Cap&Ball "Push Stick"

[CaptainKirk]

Recently I've been made aware of the dangers of capping a C&B pistol using finger pressure to seat the caps. I've been doing it this way for 3 decades with no problems experienced to date, but that doesn't make it "right".
Has anyone experienced problems in this respect, or is this all hype?
I am seriously considering making a seating dowel to eliminate potential problems....... :idunno:

 

[Leatherbark]

I doubt Bill Hickock used a push stick and he left this world with all of his fingers.............What is the hazard of putting caps on with your fingers? Something someone wrote in article? If a cap were to burst upon putting them on with your fingers the danger would be more from the ball exiting the cylinder and ricochet off of the frame more than what that bursting cap is going to do to the finger tip.

I'm like you I've been capping percussion revolvers since 77 and I figure I can still do it another 30 or so years.....But you know the laws of averages may be catchin up with us so maybe we do need to be pushing them on with a dowell?

Maybe caps are more sensitive to handling now?

Bob

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I think a cap going off while you push on it might leave a mark. :wink:

 

[J.D.]

y'all must have some strong thumbs to pop a percussion cap. Never, in all my born days, have I heard of anyone popping a cap while seating it on a nipple.

God bless

 

[Don]

I think I read some where that the early percussion caps were more sensitive then they are now. I have never had a cap pop on me while seating with a thumb or finger. I would think a hard wooden rod rather than a soft finger tip would be more likely to set off a cap.

Don

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I've read of it happening, but no first hand reports.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

The caps might be more sensitive because of all the extra diversity training they go through. :rotf:

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Every so-often someone brings this up.......it's nothing but HYPE! The wooden push stick is a lot harder than your thumb, and therefore MORE likely to cause an ignition!

I use a Colt Walker with 52 grain rifle charges of 3Fg Goex, and I have all of my fingers and I sleep at night. If caps were going to explode with hand pressure, why then won't they even fire if mounted on the wrong size nipple and struck with a gun's hammer??? If the first attempt merely finishes seating the improperly fitting cap, and the second FULL POWER strike of the hammer finally makes the cap ignite, your thumb won't make it ignite! :rotf: :haha:

In all my years of shooting, I've never heard of this happening :idunno: :shake: .

Dave

 

[CaptainKirk]

OK...I feel better now. It makes sense that a hard dowel would be more likely to detonate a cap than thumb pressure.
Thanks for the input, all. :bow:

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I think there is more to it than just the danger of a cap detonation. If the caps fit very tightly a finger or thumb tip may not be enough to fully seat them. As to the chance of detonation I think of the words of Judge Roy Bean "MIGHT rain whores from the sky but I doubt it!" :haha:

 

[token tory]

Why not just use a capper?
That's what I ended up doing after trying big, klutzy thumbs (mine) & push sticks. My biggest problem was fishing them out of the can, seating was an easy fix once I got the right nipples.

There was a thread a while back where the pistol's hammer was used as a seating device, :nono: (with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction& fingers behind the cylinder mouths.)

I seat with an inline capper that even fits the tight space in a Remington cylinder then use the hammer to seat fully. Since I started this I've had 0 misfires, 0 AD's & my thumb is nowhere near a sore at the end of a day. :v

 

[CaptainKirk]

I do use an inline capper. But sometimes the caps don't fully seat, so I usually give them a cursory "shove" with the thumb before firing.

 

[token tory]

Maybe try the ol' seat 'em with the hammer trick? After all I can't think of a safer place, relatively speaking, than under the hammer:hmm:

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

For those who think that "it will never happen to me"

Use A Capper!

Caps go off more often than you think

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Not the first time this has been brought up. There is one case of a cap blowing in this thread if it's to be believed.

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/210560/post/455793/

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

I'm sorry I should have pointed out that the "Use A Capper!" statement in my previous post is a link to a post on CASCity website with a first hand account, with pictures, of someone who had a cap go off on him while seating the cap using his thumb, or what is left of his thumb.

 

[CaptainKirk]

For those who think that "it will never happen to me"

Use A Capper!

Caps go off more often than you think

Wow...an eye-opener, that!
I need to give this issue more thought before my next outing.
Never stopped to think, also, that the dowel could splinter in my hand, as well.
The inline capper is clumsy and a PITA, esp. on the Remmy, as mentioned.
I think I'd rather buy a new capper than grind on my Remmy. Anyone recommend one that works well?

 

[CaptainKirk]

Not the first time this has been brought up. There is one case of a cap blowing in this thread if it's to be believed.

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/210560/post/455793/[/quote]

Yeah, they were referring to the link in the other post with the pic of the thumb in it.
I'd like to keep all my digits intact, thank you very much!
Just for the sake of argument, I think we all oughta keep this ball in play and see if we can come up with a safe method for capping that works first time, every time, esp. as info for newbies. As I said in the beginning of this post, I've been doing it by hand for over three decades without incident, but that doesn't make it right...or safe.

 

[nkbj]

Lesson: It's impossible to manufacture every one of anything exactly the same.

 

[token tory]

I use the "Traditions" ones, I have both a "Field capper" & a "Target capper". AFAIK the only difference is length of the feed hopper & so cap capacity.

Both are identical, with a single spring at the business end & both needed about 2 minutes of filing with the 2-sided file on my Leatherman tool to be 100% usable with the Uberti '58 Remington I have.
I removed a little metal so that the spring's outside profile was not overlapped by the brass extrusion & then rounded both the exposed ends of the capper where it goes down inside the cuts in the cylinder rear. it works like a charm now.

Tell you what. I'll take a couple of pics & post them in the "craftsman" section in a day or two for you.