When I put the #11 cap on the nipple it will fall off if its barely touched. Is this the way it should fit? Seems if I bump my gun at all while hunting it can fall off as well.

No, it's not. I have to pry mine off. Some brand of caps are too short for some brands of nipples. You need to find a good match.

Are you using Remington caps? They're on the short side.

An old worn nipple can be like that. But to be that loose don't sound right. Give the cap a little squeeze next time. Not so much to crush it, just to bow it. Then push them on. Or get a new nipple for the rifle. Like Muley said, I almost have to pry mine off sometimes.

The nipple I have is the Flamethrower (never been shot) that came with my gun and the caps are #11 Winchester Magnum BP. I am going to replace the nipple to a single port but NO ONE carries the #11 nipples around here. I will order one as soon as I can so maybe it will fit.

Kybuckhunter,

Are you pushing the cap down onto the nipple or just sliding it on? Most times a gentle push will suffice as the nipple is tapered so the cap will spread to fit. You shouldn't need to squeeze the cap, that's not a good practice to get into. I've used CCI, Remington, and Winchester caps on my rifles and never had an issue with any of them. It's possible (but unlikely) that you have a #10 nipple or one that's defective. I bought a brand new #11 nipple once that the caps would literally fall off from if you were to tip the rifle upside down. I'd buy a new nipple (I like Uncle Mikes) but the TOW nipples should be fine, just make sure you get the correct thread for your rifle.

BPS

Dave,

Do you realize just how much shooting would have to be done for the OUTSIDE of a nipple to be worn sloppy? More than most folks ever do. If anything, the major wear area of any percussion nipple is the flash hole, and if that happens you'll start getting more blowback through the nipple which can literally cause the hammer to blow back to half cock position. That's the first indicator that your nipple's spent, NOT loose fitting caps. I've only had it happen twice since 1973

BPS

Yep...I've pushed it down very firmly. The nipple is factory from TC. It came with the 209, musket, and #11. I put it on and it will stay on if I tip it up but I can hit it with a feather or blow on it and it would fall off. I need one like today but since no one has them I will just have to order and hope it gets here before season.

If it'a a tapered nipple, you can file a tiny bit off the top to shorten the nipple and have the cap sit on a thicker part of the taper.

Sometimes a nipple will get peened from being hit by the hammer, and the cap won't go all the way down.

What brand of caps are you using? CCI are longer, and fit tighter for me than Remington.

CAP I.D. Height
Rem 10 0.166” 0.175”
Rem 11 0.166” 0.154”
CCI 10 0.161” 0.163”
CCI 11 0.166” 0.165”
RWS 1075 0.165” 0.16

I'm using Winchester Magnum BP. The gun has never been shot. I just test fitted them to see how they would do. This is the only brand I could find.