It sounds like the cone of the rifle is plugged. Are you sure the drum is aligned properly? I am sure it is.... Was the drum clear when you installed it? Some of them are packed with a packing grease so they do not rust, and that should have been cleaned out before installation. Also check your rifle nipple and make sure that is not plugged.


Can you blow air through the muzzle and hear it come out the other end? If not, the bolster or drum is plugged with something.

If you have access to an air compressor, put on an attachment I use for spraying saw dust off wood projectile. It is just a very fine nozzle. I take the nipple out of the drum/bolster and put that fine nozzle end in there and then shoot forced air through the barrel. This will normally blow out the obstructions. If you are able to do that, then the bolster/drum is clear. Now you need to be sure to clean all the oil out of it. Take some boiling water and laundry soap that removes grease. Use a coffee can or something similar. Add a small amount of the laundry soap (I use liquid Tide) and then the boiling water. WEAR SOME LEATHER GLOVES. And then start working wet patches up and down the barrel. The idea is to pump out all the grease, packing compounds, etc from that barrel and drum. When you can watch the water shoot through the drum then it is clear.

After you have all the gunk out of the barrel and the patches are clean, set that barrel outside, and pour more boiling water through it. Fill it a couple times and let is run out the nipple port. STILL WEARING THE GLOVES, grab the barrel and dry patch it. You should be hearing air coming through the drum. Now run a oil patch through the barrel and work it good. Then set the barrel off to the side to cool. As it cools, the barrel will draw all the oil into the pores of the metal and protect it.

After that the barrel should be ready to shoot. Swab the barrel with alcohol before you shoot. Then some dry patches. With a dry patch down in the breech, pop a #11 cap, and pull the patch. Can you see black burn marks on it? If not, put another patch down there and do the same thing. Until you get a patch with a good burn mark on it. That tells you that the fire from the cap is getting through the nipple, through the drum, and into the breech where the powder charge would sit.