BP Range Question (Percussion Pistol)

[DennisCA]

I saw a couple of video's where before they start actual shooting they shot off a percussion cap (or two) to clear out any oil.
Is that needed or not?

[Kappe]

No. Sounds like a waste of caps to me.

[DoubleDeuce 1]

I always pop a cap or two before I begin to shoot. I don't think it is a waste. I look at it as just a safeguard. I would rather know the nipple is clear before loading than to find some sort of obstruction causing a misfire. I do the same for my rifles and shotgun. It blows out any left over oil or liquid from cleaning and storage. It just makes sense to me.

[Old Stony]

Good practice to clear and dry the firing channel by popping a cap before loading.

[horseman308]

Lots of people do it. I don't on my C&B revolver, because I can easily remove the cylinder, see visually if the nipple, channel, and chamber are clear, and clean/dry them if needed. I think firing a couple of caps would be much more useful in a percussion muzzleloader (rifle, shotgun/musket, or pistol), though, since it's harder to see/clean them quickly.

[Hawg]

With my rifles I pop a cap and then fire a charge of loose powder.

[Noz]

ALWAYs pop a cap on each chamber before first loading at a match.
I frequently will pop the night before a match and charge the chambers so that that is done before the first stage and I can jaw a little more.

[44 Dave]

With caps getting hard to find and expensive I don't waste them.
Part of my final, in the shop cleaning is blast the cylinder with compressed air a then hold it up to the light and check for light through the nipples.

[g.willikers]

A nipple pick works as well, without having to use precious caps, especially with the scarcity of components these days.

[maillemaker]

If you choose not to do it, you had better prepare for the eventuality of a misfire and have some other means to get the bullet out.

We snap caps during competition every time - at least two and sometimes three caps depending on how long the gun has been sitting. Because in competition if you have a misfire you have just taken yourself out of your team and they are now shooting at a severe handicap missing a person.

The issue is oil collecting in the cone. This is why some people recommend storing BP firearms barrel-down so that the oil drains out of the cone and (in long arms) bolster. If you store them butt-down as is common for long arms, the bolster and cone can fill with oil.

I have had oil-fouling cause misfires at least 3 times, all in long arms. When it happens I have a portable, hand-held CO2 discharger that I use to blow the ball and fouled powder out of the barrel. Then I snap a cap or two and it's good to go.

If you don't have one of those, you will get to play with a ball puller or try pumping grease in through the bolster or other tricks to try and get it out.

Sometimes when you get a misfire you can try putting more caps on and shoot it out again. Just make sure after every attempt you wait a couple of minutes and then use your ramrod to re-seat the bullet. Otherwise the force of the cap will work the ball down the barrel, which would be bad if it goes off.

I've had misfires in revolvers but I've never had one not go off by just putting a new cap on it. I believe revolvers are less susceptible to misfires because the cone terminates directly into the powder - there is no bolster to separate the the cone from the powder.

Anyway I always "snap caps" any time I shoot after cleaning the barrel.

Steve

[enyaw]

Do it the right way.

Use dry patches and wipe the oil/grease from the bore.
Take out the nipple and pipe cleaner the flash channel in the barrel. Use a Q-tip in the recess under the nipple.
Use the pipe cleaner on the nipple flash channel. Use a needle to poke thru the small hole in the nipple or use the end of a round tooth pick for that. Put the nipple skyward and look thru it.

After the clean dry patch wipe then use alcohol on a patch to clean any oil residue left(always is some left) in the bore. Oil is not good for a barrel using black powder.

Use a patch with a small amount of lube on it (rub it into the patch) to lube the bore. Especially go up and down a little extra where the powder will be where it meets the ball. Then to be sure no lube from the patch gets in the flash channel .....use a clean pipe cleaner to wipe/poke thru the flash channel again.

Before the first shot....load without the cap on....then use a patch with plenty of lube on it to lube the bore a little more than the patch on the ball that has lube on it did.

That way the fouling won't build as bad in the bore. The barrel will be sorta seasoned and ready for the attack of the powder fouling sticking to the bore.

[BerdanSS]

I always snap a cap on my rifles before target shooting.(since that is not practical for hunting of course, a very detailed prep is done for that) Dad taught my brother and I (about age 8 and 10) to shoot muzzleloaders. He always had us fire a "sqib" charge of about 20-30grns to (oddly enough as I heard several people call it) "foul" the bore. The real reason being to make sure the rifle would fire before loading a ball.

These days I just stuff a patch in the muzzle and fire a cap. If it blows the patch out, your good to go. I'm not really worried about using caps, as I have enough musket caps that I could of supplied the armys of Northern Virginia for half the war.

