# Problem with a Thompson Center



## bamaboy812003 (Jan 22, 2012)

Need some advise if yall can help. My dad had a problem with his Thompson Center muzzleloaderd and he was going to just get rid of it but i told him i would take it. The rifle is a traditional muzzleloader and when he was hunting he was about to shoot a deer when all you heard was the hammer hit the cap and that was it. Since then the ball patch and the powder of have been in there. How can i get it fixed? I know that its dangerous having the gun like it is right now but its still a good looking gun and would love to hunt with it. So if any of yall got any advise would love to hear it. Thanks


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## The Original Rooster (Jan 22, 2012)

Use one of these. It's the safest and easiest way I know of to unload a muzzleloader. Mine works fine on my Thompson Center Hawken.

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/default.php?cPath=22_99_322


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## SASS249 (Jan 22, 2012)

No need to get rid of the gun.  It is not at all uncommon for a percussion cap to not go off for a number of reasons.  You did not say how long the rifle has been loaded, but if it were me the first thing I would do is to run a fine wire through the nipple to make sure it is clear then carefully seat a new cap and see if the rifle will fire.  Odds are that it will.  Many times folks do not seat a cap firmly on the nipple, doing so will often cause the cap to not go off.  If you can't get it to fire (may take a couple of caps) then go ahead as Rooster Todd suggested and pull the load.


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## tv_racin_fan (Jan 22, 2012)

SASS the cap may not have had any "stuff" inside it, for one of those reasons. It aint real common but it does happen and for that reason I always check my caps before loadin em in a capper or puttin em on my firearm.

I'd do just as you advised. Even better would be to find someone who has experience with em and let him show you how they work since apparently your father doesn't... They aint real difficult but they take some care, more than your modern bolt action for sure.


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## NCHillbilly (Jan 23, 2012)

As others have said, I doubt seriously if anything is wrong with the gun-I've had a few dud caps fail to go off over the years. Usually if the caps are failing to go off on a regular basis, it's a worn or wrong-sized nipple. Screw it out, screw another one in, takes only a few seconds and costs only a few bucks. If the cap don't go off in the case of a worn nipple, it'll usually go off the second time you drop the hammer on it.

If you mean that the cap went off and the main charge didn't, that's usually just a clogged-up nipple. Take the nipple off, run a wire or water or both through it, and make sure you can see through the nipple hole, then put it back on, seat another cap, and shoot it. If it still won't go off, the main charge probably go wet or something is blocking the breech from the bolster. Most have a bolster clean-out screw that you can take out and run something through the bolster into the breech. If the powder got wet, just pull the ball, dump the powder, clean the rifle good and reload. Either way, it's not a big problem.


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## R1150R (Feb 3, 2012)

Hi 'bamaboy',
You got good advice x 4.
How did you make out?
Is it going "Boom" for you yet?


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## RNC (Feb 3, 2012)

If it were mine I would  ....

pop a few caps an see if it will go off...

an iffin it didnt I would take the nipple off an get a pic an work thru the flash hole..... drop a lil powder down in there, reassemble an  then pop some more caps ... .... same thing happen to my hawken this year an this one fixed it 

if that didnt work I would get a ball puller an pull it out or use compressed air or co2 to push it out...


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## smithey (Feb 18, 2012)

I would invest in a musket cap nipple conversion. You wont have any trouble then. All my TCs have had this done. Also there are several diff sizes of percussion caps you may be using the wrong size and not getting a good fit.You can get the musket nipples for the TC from Dixie gun works and they arent that expensive


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## donald-f (Feb 19, 2012)

If it is the old style with the nipple off to the right of barrel when loading it always turn the gun to the side and give it a couple of bumps to make sure the loose powder gets in the nipple area.


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## flyfisher76544 (Feb 19, 2012)

donald-f said:


> If it is the old style with the nipple off to the right of barrel when loading it always turn the gun to the side and give it a couple of bumps to make sure the loose powder gets in the nipple area.



X2!!!! Biggest mistake most folks make with a perc.


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