I use Hot Shot nipples with good results. I liked the theory at the time but I don't know how much is real either. Plain AMPCO nipples in various other firearms have worked well too,
but I also think that getting a side lock dry in the first place is harder than for an inline
With the CVA mountain rifle a lot can hide in the drum part of the breech and affect both ignition and the charge. You need to take out the cleanout screw and work a couple Q-Tips through it.
I finish with water displacing oil and patch until dry. Then pull an impressive amount of oil and some water with a swab through the cleanout hole. Probably wouldn't do much for reliability when left loaded, which I've done with no problems.