[Pahoo]

No. Sounds like a waste of caps to me.

Not at all and once you understand why it's done, you see that it makes sense. ...

If you choose not to do it, you had better prepare for the eventuality of a misfire and have some other means to get the bullet out.

maillemaker, has posted some very good reasons why it's a good practice. It really clears the "MUD" out of the cone and nipple area. That is the whole objecting of doing this. I don't care how you clean or with what, you will always get a degree of "MUD". ...
Just off the top of my head, I can thing of three ways to pop-a-cap. ..

Now then, after saying all that, Popping-A-Cap ... "Gangsta" talk, introduces a small degree of it's own dirt and Yes, you can say that it's a waste. I teach popping a cap during our classes but, on my range-time, I use my CO2 discharger. Just give it a little puff. However, not many folks have access to these. ....

With my rifles I pop a cap and then fire a charge of loose powder.

Hawg, Ya might want to explain why you do this? .....

POP and;
Be Safe !!!

[Kappe]

Not at all and once you understand why it's done, you see that it makes sense. ...

I've had a cap go off on my C&B revolver but not the main charge once. I waited 15 or 20 seconds, scratched my head, poked through to the charge with a nipple pick, and put a fresh cap on. It fired and I went on with the rest of my day.

I didn't check if the ball moved forward at all. If I ever have a misfire again, I'll be sure to give it a nudge with the rammer.

Since then I make extra sure the nipples are dry after my cleaning routine, and use the nipple pick on each of the nipples before I pack up to go to the range.

[Fingers McGee]

Originally Posted by Maillemakerl

If you choose not to do it, you had better prepare for the eventuality of a misfire

I always pop a cap on my C&B revolvers before loading to make sure the Balistol residue is cleared out of the nipple. I failed to do it at a match once and had three misfires on the first stage.

12 caps is cheap insurance.

[Hawg]

Hawg, Ya might want to explain why you do this? .....

I pop a cap to make sure the nipple is clear. I pour a loose charge of powder down the bore but don't pack it. I do that to make sure there's no oil left in the bore. Its no fun removing a contaminated load here at the house. It would be even less fun after losing a deer due to contaminated powder. I have never lost a deer because of a misfire.

[DD4lifeusmc]

Seems everybody has their own opinion and that's good.
But if you PROPERLY clean and lube and store your weapon there is no need
to pop a cap first.
Everybody has their preferred method of cleaning, soap (various types) with hot water, or just hot water, Hoppes9 or similar and specialty BP cleaners
Personally I use plain rubbing alcohol. Warning don't let soak over night as the alcohol will attract moisture and cause rust. But soak as you clean and wipe dry. In summer I put in direct sunlight behing glass, the heat dries thoroughly.
Winter I place on my wood stove. No real need just habit.
I rarely remove my nipples (ones on the gun) to clean. No real need to do so.

I see many people are addicted to ballistol and such.
I swab the barrel with plain old sewing machine oil as it does not gum up like regular oil and 3 in 1. (The oil is more of a purist nature as it or dimilar was available in the early to mid 1800's. Ballistol and synthetics weren't.)

But I do NOT ever lube the chambers or the nipples.

Thus no residue left behind. However. I do reload immediatley after cleaning and drying. I use paper cartridge and lubed conicals unless going plinking then I use RB and conicals. I keep RB's on hand for a quick reload as they load quicker than conicals.
In 35+ years I have not had any rust in any of the chambers or the nipples or any where.
And except for the occasional dud cap have never had the gun not go boom.
I live in a relatively dry climate (low humidity in Wyoming mountain area just above the plains), so that might be helping out.
But rather than bust a cap.
Swab out the chambers and the nipples with rubbing alcohol or buy some brake / carb cleaner and spray down if you must.
But if you don't put the residue there in the first place.......

[noelf2]

For me it depends on the gun/rifle. I don't pop caps on my revolvers, and never had a problem (yet). On my rifles (sidelock and inline), I put the jag on my ramrod and a dry patch, pull the hammer back (or open the breech) and push the patch all the way down the bore as fast and hard as I can. That piston action blows any oil/mud out of the nipples, primer pockets, flash holes. Never had a problem when doing that (I have had problems when not doing that). Inlines are easy because I can make sure I see light though the breech plug, so I know it's clear. With my double 10 gauge, I pop musket caps first.

[Hawg]

I don't do it on revolvers, just rifles and shotguns.

[Pahoo]

OP asked;

Is that needed or not?

The answer is, Absolutely not.
Is it recommend? ...... Absolutely yes !!!
If I don't have a means of making sure that my vent is open, can I get into trouble. ...... Absolutely yes. !!!
Is there a safety issue? ..... Not yet !! ....

