Hawken nipple/cap problem

[Cutty2704]

My hawken rifle the cap keeps falling off the gun if I move it in any direction except having the gun parallel with the ground. Any tips?

 

[hawkeye2]

We can probably help but it would be nice to know what brand of rifle you have and if it is the factory nipple. What brand of caps are you using and what size are they, #10, #11 or?

 

[Cutty2704]

Invesarms (Italy ) cci #11 caps. I've only had it a week. This all I know

 

[necchi]

Probably have the wrong nipple for the gun,,
Like hawkeye2 said we need a little more info

 

[Cutty2704]

I gave hawkeye2 all I know.It was the nipple that was on it. I got the rifle for $50. The previous owner couldn't hit anything with it. I shot it 5 xs at 50 yds all 5 shots hit center of the 3 inch circle. It is very accurate just the cap falls off.

 

[azmntman]

Use # 10 caps. Or squeeze the 11's a bit so the grip. You STOLE THAT GUN

 

[mooman76]

What azmntman said. You could also get a new nipple. They don't cost much and good to have extras. It doesn't hurt to have one for #10 caps either. Caps are hard to find sometimes and #10s can be used instead of 11s with the right nipple.

 

[necchi]

I gave hawkeye2 all I know.

It should say CVA, Traditions Arms, Thompson Center or Investarms or (?),,, somewhere on the barrel.

It was the nipple that was on it.

We all wish that the person we bought a gun from actually knew what he was doing,, sometimes that doesn't happen. If your using #11 caps and If it had the proper nipple on it, there wouldn't be a problem.
Do you have any more info on the rifle?

 

[hawkeye2]

"at 50 yds. all 5 shots hit center of the 3 inch circle"

You got a keeper there and at an incredibly low price. Sounds like you are doing your part right too. I recommend you replace the nipple with one from Track of The Wolf and buy a spare or two while you are ordering. You might want to check a little better but it looks like RLP-S should be the one you need: Nipple, 6-.75mm metric thread, for Lyman Great Plains Rifle & Pistol, Trade Rifle, InvestArms, Cabela's Hawken rifles, #11 CCI cap, stainless steel
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/807/2

 

[necchi]

Sorry about my previous post,, I didn't see you mention that it was an Investarms, :redface:

 

[Cowboy]

I agree with hawkeye2. You probably have an InvestArm Cabela's Hawken. That rifle was my first one and got me into shooting BP. He is right about the nipple size ( 6-.75 ) and the part no. ( RLP-S ) and is stainless steel. From " Track Of The Wolf " web site. Any InvestArm gun will use that nipple size. I have them on my InvestArm Cabela's Hawken, GPR, and Deerstalker. They will pretty much take any brand of no.11 cap that you put on it and will not fall off. I have shot cci, remington, caps on mine with never a misfire on either on those two brands I use on my percussion rifles. Also while your at it ordering the nipple, it is a good Idea to pickup spares for it because you can save on the shipping charges ordering 1 or 4. The shipping will be the same. They usually charge me 5.99 for my shipping in my area. Save on the shipping cost and order extra nipples. By the way, TOW is an excellent company to do business with! Have bought a ton of stuff from them. Put a couple of nipples in your possibles bag and a couple in your shootingbox for the range. Hope this helps! Respectfully, cowboys1062. :hatsoff:

 

[daniel collums]

i just put a new nipple on my traditions Kentucky rifle. the nipple was a replacement from traditions for #11 caps and it does the same thing, for now i just pinch the cap but i will trade it for a different one soon as possible. i had the same problem on my pedersoli hawken.

 

[Chevythunderman]

That's the rifle I use to shoot in our monthly shoots. It will punch bullet holes with the right combination of patch and powder. I use a #11 hot nipple on mine from track of the wolf. I shoot target load of 50 grains of goex fffg and hunting load of 60 grains of goex fffg with a .490 hornady round ball and a .015 pillow ticking patch. Stay away from the prelubed patches though cause they tend to not have as good results. I use hoppes black powder patch lubricant also. That was a steal on the price of that gun. I know people that would give you triple the price of that for that gun.

That gun is made by investarms who also make all of lymans black powder rifles. They are very well built rifles that shoot really well. Good luck and never give up on perfecting your groupings from this rifle. It WILL blow your mind at the accuracy of this rifle with a little time and patience.

 

[garra]

When I order small light supplies I usually pad the order by ordering extra lighter items like patches, extra nipples or jags. You can build it with extra items and the shipping will be the same.
I have one the same model rifles, good little shooter.

 

[Idaho Ron]

I have TC rifles and I always use Hot Shot nipples. I have a couple tins of CCImag caps that were slightly over sized. They were sloppy fitting on every one of my rifles. I found the problem with a took a new tin on a hunting trip. The only thing I could do was drop the hammer a few times no cap to flair the nipple a bit. I went through my caps and determined which ones were too large and used them for range work.

 

[Zonie]

If you want to buy a replacement nipple, it will need to be for a #11 cap and it will have a M6-.75 thread. That's a 6 mm diameter thread with the threads spaced at 0.75mm.

Check out nipple # RPL-S at Track of the Wolf in this link
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/807/2

Several people have suggested pinching the cap.

IMO, there is nothing wrong with doing this and the slight out of roundness it makes at the mouth of the cap will hold it snugly on the nipple.

Some fear the caps priming will detonate if they are pinched out of round but this is not the case.

Tests I have made show a percussion cap can be slowly crushed in a vise to a totally flat condition, crushing the priming along with the metal without the priming compound igniting.

I ran this test on a number of caps and none of them fired as they were being flattened.

Just to make sure the priming compound was good, after flattening them I placed each one on a flat steel surface and struck each of them with a hammer. Each one of them fired.

Basically, the priming powder needs a sharp blow to cause it to fire. Crushing them won't cause a problem. Especially when we are talking about just pinching the open end a bit.

 

[don hepler]

I'd try some # 10's.

I have several percussion rifles and pistols, and for consistent firing, the cap must fit the nipple perfectly. I keep a variety of caps on hand and I keep a log of the guns loading information, including cap size and brand. If necessary, I chuck the nipple in a cordless drill and use emory cloth to polish the nipple for a perfect fit.

Cap sizes can vary, a few thousandths from one manufacturer to another, even with the same # size.

Did I mention, I can't tolerate a "Fail to Fire".

 

[Rifleman1776]

Cap sizes can vary, a few thousandths from one manufacturer to another, even with the same # size.

That is a fact not often mentioned here. And, it is one of those things that make this already frustrating ml game even moreso. There are #10 caps and #11 caps. I even have some (old) caps that are #10.75. And, you will find some 'wrong' sizes that will work on yer nipples and some 'correct' sizes that won't. Finding what works for you and your rifle can involve buying several brands and sizes and just trying them. When you find what works best go out and buy all you can afford to stock up with. Not all your problems can be solved at the keyboard.