Nipple or Cap's?M

[vthompson]

My neighbor dropped by today and he brought along a black powder pistol with him also. He said that he was having trouble with it firing and he wanted my opinion on it. Here is the problem:
You get the powder in the barrel and then you run your patch and ball down and get it seated. Then you put a cap on the nipple and then pull the hammer back to fire. When you pull the trigger, the pistol might fire or it might not. Seems that on the first trigger squeeze the hammer is seating the cap on the nipple a little better and then it will always fire on the second trigger pull or, it may fire on the very first trigger pull.
In your opinion from reading this, should I concentrate on the nipple or the caps? Thank you for your time.

[Captchee]

probably the nipple .  could be a week main spring to though
 take a look at the nipple and see if its started to flair . mushroom .
 if thats the case , it will eather need touched up around the outside or  replaced . dropping a hammer on a nipple without a cap , is not a good thing to do . it only takes a few times and the nipple will start to mushroom
 try pushing down on the cap  good and solid with your thumb , before you drop the hammer the first time.

[rollingb]

It doesn't take much of a hammer strike to set off a cap "if" the cap is seated fully down on the nipple.

[Three Hawks]

I get handed several caplock guns with this problem each year.  A few of 'em I've repaired on the spot.  Unscrew the nipple and see if it's clear.  If it is, chuck the threaded end lightly in a battery drill motor.  With a nail file, ignition file, or the file on your Leatherman tool, dress the flared portion of the nipple, being sure to bevel (chamfer) the egde a little.  Put the nipple back in the gun.  

Go shooting, shove the cap fully onto the nipple for each shot.

Three Hawks

[vthompson]

I get handed several caplock guns with this problem each year.  A few of 'em I've repaired on the spot.  Unscrew the nipple and see if it's clear.  If it is, chuck the threaded end lightly in a battery drill motor.  With a nail file, ignition file, or the file on your Leatherman tool, dress the flared portion of the nipple, being sure to bevel (chamfer) the egde a little.  Put the nipple back in the gun.  

Go shooting, shove the cap fully onto the nipple for each shot.

Three Hawks

My neighbor brought his pistol back today and I followed your instructions and dressed the nipple like you said. After I put the nipple back in the pistol I fired it 10 times with his caps and it worked great. It didn't miss one time. I believe that we fixed the problem. Thank's for the tip.