misfires

Grizzlypeg

Grizzlypeg

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I've suddenly run into a rash of misfires on my 50 Hawken rifle.

I am using 777 powder and #11 primers. I have fired many balls (approx 30) in pre-lubed patches from the gun and never had a misfire. I recently switched to conicals lubricated with TC grease and have had a high number of non-fires.

Could it be the grease? Could it be the lead shavings from the rifling cutting into the bullets when first seated into the bore? Or a lack of proper maintenance of the barrel? It was so clean that I didn't do the usual washing with hot water and soap, I just bronze brushed and patched it till clean. I fired a cap through it at the range to make sure it was clear. I'm really concerned about this recent lack of reliable ignition.
 
yea, it could be- or your caps are getting old- hard to say- in one manual i have it says to fill the entire bottom of the cavity of the slug with grease- for the life of me, i can't see how this works- as well as just the ridges- well i tried it and got nothing but misfires( it's a 58 zouave, but it's basically the same thing) now i use nothing but wheel bearing lube on the ridges ONLY- wiped in with my fingers- i get really dirty when firing m/l
 
The bore is way more dirty with the conical and lube. When I run a patch down it, it come out all encrusted with grease and flakes. I'm only putting a fine film of the grease on the serrated surface of the conicals. I'm going to clean the barrel up good, give it one more week, and if I have any more misfires, I'm switching back to ball and patch. They were cleaner and more reliable.
 
First question is what make of gun are you shooting? The spanish guns for example have the nipple mounted on a drum and that drum is threaded almost completely through the barrel which means there is a small hole in the side of the threaded portion to get the flash to the barrel. Because of the long flash channel and the small exit hole, they are very prone to fouling and misfires.
In a general sense I would strongly recommend removing the nipple and pouring hot water through the barrel in addition to scrubbing with the bronze brush. The purpose is to reduce residual fouling in the flash channel. In re reading your post, I get the impression that you have pushed a bunch of fouling to the bottom, during your previous cleaning and that is where the problem lays.
I have never had problems with weak caps; if the cap fired and the channel was clear etc, the gun fired. If the cap was damp it did not fire and the gun did not fire

cheers mooncoon
 
Its a CVA Hawken, made in Spain, so it fits what you describe. I probably did push fowling to the bottom of the barrel. I thought it was clear because I fired a primer through it.

Is there any possibility the change in projectile played a role, or am I barking up the wrong tree?
 
Grizzlypeg
The bullet vs ball has nothing to do with your misfires,mooncoon is dead on, by not washing it out you have pushed crud into the ignition channel. 777 or not you have to clean the gun after a range session for that reason. If I even run a brush through my T/C hawken while at the range with out putting a cap through the gun, it will always misfire. Easy fix any way!
 
If I were you I'd switch to blackpowder - regardless as to whether you have crud blocking the ignition (this time) . Black powder ignites much easier (much lower temp) than substitutes. As the temperatures drop, it is more likely 777 and Pyrodex will have misfires whether or not the ignition path is clear.
 
The spanish guns with a drum are particularly prone to fouling problems. The final hole as I recall, into the barrel is only a little over 1/8" diameter. For those guns especially give them a good flushing with hot water, with the nipple and any clean out screw removed. Also would suggest using 3F powder and a water based lube, except for hunting, because they give less fouling.
I don't know how many of you have removed a nipple in the middle of shooting session (I have never dry balled but may have met someone who has :>) :>) ] but you will find a hard crust of fouling just under the base of the nipple. You might reasonably assume there is a similar crust along the entire flash channel.

cheers mooncoon
 
Your bolster drum needs to be flushed out. Take the nipple off, and remove the screw in the side of the drum (if it exists on you rmodel, and hasn't welded itself in there).

YOU ARE NOT REMOVING THE WHOLE BOLSTER DRUM - JUST THE BOLSTER SCREW THAT CAPS THE END OF THE DRUM

Once that is out, you can easily manuvere a pipecleaner through the bolter drum, and into the firing chamber of your rifle. Lots of crude likes to build up in there.


Apply a little thread grease (sparingly) to both the nipple and the bolster screw and reinstall.

Hakx
 
primers

to answer your problem.
more than likely its your primers they do not burn hot enough
to fire the powder you are using.
if you check thompson centers web site (tca.com)
you will fine a nipple called a hot shot that takes
musket primers and they burn 750 degrees hotter than
an number 11 cap.
the powder you are using needs a hotter spark.
hope this helps.

i shoot a 54cal hawken thompson and i had the same problem.
 
If yours has a recessed chamber make sure nothing has got stuck in there old cleaning patch bits etc. use a ball puller screw and see if any thing comes out my 50 cals chamber is only about 30 cal and about .75 inch long
 
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