• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

#1 reason why I dislike flat faced nipples

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
spitfire.jpg
 
I have original nipples in my 200yr old Mortimer 10ga SXS and they are hollow cone construction. I've not seen any modern nipples made like them. Powder comes all the way up to the hole in the nipple.
 
I read this a while back with some skepticism. I don't understand how the fouling around the nipple would be reduced using a counter bored nipple. Another thought is, with the reduced material of the flame channel through the nipple, wouldnt they wear out faster than a flat faced nipple? I suppose to find out for sure I'll have to counter bore a nipple and do some testing for myself. Cleaning crud off a rifle doesn't bother me as much as not knowing what I read is really accurate.
 
You've brought up an interesting concept many don't think about,
Nipple wear.
How many shots "can" you get before a nipple is worn out?
There are a lot of different brands and styles out there, huh?
Before ya go any counter bore what ya have as an experiment,, ya might wanna look at a different brand, maybe the internals aren't the same from top to bottom(?)
Different cap brands throw different fouling with each shot too,, 🤔
 
Back pressure, hammer blow back, "gas cutting", cap fragmentation,,, 🤔, 🙄

Man, I clean mine just as hard as I clean the barrel! Every time, with a brass brush and pipe cleaners, alcohol rinse and drying,, a touch of anti-seize,,
I want consistency,, every shot.
 
Last edited:
I got lots of nipples. Looks to me like the only difference is the hollow base. So to do a test I'd use two identical new nipples, one with a hollow base and one flat based. Ten shots per nipple? Sounds like fun, and I need some practice. No, wait, I got a match coming up in June. Maybe I should do the test at the match. Now I'm torn. Powder shot an caps are mighty dear these days........... But I could use the practice......................................🤔
 
The hollow base spreads the flame and keeps that fouling build up down to zero. I may still have some videos I took years ago showing the performance difference.
 
I'm going to try some. I'm all about keeping the combustion in the gun, not out of the gun.
 
,, Ten shots per nipple? Sounds like fun, and I need some practice. No, wait, I got a match coming up in June. Maybe I should do the test at the match. Now I'm torn. Powder shot an caps are mighty dear these days........... But I could use the practice......................................🤔
Maybe(?), some matches ya win, some ya lose. I guess the goal is to find the best accuracy you need for the rifle.
Win or lose.
I guess I'm olde, and I haven't had to go through as severe a shortage as there is now,,
But a typical Saturday afternoon shooting event at most local `vous is about 50 shot's, Saturday night "candle shoot" and another event on Sunday would add another 50-70 shots.
Even with extreme care of nipple after multiple shootings, I could get 400, maybe 500 out of a single nipple before the groups would open-up because of no other factor than the worn nipple.
If I'm faced with a serious match or NMLRA score sheet, it's always a "new"/"proven" nipple. The nipple is removed/cleaned and the fire channel, brushed and cleared frequently.
There's nothing unusual about carbon build up when shooting these things, it's about being aware of it and taking proper care that differs between the winners and the losers.
o_O
 
Only rifle I have with a drum and nipple is Ted Fellows old long barrel target rifle. Most similar thing to what the OP posted. I know what's accurate in it. We always have time to mess around testing stuff at matches and I doubt a hollow based nipple will change that much.. Figured I'd use this rifle for a test. Or I might just drive over to the other side of the mountain and do some practicing. Might have to dig to find some balls. I'm usually just about out of everything. But if I dig deep enough and long enough I'll find something. Couple weeks ago I found 2K RWS caps I forgot I had.
ted fellows long rifle (3).JPG
 

Latest posts

Back
Top