My velocity and accuracy testing of various loads indicated to me that No. 11 caps with tiny holes in the nipples for the primer flash gave much more uniform velocities and better accuracy than I was able to achieve with other types of nipples and adaptors that had larger vent holes and whichused more powerful primers, such as small rifle primers or 209's. However, the Mag-Spark nipples that permit the use of 209 primers with a sidelock rifle have produced outstanding accuracy and ignition performance on the target range.

I have used two brands of 209 primers in my rifles-the Federals, and the Winchester brand made specifically for muzzleloading. The Win. primers worked great, and were easy to get out of the nipples. But the federals got stuck in the nipple every time, and were the very devil to remove-totally unsuitable for hunting. Of course, these were made for loading shotshells, not for muzzleloading.