Abstract: A nipple for use in conjunction with firearms to permit passage of an ignition impetus to a propellant, especially those firearms which employ black powder and which use percussion caps to provide an ignition impetus, the nipple including an elongated body formed to accept a percussion cap on one end thereof in a conventional manner, the other end of the body, typically for threading into the breech of a rifle or the rear portion of a cylinder of a pistol and configured such that it extends into the propellant chamber.