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As promised on one of underdogs recent threads i got out with my muzzle loader today. When i first got the gun i was getting unreliable ignition and stripped everything which seemed to solve the problem. More recently the problem returned after forgetting to clean it after an outing, and it seems that my nipple clogs up very easily, as the hole on the other side of the cap end is around 0.5mm dia. Anyway, i stripped the gun down to the bare minimum and brushed scraped picked and oiled everything in the hope of solving the issue. I also removed the rear sight to help me point and swing more which was hard to do with the rear sight. The gun is a "hawken rifle" with no rifling, made by Ardesa in .54 caliber which is around 28 gauge. I typically use a 70 grain charge, with a scientific measurement of shot of two and a half cap fulls of the cap of the mini whiskey bottle i carry shot in. I'm sure there are better loads to use but it seems to work for me and gives good patterns. Anyway entering the field a pigeon broke from the tree's on the left of the field across the field, but it was rangy for a 12 bore, let alone my muzzle loading 28, so i let it be. walking across the field revealed nothing but as i reached a vantage point i got into the hedge as a group of pigeons and crows lifted from a wood heading over the field. Excellent one was coming straight over me, sitting tight i eased the hammer back to full cock, mounted turned and swung through the pigeon, a crack echoed through the air, another miss fire! Without my worm with me i was going to call it a day and head home, but decided to try and clear it then and there, running out of caps, i used three of my remaining 10 to see if i could ignite the charge, being wary of the muzzle all the time, ( i have seen a few serious hang fires before ). In a last ditch effort i placed one more cap on, "BOOM" i cleared the charge safely in to the ground. Tempted to call it a day i made for a point in the field where a fallen tree provides cover, only to see pigeons flying to roost. I talked my self into reloading, and sat as all sign of life left the air just as i had loaded. Typical. A deep buzzing of geese pricked my ears, as if torturing me a skein of geese flew directly over me, well within range of a 12 bore, however not of the muzzle loader and lead shot.. I sat as the geese flew on their way, and packed up. Walking back i decided to fire off the charge, pulling the trigger resulted in the instantaneous BOOM of black powder and shot exiting, always a shame to draw a blank, but at least it seems to be igniting now. The picture makes the 33inch barrel look much much shorter than it is. Its not the easiest game muzzle loading but when it all comes together there is nothing like it.