Now, it's your call !!!
Be Safe !!!

[North East Redneck]

I always fire a cap/primer in all my BP guns. Learned the hard way. My cleaning practices are better now, but still like the fact that the nipple/breach plug is clear.
Caps are cheaper than my time messing with fouled loads that won't fire.
Hunting rifles or shotguns get a cap snapped on in the back yard after cleaning.

Berdan- been able to find some four wing caps lately, so the old Bobcat is happy and shooting well.

[Hellgate]

I'm too cheap to waste precious caps at 4-7 cents a pop. The night before a match I take canned air and blow them out and/or run an interdental brush through the nipples. I get them free from my dentist after each cleaning for cleaning between my teeth. They are little tiny brushes that fit into the nipples and brush them out beautifully. My teeth might be a mess but my nipples shine!

[Hawg]

My teeth might be a mess but my nipples shine!

TMI, TMI way too much TMI.

[maillemaker]

I've had a cap go off on my C&B revolver but not the main charge once. I waited 15 or 20 seconds, scratched my head, poked through to the charge with a nipple pick, and put a fresh cap on. It fired and I went on with the rest of my day.

I didn't check if the ball moved forward at all. If I ever have a misfire again, I'll be sure to give it a nudge with the rammer.

You'll probably find that a cap won't budge the pressed-in bullet in a revolver, but in a musket with a free-fitting bullet, it will push it up the barrel a bit.

Steve

[enyaw]

One thing I can say is.......everyone that takes the time or is aware enough to know their guns shooting blackpowder and clear them of any fouling or oil are dyed in the wool shooters extrourdinaire. True blackpowder afficionados.
They won't be telling any whoes about the BIG BUCK that stood there watching as the hunter looks at his gun wondering why it didn't fire and make meat.

No matter what the method if it results in a gun ready to fire then it's good.

When I pratice with my "Hawken" rifle I need to clean between every two shots. The five hundred grain lead bullet(Lymans mould Govt. bullet) is long and fits perfect in the barrel. It's put thru a swag that imparts the rifling to the bullet so it's possible to load it at the muzzle. The fast twist(1-20) of the 45/70 barrel(nice 4140 ordanance grade steel) makes it even harder to load if the barrel is fouled much at all.

If I don't run a damp patch then a dry one every two shots the bullet can stick part way down the bore. Trying to ram it home obsturates the lead and makes it even tighter. Then it takes a steel rod centered in the bore to drive the bullet down on the powder. Just something I'd rather avoid. That's why I like to damp patch the bore every two shots at least.

The wiping action can push fouling down over the hole of the flash channel in the powder chamber of the breech plug. It's then that I need to clean the nipples hole and flash channel by firing a cap or two or three. That's to avoid the misfire when the flash hits the damp fouling blocking the flash channel in the breech plug.

That said I can sadly say...the debris from the caps sometimes blocks the nipples flash channel. I blow thru the muzzle to try to clear it. If that doesn't work then off comes the nipple and the pipe cleaners come out to clean the channels. Then a little powder put under the nipple before screwing it back in to help with the load firing well next try.

Before I hunt with the gun it's cleaned as well as I can metticulously do it. No oil, no rust, no anything but dry steel anywhere where the load chain goes.
That means no caps snapped to clear the channels.
I'd be afraid of the cap debris causing a misfire when I have a nice buck in the sights. If I did snap a cap then off comes the nipple and out come the pipe cleaners again to brush out the channels.

The only thing in the clean dry steel barrel when I step into the fields or woods is the load chain with the bore above it lightly lubed for rust prevention. Even with a sealed bore and nipple area(sealed as I always do since it'll always rain or spit wet snow during the deer season) there can develope slight rust in a really clean bore from the air in the barrel.

I can't tolerate anything that might cause a misfire and......snapping caps to clear can leave debris in the nipple. It's that little round flat burnt disc left from the caps ignition chemical that blocks the nipple. I see it whenever I do snap a cap. I usually have a needle in my little doeskin bag of little tools to pick that danged little piece of burnt disc stuff out of the beginning of the nipples cone.

So......I figure it may be my gun and the way it's hammer hits the nipples cone flat and perpendicular to the nipple or.....any caps I ever tried can leave some "stuff" in the nipples cone area.

I've seen it so many times in so many different blackpowder guns nipples from snapping caps I can't be fooled to think snapping caps is a good way to clear the flash channels in the guns. If anyone does they at least have to check to "see" if that little burnt disc of debris is there blocking the flash channel. If it is.....blow thru the muzzle or pick it out with a needle.

Snapping caps can block the flash channel. Pure and simple.

Be like me and be an ,"almost wise old man", and check to see if the snapped caps leave the debris.