#11 caps

[OLDBRO]

I am having a bit of an issue seating #11 caps on the nipple of my TC Hawkins. They don't seat and do not always fire the first time.They are old CVA's, I thought deformation of the nipple was the problem and replaced it.Same intermittent problem, always fires second attempt. They are 25 years old and were sealed tight, the Fiocchi's,same age, fit better and fire first strike. I have 400 of them and would like to use them up.

Another question, the replacement nipples have side holes in them also, what issue did this change affect?

Thanks all.

 

[rabjr]

I am having a bit of an issue seating #11 caps on the nipple of my TC Hawkins. They don't seat and do not always fire the first time.They are old CVA's, I thought deformation of the nipple was the problem and replaced it.Same intermittent problem, always fires second attempt. They are 25 years old and were sealed tight, the Fiocchi's,same age, fit better and fire first strike. I have 400 of them and would like to use them up.

Another question, the replacement nipples have side holes in them also, what issue did this change affect?

Thanks all.

Not sure what your asking here. If it were me I would either give them away or throw them away. But if you have an extra nipple you don't care about you can turn it down slightly. I have used knife sharpening stones on nipples to make caps seat better before. But if you do this to make the CVA's to fit, it will make the other newer caps to loose. So you need to decide whether it's worth it or not.

 

[larry wv]

Good advice from Swampy.

 

Toss them in the trash and buy some caps that fit. Why waste your time. :thumbsup:

 

[nkbj]

Were they in the blue plastic box? I had the same problem last month. They were some moldy oldies. It was like the binder in the molded compound had let go.

 

[Billnpatti]

Before you do anything drastic, make sure that there isn't a bit of old cap stuck in the recess of the nose of your hammer. If it is clear, examine the top of your nipple. If you or a previous owner had a habit of dropping the hammer on the nipple with no cap in place, the top of the nipple may be deformed. In either case, you can turn down a nipple to fit your caps and/or dress up the top of the nipple. Just chuck it in your drill and use a stone to turn it down just a little at a time until the caps fit. Of course, when you use up your supply of undersized caps, you will have to replace your turned down nipple with a new one. Big deal...$5 or $6, it's not like you're having to replace your lock.

If you do this and the caps still fail to go off, I'd suspect that they have deteriorated for some reason or another. The only remedy for this is to dump them and get some new ones. Don't waste you time and money taking this gun hunting until the problem is resolved. :hatsoff:

 

[necchi]

I used to have that problem with all caps!

Then I found out the 2 screws inside the lock holding the tumbler in place were loose. Just the tinyest bit loose and the fly detent will tip and stop the hammer short! It looks like it falls but it don't strike the nipple.
Cleaned it, tightened them, and a bit of oil and all was good :thumbsup:

 

[JayDee Flohr]

10 minutes work to turn down a nipple and save 20 bucks worth of caps. Doesn't seem like a waste of time to me.
It's a simple fix. :thumbsup:

 

[mykeal]

10 minutes work to turn down a nipple and save 20 bucks worth of caps. Doesn't seem like a waste of time to me.
It's a simple fix. :thumbsup:

True, if that's what the problem is. Did you miss this part:

I thought deformation of the nipple was the problem and replaced it.Same intermittent problem, always fires second attempt.

So, the same problem with the new nipple. Maybe it's not the nipple.

 

[Robert58]

True. But he already bought a new nipple. Take the old nipple and turn it down to use the old caps then go ahead and install the new hot shot nipple for the new caps.

The two holes in the new nipple are to make it fire hotter.

Robert

 

[cowpoke1955]

Save that old nipple for a spare. Those old CVA caps should be tossed. I have never had any problems with CCI or Remington caps. Last time I was in Wal-Mart, I picked up a tin of Winchester #11 Mag caps for about $5. Get some good caps and save the frustrations :thumbsup:

 

[ZERMATT7]

Get a couple of new regular and flame thrower nipples and some RWS Dynamit Noble Caps & you should be set.
Good Luck

 

[Zonie]

Being the cheap sort of guy that I am I don't advocate pitching $16 worth of caps in the trash if there is a way to use them.

Chuck one of your guns nipples in an electric drill locating the chuck jaws on the solid body of the nipple, not the threads.

With the drill pointing to your right, use a small flat file in your right hand, resting on the upper surface cone of the nipple.
Be sure to hold the file at the same small angle that the existing cone has.

