Traditional cap lock muzzle loader shooting is an acquired taste. To fully enjoy it, you need to master two things:
1.How to make the thing go bang reliably, and
2.How to easily clean it.
You're on your own if being historically correct is important, but this will work if you are just out to have fun:
Before you place your rifle into service, corral the following:
A sturdy "range rod", such as this one.
A Bissel Steam Shot.
Murphy's oil soap, 91% rubbing alcohol, 3% hydrogen peroxide, and castor oil.
A can of WD-40
First thing: keep it going.
Most failures to fire come from moisture, oil, or fouling accumulating in the flash channel (the passage leading from nipple to combustion chamber). When you are shooting: never swab the full barrel. Load your charge, start the patched ball, and then cover your ramrod jag with a moist patch before ramming things home. That patch will clean your barrel as you retract the ramrod, accomplishing the same thing as swabbing between shots. Any fouling knocked loose by this will be in front of the powder chage, and ejected when you fire. Had you swabbed the entire barrel before loading, you might have set the stage for a misfire, by pushing loose, damp fouling into the narrow flash channel.
Do be aware that dry patches pushed down a fouled bore may stick on the backstroke. Withdrawing the ramrod may be difficult, or even impossible without resorting to techniques that you won’t have access to at the range. Wet that patch! It shouldn’t drip, but does need to be damp. I like to use a solution of five parts isopropyl alcohol, one part castor oil. Don’t worry about your powder, as the patched ball has sealed the bore. Combustion chamber fouling will build as you shoot, but is unlikely to create a problem.
Second thing: keep it clean.
Once you have finished shooting for the day, and while still at the range, run two or three wet patches to remove the bulk of accumulated bore fouling, and wipe any black powder dust off the exposed external metal surfaces. When you get home, lower the hammer on a small piece of leather to occlude the nipple. Stand your rifle muzzle up, and fill about half the bore with Friendship Speed Juice. This is a homemade concoction; equal parts rubbing alcohol, Murphy’s oil soap, and 3% hydrogen peroxide. It cuts through black powder fouling like nothing else!
Let the combustion chamber soak while you pour some water into your little Bissel Steam Shot, and plug it in. Then empty the barrel into a waiting container, and swab with Speed Juice until the patches come clean. It won’t take many! Remove the nipple, and drop it in Speed Juice to soak overnight.
By this time your Steam Shot should be ready. Don a pair of gloves, and give the flash channel a dose of live steam, through the nipple seat. Hold your rifle muzzle over a container, to catch the gunk flowing out. After another good blast of steam, stand it muzzle down on a folded paper towel, to allow most of the water to exit. Then run dry patches until they come clean.
Coat the flash channel with a squirt of WD-40, and swab the bore with more. Cover the nipple seat with a paper towel, as the jag acts like a piston and will blow any excess out the hole. Don’t let internet bashing of WD-40 deter you. It protects your rifle by displacing any minute amount of remaining water. It’s also inexpensive, and pleasant to use.
Clean the external metal surfaces, paying special attention to the nipple area and hammer face. Lower the hammer onto a 1/2" felt wad (or a paper towel folded into a wad) over the nipple seat. The rifle – with the nipple left out – can then be stored. If your rack holds it muzzle up, any WD-40 running down under gravity will be absorbed into the felt. If you expect that the rifle will rest idle for a month or more, coat the bore with RIG a few days later.
When you are ready to head for the range again, swab the bore with a dry patch, to remove any excess preservative. Then run a pipe cleaner through the flash channel, just to be absolutely certain it is clean and dry. Add a fresh nipple (which you have twirled a toothpick through), and you're good to go!
This should keep you out of trouble, but they don't call these things primitive weapons for nothing. Even with the best of loading and cleaning techniques, you may experience a misfire. When it happens, you will be glad that you had a nipple charger in your kit. This is a little brass cylinder with a female fitting that you can press against the nipple, to deposit a small charge of 4Fg therein, before you replace the cap and try again. Usually this will light the main charge, and save you from the annoyance of having to unscrew the nipple and work fresh powder under it.