viability of antique percussion caps

[Justin Urbantas]

We all know that caps are getting really hard to come by all over.  I came across these for a great price, but I have no idea how old they are.  Looks like there might be around 2000 in the lot for $100.   How long do caps stay viable for? Do you think it's worth a shot? thanks

[Habu]

I regularly shoot caps I obtained in the late '90s, acquired from the estate sale of a friend who bought them in the early '80s.  I don't recall any misfires due to the caps (I've got a pepperbox that is not 100% with anything, still working on sorting that out).  Some of my caps stash date back to the '70s with no problems. 

Around 2007 I set up a test to compare then-modern caps with original Eley caps in original and repro revolvers.  I tested Colt's 1851 Navy and 1860 Army, and repro (Uberti) 1851 Navy and 1860 Army.  The Eley caps came from sealed tins marked "250 metal lined caps made exclusively for Colt's PT Belt and Pocket Pistols". Modern caps tested were from CCI, RWS, DGW, and Remington. 

Each gun was fired 125 shots with caps from each maker.  Guns were fired from a Ransom Rest; each round was chronographed.  No Eley caps failed to fire; the others all had a few misfires. Velocity variations were rather smaller than I expected, but consistency in velocity, the modern DGW caps were #1, Eley was #2, and RWS was #3.  If I needed caps, I wouldn't hesitate to use any of them (keeping in mind that the Eley caps, as well as other early caps, were corrosive).

[Scota4570]

I have a selection of old caps, some are really old.  Some work fine.  Some are weak, some are duds.  It seems to depend on who made them and how they were stored. 

$5 a tin is a great price.  I just paid $12 at Midway.  https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1301928524?pid=995981

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Justin< I'm shooting caps I acquired from an old friend who bought them in the 70's and paid $1.25 per tin.  They are shooting just fine.  I think Daryl had some in the 70's that were from the 19th C. and they worked well too.

[MJBush]

I have some caps that came from Dixie Gun Works, plastic container. They work just fine.
Michael

[rich pierce]

Some can be quite corrosive if very old. But what’s normally found nowadays is post Civil War.

[Daryl]

As long as they work, I use them. My cleaning regime prevents damage from corrosive caps, that is, if I've every used them.
Did so in the 70's when I made my own compound with Potassium Chlorate, Sublimed Sulfur and charcoal. That stuff is corrosive,
but proper cleaning worked perfectly. I still have a section of the barrel I used them in and it is just as bright and shiny as my .69
from 1986, or my newest rifle, the .36.
Taking a gun apart to clean it, appears to be the best method, which I still do.

[TDW]

I’m currently working on a roll of 1000, RWS 1075’s I bought in 1969….. no missfires .
 I guess I need to shoot my caplock guns a little more often!!😂
Tom W

[Daryl]

Justin did ask about antique caps, not caps only 50years old.

[Justin Urbantas]

I just realized that I didn't attach the pictures to my post. Maybe this will help your opinions.

[Daryl]

Just saw your pictures. I'd buy them Justin if you have some percussion guns, considering caps are not likely in the $15.00 range for 100.

Here are mine:

The wording Central Fire and Breech Loading are confusing. They obviously are percussion caps.

[Bob Roller]

When I was in High School I bought 500 Goldmark's Musket caps for a Tower carbine I had and about half of them fired.This was in 1954 or 55  the caps were made by Winchester in 1875 and still sealed.I still have some Remington #12's and they are still in the pretty white round tins with a green band and I wonder if they will still fire but no way to know except try them on a gun.
Bob Roller

[Bill in Md]

Back before the scamdemic I picked up ten 100 count tins of old CVA's from the seventies at a barn sale for a buck a tin and they work well.

[Bob Roller]

I still want to know what happened to the German RWS and the Italian Fiocchi.SCAMDENIC! An excellent definition and close friend to Friggem&Giggem and others who start at the bottom and go down.

[Daryl]

I haven't seen RWS caps for years now. Perhaps no one is bringing them in to NA.
They used to be the most common here in BC. That's going back a couple decades or more.

[J Shingler]

I haven't seen RWS caps for years now. Perhaps no one is bringing them in to NA.
They used to be the most common here in BC. That's going back a couple decades or more.

They are starting to import again. They are now in 250 count plastic "tins".
Still hard to find.

[Daryl]

Now THAT makes a lot more sense than silly 100 tins.
That barely enough for a fun trail walk.

[Eric Krewson]

My last estate sale buy had 3 tins of 70s version CCIs and 3 tins of these, I haven't tested the blue tins but have found the older CCI caps go off but with not quite the authority of the ones I bought in the last year at Walmart.

[JBJ]

I started out using Fiocchi #10 caps in the late 50s and they were good dependable caps. After I used the first 1000 brick, I ordered another 1000 from Dixie. I still have a few of these because along the way I picked up many Reminingtons and others. I firmly believe that their longevity is depndent on their storage conditions. My 10, 11, #12, and musket caps have always lived in a GI ammo can in a controlled environment, and have always functioned flawlessly. So, from my perspective, the answer to Justin's original question is that - it depnds.
Would I buy them? You bet, unless I saw rust and corrosion on the tins. Degradadtion of the tins and moldy labels point to poor storage so they might not be sure fire. But I would still probably buy them.
However, I have a friend that is a ardent metal detectionist, particularly Civil sites who has dug bunches of musket caps that he persists in using. Some go bang and a bunch don't  . He doesn't worry about it because there is always another deer that will wander by his stand.
J.B.