

I've actually left my Seneca loaded from the end of a deer season until the beginning of the next year's season, w/o even a hang fire - It's stored, however, in my de-humidified (Golden Rod) gun safe with a piece of leather between the un-capped nipple and lowered hammer, + a violin peg in the muzzle.

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[quilbilly]

I love those little plastic cap keepers out here in the rain forest jungles of the Olympic Peninsula. I have kept the same charge in my Grey Hawk for up to two weeks even in the monsoons and had the rifle go bang accurately without a hitch. Those plastic keepers not only keep all but the worst moisture (6" of rain per day) out but they focus the flash down the nipple. I use Goes 3F for my hunting and the one time I used Pyrodex, it cost me an elk even though I had the cap keeper. Pyrodex has been fine for me and friends hunting in the desert but has been useless for me in our extreme wet climate.

[cas]

At the time I was still using the hateful Pyrodex I believe. Rifle was a 1863 Springfield repro. Lots of snow, but I was very muzzle conscious. Left it out on the enclosed, but unheated porch at night with the nipple covered.

[trapper9260]

I use a cut part of a inner tube of a tire and with the cap off close the hammer on it to the nipple and it seal it up till I use it with the cap back on and I also leave the muzzle loader outside in a sock in a place not heated , If you think you will have problems with it going off like you want I take the nipple off and put some powder in the hole and put the nipple back and it will go off all the time with out any problems for me . I had problems like the OP had in the past then I done all I stated and took care of the the problem. Work for me

[onelight]

Before loading of corse . I drip wax on the nipple careful to not get any in the hole , then load and cap . I would stick a cork in the muzzle and leave it . In camp an empty case over the nipple with the hammer let down on it.
Hunted with it for a week with rain every day one year ( no deer ) and it always fired fine when getting ready to head home.

[Edward]

And I use a piece of tape and wrap muzzle tite and use a Mag Spark with a CCI 209 primer . Do that and join the always goes bang gang ! /Ed