Musket caps vs #11 caps

I've been using musket caps because that is the nipple that it came with, but curious if #11 caps would be better? Shooting a TC Hawkins 50

I prefer #11 Caps, but that doesn't mean they are better than Musket Caps, in fact many claim that Musket Caps are better than #11s, I have used LOTS of Both, The ONLY advantage that i can give Musket Caps is their Ease of Handling due to them being larger, as for the Musket caps being Hotter? I call BULLSHIT on that, I have shot a LOT of RWS 1081 German Musket Caps and they are NO hotter than my #11 Magnum Caps, in fact i feel my Magnum 11 Caps are Hotter.

Another thing with Musket Caps in a Sidelock is Hammer/Nipple alignment, LOTS of these old Sidelock guns are off Quite a bit, which is no problem with the Smaller #11 Caps, But With the much larger Musket caps the Alignment needs to be right on in order for the Hammer Face “Rim” to clear and Hit the Cap Squarely.

If you choose to stay with Musket Caps i advise you to use RWS 1081s, They are the Good ones, I would AVOID the Re-enactor Type Musket Caps, they are weak

I'll have to try and find those,CCI musket caps are all I can find locally.

AKhawkin50 wrote:I'll have to try and find those,CCI musket caps are all I can find locally.

If they are working fine for you, I wouldn’t worry about changing. I will say that the RWS German Caps are FAR Better if you can find them, they are the HOTTEST Caps available, they are also Expensive

Before everything went crazy I bought a brick (1000) #11 caps. My dealer/friend said I was crazy! I guess I wasn't that crazy after all.

Bronko22000 wrote:Before everything went crazy I bought a brick (1000) #11 caps.  My dealer/friend said I was crazy!  I guess I  wasn't that crazy after all.

I bought some as well when everything went Crazy, about 30,000 of them. Most of what i bought was on a Closeout here at a local store, They had a LARGE Tote completely Full of them




I bought some Powder as well

WOOOOOWW

What a score on primer caps and powder!!! Has anyone tried the 209 conversion on a side lock? I've shot it a couple of time with 2 - 50gr IMR white hots and it seems to shot well. I haven't tried it since I got the barrel properly cleaned up,so should be even better! Thoughts?

Are you talking about the Vari-flame adapter? That seems like a PITA to me. I've never had any problems with standard #11 caps and I've been shooting them for 40+ years.

Mag Spark is what I have,and it's just to allows for pellet powder ignition for hunting! Makes a sealed dry load for wet hunting conditions. Just something I am trying,but you're right #11's get the job done!

I imagine it works pretty well but I just couldn't get used to always unscrewing the cap and installing a primer

True! But not needing to measure powder helps offset time,and it is easier to keep dry in the field. Lots of experimenting to do to see if it is worth it. We had more than twice the all time record snow this year here where I live in Alaska,so it's a little slow getting out to shoot!

That's where premeasured powder tubes come in handy. I personally never liked pellets. Yes they're handy but you can't fine tune your loads with them.

Not sure what I did to double up the pics. Yes you are right! Because I am stuck with either 60gr,80gr,or 100gr for my Hawkins. 130gr would be a overload! Dialing in a load is my plan this summer! I just got the Hawkins this winter.

Also my current load is 63gr by weight of pyrodex P shooting RD ball,but that's because it is the only powder I can find so far. I'm open to suggestions on what loads you like in your muzzleloader. Ect.

Nothing wrong with Pyro P. I use it too. As for a load the thing about muzzleloaders is no two are alike as to what combo works best in them (more accurate). Ball diameter, patch thickness, lube, powder (both charge and grain size) and loading technique all influence accuracy.
A small change in any of these things can make a 2" group shrink down to a 1" group or have the group get bigger. Experiment.
With your Pyrodex P I'd start with 70 grains and move up in 10 gr increments up to 100 gr. Keep notes. Then try changing patch thickness and start over. Change only one thing at a time.
Here's a good loading method:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaLVFSppgJA

Thanks,good advice.

Akhawkin50 where did you get your case and powder tubes

Amazon,but the tubes were long and I cut them down.$10 for 50 tubes,and less than $5 for the case

Back to musket caps. That's all I can find around here. Haven't seen 11s for over a year. I've had no problems with the RWS 1081 caps. Bang every time. I like them.

Gunpa wrote:Back to musket caps. That's all I can find around here. Haven't seen 11s for over a year. I've had no problems with the RWS 1081 caps. Bang every time. I like them.

I had terrible hang fire issues with the cci reenactor caps. They are trash, Did not know that before I bought 500. Will use one tin for clearing the nipple and flash channel.
Recently picked up some RWS 1081 caps. Haven't been out to try them yet. I do have to fit my nipple on my Lyman gpr before i shoot it.