Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Musket Caps?

I swaped into a old Knight MK85 50 cal. Iv had a lot of different muzzleloaders and Liked my MK85 the best I think! this one came with the Musket cap Nipple set up never used the musket caps before, are they still made? have trouble finding some. a buddie has some hes going to give me enought to get sighted in and to hunt with, gun shop has them on back order. also I used loose black powder, back in the day, should I stick with it or go with the pellets?????

They are still made, I've seen them recently. They are supposed to be a little hotter, so would probably work better with BP substitutes.

I've been working with a substitute loose powder called Black MZ and it has ignited with no problems with No 11 caps and cleans up very well, it burns pretty clean too. Just a suggestion if you are going to use a substitute.

Do not use CCI musket caps that are marked "for reenactment use". They are weaker than #11s. They seem to be the only type found any more. You're better off buying a #11 nipple and using them unless you find a source for RWS musket caps.

Thanks didn't know about the reenactment use! I hit a lot of gun shows, Ill keep an eye open for the RWS one!

I'll second that, thanks for the information.

I didn't either............till I bought some last year to use on my original Pattern 53 Enfield. I popped a couple to dry the flash channel and noticed they didn't sound very enthusiastic. I fired 5 rounds with Goex FF and each was a slight hang fire. snap...BOOM. I looked into it and evidently CCI reduced the primer charge to keep the cap from fragmenting because reenactors don't like wearing safety glasses during reenactments.

Ain't THAT the truth! The CCI's are rotten. I prefer RWS, but cannot find them locally at all. My supply is getting low, and unless I find myself somewhere where they are commonly stocked, I must order 1000 of them for about 90.00. That is a bit of a hardship for a guy low on funds. Fortunately, I have moved to Pa, where my percussion Hawkens that I dearly love, are nearly useless to me. Not much opportunity to hunt those rifles here.

In addition to the December flintlock season, I believe PA also has an earlier ML season with fewer restrictions. It's in October, I believe. You can always use them during the general firearms season.

I am in Erie County, and the antler restrictions are in place for the early MZ season. Basically, I have a week to hunt with it. I have a 99 Savage I have to get some blood on, so gonna use that during regular season. Might look into trading or selling one of them for a flinter. Just regrouping after my move.....Getting back to the musket caps, they are a lot easier for me to handle in cold weather, AND they are a bit hotter than #11's. 11's work, just prefer musket caps.

MK's are fantastic guns!

Personally if it was me, I'd spend $8 and get a Knight #11 redhot nipple. Use loose powder of your choosing (most use pyrodex or T7) and you should have an amazingly accurate and dependable rifle. I have had many MK's over the past 20+yrs, still have 4.

They all shoot lights out with 90-100gr pyrodex, and saboted bullets in the 240-260 range. I do like the RWS#11 caps, they are the hottest and fit nice and snug on the redhot nipple. In 20+yrs of shooting and hunting with MK's, I've never had a misfire or hangfire in one.

I have tried the musket nipple many moons ago (the rifles originally came with both) and found NO difference in performance at all. Knights #11 ignition system is one of the best ever made.

Enjoy your rifle, they are sweet! Oh, and make sure if you scope it to cover the scope with a bra, electrical tape, etc... to avoid the flash burn. Also, don't buy into the hype that you need a 209 conversion on this gun. Done that too, all mine have #11's...there is no advantage on this style rifle.

Musket caps are all that I have used in my Thompson inline. I have killed several deer over the years with it, and it has never failed to go bang. The nipple for the Musket caps has holes on the end and on the sides, so fire is established at several different area's on ignition. I have not tried to find any lately, but I do hope they are still available when I need some. I have a nipple for shotgun primers, but have never used it. miles

A good friend and hunting buddie , gave me a muzzleloading care package today! 45 cal bullets , Black sabots, and a tin of RSW musket caps!! so im good to go , but will keep an eye open for more musket caps!

Hello,, After reading this post,, i went and found 4 full cans,and one partial can of RWS,NO 1081fl per. caps.. 35.oo shipped..

After this thread,
I too need to stock-pile some RWS musket caps!

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