In 20 years of hunting with these I've never fired a cap after cleaning or before loading. I don't think it's necessary either. But it doesn't hurt anything. I've never had a misfire in the woods. A lot of the old guys with sidelocks, that used to do the hot soap and water method, will agree. I never used solvent on my sidelocks. Simply laid them up with a heavy coat of oil after the season then cleaned them again before hunting the next year. I use T/C solvent and occasionally a brush on my new inlines and a lot of dry patches. Typically my rifle stays loaded for 3-5 days before I get a shot. Never a misfire. I think the thing that gets a lot of newer hunters is rapid temperature changes for the rifle. Leave the rifle loaded and uncapped in the truck. Also carry the rifle in a soft case as it allows the rifle to heat up/ cool down a lot slower and less of a chance for condensation. These are a lot of things that the old timers have learned the hard way over the years and are being lost. The ease of hunting with the newer, more forgiving inlines, have made a lot of people make simple mistakes that cause misfires. I know it's a PIA but a black powder rifle or handgun can never be "too" clean.