With the drill running at a moderately slow speed, push the file forward, keeping the same cone angle.

After about one pass with the file, stop the drill and install a cap on the nipple.
If it seats fairly easily your done.
If it seems to still hang up without seating repeat the filing.

Sooner or later the caps will fit like they should. It doesn't take much material to make a difference.

The modified nipple will probably still work with currently produced caps because as long as a cap seats firmly on the nipple and isn't actually "loose" it will work fine.

 

[MikeChapin]

Those old CVA caps are terrible. I won some years ago and ended up throwing them away. The metal they use must be some sort of heavy weight sheet brass. If they don't fit perfectly you have the problem you are having. Once they fire it usually takes a pair of pliers to get them off the nipple.

I'm with Zonie for being cheap but there is being cheap and then there is masochism. Using those caps come under the latter definition.

 

[mykeal]

Man, I'm missing something here, big time. I don't see why you guys think turning the nipple down will solve the problem.

He bought and installed a brand new, never been struck nipple and had THE SAME PROBLEM. That seems to me to be a pretty simple indication that the nipple was not the problem - it's either the caps or the hammer/lock mechanism. Turning down the nipple will not make old, degraded caps work, will it?

What is it that I'm not seeing?

 

[OLDBRO]

The caps do not seem to be seating. Sometimes the first blow just drives it on the nipple further then the second strike sets it off. They either need to pried off or they shred and fall off after
firing.With the new ported nipple I can see that the Fiocchi's cover about half the port and the CVA's do not reach the port.Is this the case with todays caps?

What can you tell me about the newer nipples,the bodies seem longer and hence not adaptable to my old 54 TC Hawkens.Are there better nips available? Thanks

 

[R.M.]

Sounds like the nipple's too big for the caps you have.
I'd take the old nipple and turn it down a bit till the caps fit and try that.

 

[rabjr]

Man, I'm missing something here, big time. I don't see why you guys think turning the nipple down will solve the problem.

He bought and installed a brand new, never been struck nipple and had THE SAME PROBLEM. That seems to me to be a pretty simple indication that the nipple was not the problem - it's either the caps or the hammer/lock mechanism. Turning down the nipple will not make old, degraded caps work, will it?

What is it that I'm not seeing?

He may very well have another problem. However he did say he had no problem with another brand going off. I don't recommend the turning the nipple down either but if he wants to use those CVA's and wants to try it, so be it.

I recommended it because I ran into this very problem. The gun would not fire but if I recocked and shot a second time, the gun fired. This with RWS #11 caps. This told me the caps were not seating all the way and what I was doing pulling the trigger the first time, was seating the cap. So a few minutes with a sharpening stone and turning the nipple by hand, fixed the problem. The gun was and still is 100% reliable after doing that.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Before you do any filing on the existing nipple, , first, first buy and install a new nipple. Now, put some lipstick, or inletting black on the top edge of the nipple. Lower the hammer down on the doped nipple, with the gun empty, and, obviously, no cap on the nipple. Pull the hammer back to full cock so you can get a good look inside the skirt at the face of the hammer. If the contact between the hammer and the nipple is right, you should see a RING of dye on the face of the hammer.

If you don't see a ring on the face of the hammer, but rather just an arc on one side, the problem you have with ignition is that the hammer is Not hitting the nipple flush. Instead, it bangs on the nipple, until the top edge is smashed lower than the other side of the nipple. This cause it to be hard to seat a new cap over the bulged side of the nipple, and it requires a first blow of the hammer to reform the cap to the shape of the nipple. Only then, will a second blow set off the ignition compound in the cap.

FIX: Go to a hardware store and buy a small slender grinding bit for " DREMEL" tools. You don't have to buy the dremel, altho' its a useful tool to have in any shop. The bit can be chucked in your electric hand drill. Grind away the dye area of the face, and keep remarking the face as you continue to grind away the dye. The dye is on the high side of the nipple. Eventually, a full circle will be achieved, insuring that you are striking the nipple squarely with that hammer face. AND NO MISFIRES! :applause: :grin: :hatsoff:

 

[Zonie]

The reason I suggested that he turn one of the nipples down is because there has never been a really good definition of the tolerances for percussion caps.

Some of the older foreign caps were a bit on the small size by modern standards and by reducing the diameter of the cone just a bit these "undersize" caps will work.