Shot the California Rifle Again and a Discussion of Cappers

Yesterday a few friends and I had an ATF day* and I put another 20 rounds downrange with the California rifle.

As with my first outing I used Mr. Flintlock lube on my patches, but this time I prepped them in advance instead of cutting them on the muzzle. The 20th ball seated just as easily as the first and there was no sign of any increase in fouling that would eventually require me to swab.

We shot from about 30 - 35 yards offhand at steel and a paper target. At first I tried a 50 grain charge of 3Fg but it shot a little low so I bumped it to 55 grains which got the point of impact to coincide with point of aim. I am planning to take the rifle on a woods walk this Sunday at Boyertown. I figure I'll use 55 to 60 grains but there's one station with long shots that I'll probably use 75 to 80.

As expected, the rifle performed flawlessly with very fast ignition. I made sure to swab the barrel with rubbing alcohol before shooting and to pop a cap to ensure the flash channel in the patent breech was clear of any oil.

Most of my muzzleloading rifle shooting in the past 20 years has been with flintlocks. However, I first learned to shoot muzzleloaders with percussion guns. I've been rereading Ned Roberts' The Muzzleloading Cap Lock Rifle and it rekindled my interest in them. That book is one of the first that my father bought when he got into muzzleloading around 1970 and I read it at a young age. It's to black powder shooters what Elmer Keith's Sixguns is to revolver shooters.

I'd wanted to try it with some Scheutzen brand musket caps that I got last week from Grafs, but the USPS didn't get my new nipple wrench for musket nipples here in time. So, I just used CCI No.11 caps. My primary reason for getting the musket caps and suitable nipples for this rifle and my Cabela's Hawken is to give me options. Number 11 caps have been scarce since the 2020 COVID-induced buying panic. Musket caps have remained more available and also have the advantage of being easier to handle, and in the case of RWS and Scheutzen, more powerful than smaller caps. (By most accounts current production CCI musket caps are no stronger than No.11s.)

Yes, I have the kit to make No.11 caps, but damn it's tedious. Note that the Prime All compound results in corrosive caps or reloaded .22 rimfire, so clean accordingly with a water-based cleaner that will dissolve the salts left behind.

Although I had to wait on trying musket caps, I was able to try out one of the leather cappers I got from October Country. They were only a few bucks each so I got two. They are made from two leather disks held together with a rivet. Each disk has 10 holes punched in it, allowing it to hold 20 caps total. You just press the cap down on the nipple and if it's a snug fit it will remain in place when you pull the capper off. If the caps are a little loose you can cut a slit in the leather from each cap hole to the edge, and pull the capper off sideways.

Aside from the leather capper I also had some of these 3D printed star cappers with me, although I didn't use any.

The printed cappers are available in several colors but I chose orange for when I inevitably drop one in the woods.

These are really nifty and should work well for both rifle and some revolvers. I tried it on my Uberti 1851 Navy Colt and Pietta Dance Brothers, and there's plenty of space to pull the capper off sideways. However, my Pietta 1858 Remington Navy would need to be modified for this to work as there isn't enough room for the larger area on the end of each arm to fit when pulled off sideways. It should work fine on my Rogers and Spencer, which has large dished-out areas around each nipple.

The reason I got the leather and star cappers is because the last time I shot the California rifle I used a Ted Cash capper that gave me fits with caps flipping over. These don't hold as much but are much simpler.

That said, this morning I ordered a PCP PRO from Polish Cappers. The reviews I've seen of the Polish cappers have been very good and the price for their 3D printed version is low (about $16 plus postage). I'll post a follow up after receiving it.

* The alchohol and cigars were consumed after all the guns were put away.