Once a while I get a delay ignition; cap pops then powder ignites a few milliseconds after.
Anyone know what is causing this. Maybe too much fouling?
Hang-fires are caused by some foreign matter, usually moisture, getting between the ignition source and the charge. A hot piece of material from the cap eventually burns through the blocking matter and then lights the charge. The delay can be anywhere from a few milliseconds to a few seconds.
My hang-fires are always on the first shot after cleaning when I get lazy about clearing the nipple by popping a cap before loading. I’ve found that my inline is more susceptible to hang-fires and non-fires than my sidelock. The design of the sidelock allows the bits of foreign matter to fall onto the breach plug where it is covered by the charge; the flash hole being slightly in front of the breach plug face is somewhat forgiving. With the inline design the bits fall directly into the flash hole, blocking it.
The solution is to always clear the nipple after cleaning.
