Rust in your nipples?

Do you guys ever find rust inside your niples? Is it ok to put oil inside the nipple and then flush it out later with denatured alcohol?

The only rust that I have ever seen on a nipple was on an antique. That rifle was bought to be a wall hanger and was very rusty when purchased.
Modern nipples, no, I have not seen any of the new ones rust.

All the modern nipples I know about are made from stainless steel, or other non-rusting metals. Are you sure that's rust in there?

And it's perfectly fine to put oil in the nipple, as long as it's all out of there when you shoot. Alcohol will clean it out, or you could just remove the nipple and clean it with soap and water, then make sure it's completely dry before re-installing it. Getting the oil out of the flash channel is the real problem, and alcohol does a good job of cleaning out of there. Bill

Marc Adamchek said:

Do you guys ever find rust inside your nipples?

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Nope.

Is it ok to put oil inside the nipple and then flush it out later with denatured alcohol?

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Yup.

I always leave the nipples out and the hammer down all the way during storage.
Nipples are kept, after cleaning, in an old cap tin in the shootin box. :wink:

Working on a rifle as I write this..Nipple blew out from being rusted around the threads.The nipple is stainless,the drum isnt,installing a new drum and nipple,just need to get an oversize drum,threads gone on it and the barrel some, as well..
Master Gunsmith said it was caused by the water/cleaning solution left behind in the threads mixing with some of the crud/sulfer/salt and eating the threads.
He built modern and ML and said the weakest spot was the threads in the breech/drum/nipple area,more often than not,the liquids get in there and cause problems,cant get it dry completely..

A tiny bit of a light oil wouldn't hurt. I always bust a few caps before I start firing anyway.

Many Thanks to ALL you gentlemen who replied. As an aside, yep, this is an old "antiquey type"
nipple. Nice to know I'm not the only one who drops a little oil down the nipple(s) for storage and that it's no big deal flushing it out.

Spirit de bois, thank you for that informative posting, it makes sense and I definitely learned something useful.

Great bunch of guys here!

Well, if it's an original, you probably can't (or shouldn't) remove the nipple anyway. I have an old shotgun from around 1850, and that nipple is fused into the barrel forever more.

The best thing to do is to make sure there is oil in the nipple, then, like you mentioned, use alcohol to make sure it's cleaned it out. Chances are, if it's an original nipple, the orifice has opened up a bit over the years, which helps to keep misfires to a minimum. If the hole gets big enough, the blowback from firing can get so bad that it will re-cock the hammer. My old shotgun will do that with heavy loads.

Happy shooting. Bill

Sperit de bois said:

Working on a rifle as I write this..Nipple blew out from being rusted around the threads.The nipple is stainless,the drum isnt,installing a new drum and nipple,just need to get an oversize drum,threads gone on it and the barrel some, as well..
Master Gunsmith said it was caused by the water/cleaning solution left behind in the threads mixing with some of the crud/sulfer/salt and eating the threads.
He built modern and ML and said the weakest spot was the threads in the breech/drum/nipple area,more often than not,the liquids get in there and cause problems,cant get it dry completely..

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A nipple blowing out because of rust in the threads would be a rare mishap, indeed. Unless the gun is very old. Was this an antique original?
What kind of gun is this you are speaking of?
Normally, it is not necessary to remove nipples for rountine cleaning. I am suspecting you did not have a proper fitting nipple. e.g. wrong thread match.

The rifle is a Euroarms KentuckIAN in 45 cal.( MADE IN ITALY)I converted it from flint,lost the lock in a move, and matched the drum to an Uncle Mike Hot shot nipple,, from DGW.
All went good for about 15 years then one day I fired the rifle,it didnt sound just right .I looked it over and the nipple was nowhere to be found.Further inspection revealed the threads in the drum were all but gone.
Now I am in the process of getting a new drum,must be over size?? and retapping the barrel and starting to reconstruct the rifle.

I remove mine after each shooting session and soak it in T/C #13 Bore Cleaner while I clean the rifle. Then I scrub off the powder residue, clean out any residue inside the nipple and blow it dry with compressed air. Lube the threads with CVA Slick Breech Plug grease and replace the nipple.

You are more likely, though, to find corrosion inside the drum if it isn't religiously cleaned; that will work into the threads and eventually freeze the nipple. One of the first tests before buying a used percussion gun is to try to remove the nipple; if it won't come out and you really want the gun, start negotiating the price down...

I think you were very lucky for fifteen years with an undersized nipple. Glad the nipple is lost and not found in your eye.
Good luck with the fix.

there are oversized nipples ie threads. check first to see if one will work. saves from putting in a new drum

The double shotgun is a very high quality Alexander Henry, packed in its original case with most of the original "goodies".

Indeed, as snowdragon mentioned the nipples seemed to be virtually fused to the barrel. I'm guessing I could have gotten them off with some Kroil and elbow grease BUT.....I didn't want to chance slipping up in the process and scarring the beautiful damascus barrels. So I sent it back to the dealer I bought it from and put the responsibility in his court. His gunsmith, A genuine bigshot who is nationally known, got them off and replaced them.

The gun is outstanding in every way. Great bores, Stupendous wood, etc.

Happy to say it's all set to go. I'll get some pattern time and hope to take it out during the upcoming bird season.

Marc Adamchek said:

Do you guys ever find rust inside your niples?

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I wouldn't doubt it. Every other part of my body seems to be falling apart.