Percussion Caps

[bluenoser]

I am a dyed-in-the-wool flinter and don't have a lot to do with cappers.
A friend uses CCI # 11 caps on his percussion and was having a problem with consistent double strikes, so I slightly reduced the OD of the nipple just enough to allow reliable full seating.  It likely took no more than a thou or two.  He brought along a tin of Remington # 10 caps and, although they appear to be about the same diameter, I was surprised to see they are actually deeper than the CCI # 11s.  I was under the impression # 10s are shallower than # 11s.  If I had fitted the nipple to the Remingtons, the taper would have been a little longer and the CCIs might have been a tad loose.
Seems to me, capper shooters would be well advised to find a brand and size that fits their nipple and stay with it or fit the nipple to their cap of choice.
Then again, I am just an old flinter, so what do I know about cappers

[Selenite]

Hi, I am using homemade #11 caps, and they fit just perfectly because they are adjustable. There is no need for manipulation with the nipples.

[smylee grouch]

After almost 20 years as a range officer at national shoots I am amazed at the amount of times turning the nipple down on the end fixed double strike problems. I always had a cordless drill and fine single cut file in my truck for that job. 

[danny]

smylee grouch, when you say turn down are you saying reduce the diameter at the top of the nipple?

[smylee grouch]

Hi Danny, yes thats what I do. I should have been a little more specific maybe. Most times it doesn't take much and you can chuck the threaded portion in the drill and spin and file lightly. Have a cap handy to check your progress.

[danny]

thanks

[bluenoser]

That is precisely what I did.  The only difference is that I did it on the lathe.  The nipple has a slight taper.

[Pukka Bundook]

Yes, a nipple should be coned, that is why old writers like Hawker called them cones.

Best,
R.

[Bob Roller]

My grandfather who was born in 1873 always called them a cone and he'd tell me "Don't snap that hammer or you'll ruin the cone".
Another term he sometimes used was a"tube".He was also aware of the corrosive nature of old caps and told me to remove the one from the chamber of the 44, it had a box of caps with the name J..Goldmark's percussion caps and Winchester on the lid. This occurred in 1950 when I was 14.
Bob Roller

[Paul from KY]

I read somewhere that nipples were called cones because back in the Victorian Era "nipple" was considered a dirty word.  Back then they thought that "leg" was too suggestive, so they referred to table legs and chair legs as table and chair limbs.

[AZshot]

I went to the monthly antique fair early today, and was shocked to see 2 boxes of Remington primers, no. 11 and 10.  I asked the guy what he wanted, he seldom has ammo stuff.  He said $10 a box....these are the 1,000 per box bricks full of the round tins.  I think I'm set for primers for a long time.

[Bob Roller]

I went to the monthly antique fair early today, and was shocked to see 2 boxes of Remington primers, no. 11 and 10.  I asked the guy what he wanted, he seldom has ammo stuff.  He said $10 a box....these are the 1,000 per box bricks full of the round tins.  I think I'm set for primers for a long time.

A lucky find and purchase.for sure. .Looking back thru what Peter Rowan called "The walls of time"it was the development of impact sensitive compounds that made multi shot guns possible and extreme range rifles possible.I still want to know what the black powder shooters in Europe are doing for caps.I do know the flintlock is used a lot and I sent more than one to Germany.I was never 100% satisfied with the sparks made using frizzens made in the last 50 years and has anyone analyzed the materials used by Manton and others in the
English lock makers shops? I have seen these locks that produced a sizzling white ball of sparks that sounded like eggs frying.I fired an
original Manton 16 bore rifle belonging to Tom Dawson and it was as fast as the caplock Hawken in ignition.
Bob Roller

[Selenite]

I went to the monthly antique fair early today, and was shocked to see 2 boxes of Remington primers, no. 11 and 10.  I asked the guy what he wanted, he seldom has ammo stuff.  He said $10 a box....these are the 1,000 per box bricks full of the round tins.  I think I'm set for primers for a long time.

Lucky you, I just gave up and ordered this kit, https://peacemaker.store/products/11-percussion-cap-maker-for-sale, to make my own caps.

[Bob Roller]

I don't like to reopen old threads but today  I was in my shop and hanging in plain sight was a tin of Remington #10's with a $6.90 price sticker and this was a LONG time ago at a shop in Kentucky. This was in a Remington blister pack and as I recall,this same shop was selling
black powder (GOEX) for $30 a pound.The goosem&giggem has been going on for a long time.
Bob Roller

[Ross Dillion]

Mr. Roller,
If one were to make a new frizzen out of tool steel what steel would be appropriate and what hardness level would be needed. I’m pretty handy with a file and building stuff like this and work with tool makers who could heat treat it for me. As far as that goes they’d probably make it for me if I asked.  One of them has his own shop and does all types of gunsmithing work. I could just give him the fizzen and tell him to replicate it out of………..  at X hardness level.

[Bob Roller]

When I made that long run of flintlocks for a German pistol project I requested 52-100 which is ball bearing  and wheel bearing steel.
I then used Kasenit and an oil quench and then polished them bright and drew them back to a straw color and air cool. I don't remember
the Rockwell numbers from accurate tests.Other lock makers used 1095 which is .95 carbon.I have never forged anything except a main and sear spring.The 52-100 must have worked because a good number of these locks were made in the late 1970'and early 1980's and were used in competition all over Europe. and may still be.I talked to a metallurgist in Michigan about this and he said the impact resistance proven by 52-100 in wheel bearings on cars and trucks was well known and well proven for years.This conversation was in the late 1970's and that man is long deceased.I had no complaints about misfires due to premature wear.I'm sorry I can't be more helpful and hope you can bring your projects to a successful conclusion.
Bob Roller

[Daryl]

IIRC Lieutenant James Forsyth called them "tubes" in his 1861 book.

[Bob Roller]

IIRC Lieutenant James Forsyth called them "tubes" in his 1861 book.

So did my maternal grandfather C.M.Taylor 1873-1972.
Bob Roller

[Daryl]

Had the sporting goods Walmart person tell me "we can't keep a "them" in stock, so we aren't getting them any more."
I then said, "You have to be pulling my leg". Why not buy more (product) & make more money for the store?"

[Bob Roller]

Had the sporting goods Walmart person tell me "we can't keep a "them" in stock, so we aren't getting them any more."
I then said, "You have to be pulling my leg". Why not buy more (product) & make more money for the store?"

Daryl,
You are threat to commercial stupidity ! Shame on you!!
Bob Roller

[Daryl]

 

[bigsmoke]

Had the sporting goods Walmart person tell me "we can't keep a "them" in stock, so we aren't getting them any more."
I then said, "You have to be pulling my leg". Why not buy more (product) & make more money for the store?"

Something I would expect from a big box store employee.  The guy who knew about guns probably was assigned to the feminine hygiene department.
Kind of reminds me of the fellow working in a Big 5 store who kindly explained to me that the back trigger on a Thompson Center was a spare, in case the front trigger broke.
Really?
Man, you just cannot make this stuff up.
John (Bigsmoke)