Percussion caps won't percuss . . .

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Prof Young

New member
Smoke Pole Shooters:

So I've posted about building and shooting a CVA Hawken 50 cal muzzle loader. Took it to the range again today and the issue of the percussion cap needing multiple strikes to ignite persisted. Sometime I had to drop the hammer five times before the thing went bang. I've replaced the nipple that came with the gun with a stainless steel nipple. I'm using #11 caps, which I'm relatively sure is the right size for the nipple. I've tried cleaning off the nipple, cleaning the hole through the nipple, pushing the cap on really firmly and the problem remains.

Is there a way to make the hammer drop harder?

What else should I try.

Life is good.
Prof Young
 
With the rifle UNLOADED, screw the nipple out 1/4 turn at a time and try igniting a cap, if it goes bang, you might have to modify the hammer-drop a little.
 
A common problem with the CVA is the cup of the hammer nose doesn’t hit center on the nipple. If the side of the cup rubs on the cap as the hammer falls the energy is transferred to the skirt of the cap rather than popping the cap. In that case the hammer must be re-alined with the cap.
 
If the hammer squarely bottoms out on the nipple (take the nipple out and see if the hammer will drop a little lower than it does with the nipple installed) I would recommend a smaller/narrower nipple or taking the nipple out and chucking it in a drill or lathe and sanding/filing it down to a narrower size so the cap seats fully and snugly onto the nipple.
 
Do the caps fit really tightly, or do they slide on pretty easily? Sometimes if they fit tight it takes a couple hits to fully press them on the nipple. CVA's sometimes have pretty weak mainsprings so that is a possibility as well.
 
what about this?

Sure could be the hammer/nipple/springs issues, but what about this........could the caps be bad? Poorly stored, contaminated some how, etc.

Before I started wonking on the pistol, I'd try some different caps, or try the existing caps in a different gun.
 
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