i could not get my new .50cal cablela's hawken percussion to shoot (damn scary when to decide to peer down the muzzle hoping it's a misfire & not a hangfire). i think it was because it was new & i didn't clean it thoroughly, leaving some oil in the breech/nipple area. though the patches were coming out clean. i did the usual of pointing the muzzle at some dirt & popping a cap to see the dirt moves. #11 caps seem to pop on the 2nd hammer strike, never the 1st (fixed it by filing down the nipple to seat the cap & also got #11 magnum caps - they seem to fit better).

experiment 1: pyrodex rs, regular nipple, #11 regular caps
result: tested - cap pops on 2nd hammer strike but fails to ignite powder charge

experiment 2: pyrodex rs, regular nipple, #11 magnum caps
result: not tested - i think it will ignite charge b/c of the magnum caps

experiment 2: crushed pyrodex rs, regular nipple, #11 regular caps
result: not tested - i think it will ignite charge b/c of the crushed pyrodex

experiment 3: pyrodex rs, modified/filed down nipple, #11 regular caps
result: not tested - i think it will ignite charge b/c of the modified/filed down nipple

my thought is that the pyrodex rs is too coarse. i've measured by volume 60gr of powder & crushed it into smaller, more fine particles - maybe it will go deeper into the breech/nipple area than the non-crushed pyrodex?

lol, maybe i'm over-thinking this & just stick with experiment #2 since i could not get #1 to work.