Curious safety question?

[1sthound]

I was just thinking about accidents after reading another post concerning split barrels, Popped into my fat melon that putting loose caps in a pants pocket for quick access while hunting is a good way to get a quick wake up call on your leg if one gets pressed too hard for any reason, So got curious if it ever happened to anyone?

 

[necchi]

I've never heard of anyone getting hurt like that,
Caps generally need to be hit between two hard surfaces to go off.

But I never considered carrying loose caps in a pocket for the simple reason called "pocket lint".
The chance of something soft like lint or any other kind of foreign pocket items getting stuck in a cap just too big.
:idunno:

 

[BrownBear]

Probably pretty rare. I've known folks who carried 22 rimfire ammo lose in their pocket along with keys, change and a pocket knife. And it seems as though the rims are lots more exposed than a cap. Of course I read somewhere once about a guy who claimed a 22 had gone off in his pocket. Only damage was some brass shrapnel in a private part, but how much chance does a guy want to take with his personal parts? :shocked2:

My bigger issue would be spoiling the caps with sweat. I USED TO carry a little leather capper in a shirt pocket while hunting. Until sweat turned the priming compound in all of them into mush.

 

[mooman76]

Also caps loose in the pocket can eventually work loose the propellant. If I was to carry in my pocket, they would be in a small container. Freak accidents do happen so it is possible they could go off I guess.

 

[cynthialee]

Get a capper. Even if you don't use it as intended like me, it is a good magazine for your caps.

Caps can lose the boom stuff inside them. Also they are tiny metal dodads with sharp edges. Seems like a way to get holes in your pocket faster than they otherwise would get them.

 

[robinsroost]

[ I read somewhere once about a guy who claimed a 22 had gone off in his pocket.

I once investigated an accidental shooting, (I am a retired LEO). This man was driving an old 60's truck and the lights went out due to a blown fuse. He replaced the fuse with a 22lr shell, and it worked fine until the shell cooked off, sending the bullet intro his leg. Keep yer powder dry.....robin :hmm:

 

[1sthound]

Thanks for the idea of a capper,I already have myself covered with a few bic pens that I cut down for the desired length put my caps in there put lid back on and presto,nice water proof sealed container, Just pour one out and go.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Putting loose caps in a pocket would probably not provide very quick access because of having to dig them out of a corner of a pocket. A piece of thick leather about the size of a silver dollar with holes punched in it around the edge works good for quick access. It could be died to a leather thong and carried around your neck or just loose in a shooting bag.(what I do)

In my pocket I, if I'm carrying caps, I just leave them in the tin. If hunting, a ungreased patch will help keep them from rattling.

 

[Zonie]

I won't say a cap in a pocket could never fire but I will say it is very unlikely.

I did several tests on caps to see if crushing them would make them fire.

To do this, I used some Vise Grips and crushed the caps longways, sideways and every other sort of way I could think of and not one of them fired.
Even the ones I crushed sideways and then turned them so it would crush the flattened cap into a tight U or V shape.

Just to make sure the caps I was crushing were not "duds", after crushing them, I placed them onto the flat pad on my bench vise and whacked them with a hammer.

Every one of them fired.

This tells me that not only can a loaded cap be bent but it takes a fast, sharp blow with something to actually get them to fire.

As for storing them uncontained in a pocket, that sounds like a bad idea to me.

Like others have mentioned, the sharp edges can eat holes thru the material. They can also be damaged by any sweat that might get into the pocket.
They will be darn hard to find with just finger tips feeling around for them and, they can collect a bunch of lint inside of them.

That collected lint could be enough to pad the priming material so even though the guns hammer gave it a good whack, the padding could soften the blow to the point that the cap would not fire. :hmm:

 

[Eterry]

I have some actual experience in this area.

I got my first BP rifle when I was 14, and no one I knew had one other than the shop teacher who helped me build it, so it was trial and error.

I'd go hunting and the rattle of caps in a tin bothered me, so I took about 50 caps (what I planned to shoot that day), and into the woods I went. I put them in my wrangler's pocket, no sound, so all good.

I hunted and shot at a couple birds and such, then hiked to where deer were seen. Got home and took out a mess from my pocket; the sweat and motion had caused the priming compound to come out. Ruined almost all of them. First and last time. Learned to use a dry patch in the tin.

 

[AZbpBurner]

I was just thinking about accidents after reading another post concerning split barrels, Popped into my fat melon that putting loose caps in a pants pocket for quick access while hunting is a good way to get a quick wake up call on your leg if one gets pressed too hard for any reason, So got curious if it ever happened to anyone?

You can't beat the Ted Cash Universal Capper. I originally bought one primarily for my C&B Revolvers, but wasn't satisfied with the fit & didn't feel like grinding on it in order to "fix" it.

It works great for all my rifles & can either be hung from a lanyard, or a piece of leather strip can be attached with a decorative end attached, watch-fob style for pocket carry.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I use a leather capper on several guns...I just make them out of scrap leather, takes just a few minutes and they work quite well..

Similar to this .....

 

[Billnpatti]

For many years I have used a straight line capper that I bought at the Ted Cash booth on one of my many trips to Friendship. I use it when I shoot from a bench or when I am hunting or shooting a woods walk and loading from a bag. At such times as I am loading from my bag, I wear the capper around my neck on a lanyard. It has worked quite well for me for quite a few years. Normally when wearing around my neck, it is outside of my shirt but if it is wet, misty, raining, etc. I slip it inside my shirt to keep it dry. I've never had any problems with this arrangement.

 

[Black Hand]

I was just thinking about accidents after reading another post concerning split barrels, Popped into my fat melon that putting loose caps in a pants pocket for quick access while hunting is a good way to get a quick wake up call on your leg if one gets pressed too hard for any reason, So got curious if it ever happened to anyone?

Unless you happen to carry a small anvil in your pocket and are beating your pocket with a hammer and a cap happens to get between the two, it is unlikely a cap can go off. The material is impact sensitive, but it needs a pretty good whack to fire...

Now - stop letting these ideas pop in your melon and buy a capper....

 

[tenngun]

Never found a capper that worked well, so I went with flint, works when wet, won't stain your pocket won't ever blow :wink:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Never found a capper that worked well, so I went with flint, works when wet, won't stain your pocket won't ever blow :wink:

:rotf: :thumbsup: :metoo:

 

[ZUG]

[ I read somewhere once about a guy who claimed a 22 had gone off in his pocket.

I once investigated an accidental shooting, (I am a retired LEO). This man was driving an old 60's truck and the lights went out due to a blown fuse. He replaced the fuse with a 22lr shell, and it worked fine until the shell cooked off, sending the bullet intro his leg. Keep yer powder dry.....robin :hmm:

I read about this somewhere long ago - maybe the Darwin Awards :hmm:

 

[zimmerstutzen]

When I lived in DC, a Montgomery County MD police officer was injured when the posts of a 9 volt battery in his pocket came into contact with the extra cartridge he had in his pocket. Just a 9 volt battery and loose pocket change can cause a burn.

I recently purchased an very old pocket warmer, (Jone style). My daughter asked what it was and I explained it and how it worked. Her reply, "You walked around with a fire in your pocket? That is just stupid!" Hmmm. Using those pocket warmers was so prevalent when I was growing up that no one thought it was stupid. Never heard of accidents either.

Now, I would never carry loose ammo with a pocket warmer, And like others, the thought of digging in a pocket for a cap, never even occurred to me. I always used a cap holder of some kind. I even have a straight line capper for musket caps.