Rikeman

Was hoping someone could help with a problem. I just recieved a new Traditions Hawken .54 cal percussion rifle. I shot approx 10 rounds through it today. I broke 2 nipples. They basically split in half.

I am using 80 grains of 777 ff. By the way it shoots great! My first thought was that the hammer spring might be too tight, but dont really understand what the issue is.

I also have a traditions Kentucky pistol .50 cal it seems to have a stiffer hammer cock, but I have had no problem with breaking nipples on this gun. Any help would be great!

cayugad

First off welcome to the forum. It is good to have you here.

Breaking nipple by splitting in half.. WOW!! In all my years of shooting, I have never had that happen. Does the hammer spring feel really strong? Were these old nipples? If the hammer off center? Did the hammer try to reset itself when it did fire? Were the caps going off properly? Were you having misfires?

First thing I would do is get a Stainless Steel Hot shot nipple and try that again. If it happens again, then contact Traditions and tell them about it.

Rikeman

Thanks for the welcome. I am new to black powder shooting. On an impulse I bought a kentucky pistol kit and put it together within a week. Now I am hooked!

The Hawken is new first outing today. No miss fires even when breaking the nipple. The hammer looks to be center over the nipple. Within 5 shots I broke the new nipple that came with the Hawken. I pulled the nipple from my pistol (has had maybe 30 rounds trouble free through it) and put it on the hawken. Same thing after 5-8 rounds. The nipple will split down to bolt section. It does not reset the hammer and the cap stays on the nipple. I am using #11 cci caps.

The hammer pull doesnt seem extreem to me, but I am certain it could reliably ignite the cap with much less force. Is there an easy way to adjust the tension on the hammer spring. It is the garden variety side lock.

And thanks for reading my post! Looking forward to reading more here.

frontier gander

Sounds like some weak nipples to me. Stainless steel hotshot, or a stainless steel spitfire should fix the problem i would think.

You can also order a weaker mainspring from www.cainsoutdoor.com Look under the cva mountain rifle list of parts.

Rikeman

Yeah that is what I am going to do. I love this Hawken, it shoots perfect! So just putting on better nipples sounds like the best fix.

frontier gander

Where did you get a .54 traditions hawken? All i can ever find are the .50s

What are you shooting? conical, Patched round ball or sabot?

wabi

I'd guess either the nipple or the hammer face. The rifle lock usually has a bit more force than a pistol lock, but the extra power shouldn't be a problem. The hammer face might not be "square" and could be hitting the nipple face one one side instead of evenly distributing the force, but I would think it would damage the soft copper cap before it broke a nipple???? If it were my gun, I'd get a couple quality nipples and try again.

lemoyne

In all my years of repairing and shooting I have never seen a nipple split vertically [I have seen a few break horizonally, at a guess I would say you have gotten a hold of some that were harden to the point that they were brittle. I would suggest the "Uncle Mikes" or Hot Shot which are high enough quality to be consistant, there are some around that are made in certain countries that are very inconsistant in hardness. Lee

Rikeman

I bought it at Sportsmans wherehouse for $229.00. That is the best price I have seen anywhere! I shoot a patched ball.

cayugad

Would this be a Tradition's St. Louis Hawkins? They also make a Woodsman Hawkins which is a much better grade rifle... Get the hot shot nipple and it will solve your problems. I shoot a couple of them Hawkins and they are good shooters. Although mine like a STIFF load.