THF Muzzleloaders,

I bought my first muzzle loader, a Pietta Remington 1858 Army, but my first shooting experience didn't go well. I have 777 brand FFFg powder, .454 lead balls, and RWS Model 1075 #11 caps, and 44 cal Wonder Wads.

I decided to start light with 20 grains of powder which I'm measuring with this thing: https://muzzle-loaders.com/collecti...ducts/traditions-revolver-powder-measure

There is lots of advice out there (some conflicting) about what size caps to use and all I could find to purchase was the RWS #11 caps,which seem to fit well on the nipples. I can seat them with my fingers, they don't need extra crimping and stay on the nipple.

So I tilt the barrel up, load one cylinder with powder, push a wonderwad down over the powder, and ram a ball as far as the rammer will push it. I can't really tell if the ball is seated against the wad - does it matter ? I put a cap on it and try to shoot. The cap goes off with a little pfffft, but the powder doesn't ignite, so there is now a ball and powder still in the cylinder. I tried this again with another chamber in the same cylinder. Again same result, the primer goes off but the pistol doesn't fire.

I have a second cylinder, so I try the same process with one chamber, and get the same result. Now I've got stuck balls and powder in two cylinders and three chambers.

The pistol shoots modern smokeless powder ammo just fine with the Howell Arms 45LC cylinder.

Later at home I need to remove the balls and powder from the two black powder cylinders, and after some research figure out the best way is to unscrew the nipple, dump the powder out through the hole, and then punch out the ball with a small screwdriver and mallet through the nipple hole. I was able to do that on one chamber, but on the other chambers I could not get the nipple to unscrew using needle nose pliers. More research ...... I find out that from the factory Pietta pistol cylinder nipples are on very tight and I need to purchase a nipple wrench, so I bought one from Track of the Wolf. I was able to remove only 4 of the 12 nipples on my two cylinders with needle nose pliers. The others are soaking in a thread penetrant right now.

Why would the cap go off and not ignite the powder ? The powder was brand new and I just opened the bottle for the first time before I measured an poured it in the cylinder's chamber. Should I be using a different kind of cap ? I tried to do some internet research but couldn't find any applicable advice.

Appreciate any help from you experts !

Yak24

When you pull the trigger and set the cap off, you say it "goes off with a little pfffft".
The cap should make a fairly loud pop, like a .22 short or subsonic from a rifle.
RWS caps are known to be very good quality, have they been wet or gotten damp? How have they been stored and how old are they?
Black powder substitutes like Triple 7 and Pyrodex are harder to ignite than real black powder.
All I can suggest is try some other caps and/or try some real black powder.
And yes, it does matter if the ball is seated firmly on the powder.

Thanks Kelvinator. It was a pop like a 22 short and not a pffft and the cap went off for sure. It was a pfffft compared to the boom I was expecting. The RWS caps were brand new. They had just arrived the day before and it was the first time I had opened their little plastic cans. I'm pretty sure they hadn't been exposed to moisture. I'll try some different powder and caps, if I can find them.

I didn't realize the Triple 777 isn't "real" black powder ? Like I said, I'm new to this and learning as fast as I can.

Still looking for anybody else who had experience or advice with this !

Yak, my only guess would be that the nipples are blocked with grease. Try cleaning them and see what happens. I find a spray can of carburetor cleaner real handy for clearing fouled nipples.

Thanks BayouGuy. These cylinders were new and what I described were the first time they were fired since being pulled out of the box. While I didn't inspect them closely, maybe there is some blockage there. I'll take a closer look and make sure they stay clean.

I would always pop a cap or two on my nipple to make sure it was dried out. I have not shot a pistol though only rifles. I was told many years ago to make sure the flash hole is dried out and ready. The good part to this is the round balls did not leave the cylinders. Good luck.