My budy, the cheapskate

[tom deinek]

Buddy hunts bp on my farm. Didn't even see a deer opening day ml season. Did not pull charge but stored rifle, uncapped, in a barn.

Week later, goes out again & reinstalls the same percussion cap. Of course when he fired rifle, he got a misfire. New cap discharged the piece.

I can see keeping the cap for shooting paper, but would y'all reuse a cap to save 2 1/2 pennies when hunting big game?

 

[SgtSchutzen]

:rotf: Not me. When I come out of the woods I just toss em away. Sounds like something my dad would have done though. :rotf:

 

[necchi]

"would y'all reuse a cap to save 2 1/2 pennies"

Geez, not a chance.
I'm sure he'll laugh it off, being frugal does have some merit, but I hope he learned something.

 

[S.Kenton]

I thought I was cheeeep!... :v :grin:

 

[cowpoke1955]

Not only a fresh cap, I would also use fresh powder. After sitting in a barn for a week with nothing over the nipple, moisture could have contaminated the powder. When hunting, you want all the odds in your favor :thumbsup:

 

[hanshi]

I don't throw the old cap away but I sure don't put it back on for the next hunt. I just keep it for the range.

 

[Stubert]

I will put on a new cap and pull the nipple to make sure the powder is still ok.

 

[ohio ramrod]

When hunting deer or even rabbits I discharge my weapons safely every night. Then reload the following day! :idunno:

 

[Spikebuck]

:redface: Well now I'm all embarrassed! I guess I'm also a cheapskate! If I'm moving locations and have to put my gun in the truck or home eating lunch or for whatever reason have to uncap my gun, I stick the cap in my pocket and put it back on when I continue hunting that day. I've killed a number of deer using caps that were placed back on and never had a misfire yet. How would he know his cap wasn't bad in the first place?

NOW, at the end of the day, I always discharge, clean, and put a new load in the next day.

And just so you guys know, I wouldn't brush the powder out of the pan on my flintlock into my pocket and reuse it, so I'm probably not the world's cheapest guy!!! :haha:

 

[ebiggs1]

I can't see how that would damage the cap or even be of a concern. I have never hunted with my cap locks but over the years I have had a very few caps fail to fire right from the tin. That cap may have been one of those. Who knows. :hmm:

Of coarse this does not hold for a cap that may have been wet or some other damage. :wink:

 

[hoochiepapa]

I have done the same thing as Spikebuck. It ain't bein' cheap, it's just putting that cap in my pocket, and after lunch, putting it back on. Never had a misfire that way.

 

[lorren68]

After a hunt I will pull my cap off and put it back in my capper. I will use them weeks later on a hunt. No misfires so far :grin:

 

[BrianL]

would y'all reuse a cap to save 2 1/2 pennies when hunting big game?

Wow, I wish I could find caps for that price........

Yup, I re-use them but store them in a separate cap tin for practice or nipple clearing. I figure that if I have to pop a couple anyway.....

 

[silly goose]

I've only got a couple years experience, so take it for what it is. I'm also pretty cheap. I'm with the other fella who pulls his cap and puts it back in his capper. I've left my rifle loaded for 25 days this year before firing it, and it went off like I loaded it that morning. I do keep it in an unheated garage, so its not going in and out of cold and warm. Also hunted in everything from 16 degrees to around 50. I think I'm pretty diligent with cleaning, and go through the same routine with loading every time. What I'm doing seems to be working, so until I have a problem, I think I'll keep doing what I'm doing. Im not sure about everyone else, but around here most folks only use their ml's for that one shot a season. I like to use mine for bunnies and turkeys, so I feel like I get some pretty ample experience with loading and cleaning procedures and so far with my guns, am pretty confident with what I'm doing. FWIW, YMMV.

 

[paulvallandigham]

One of the reasons I bought a Tedd Cash oval capper was because it would hold 100 caps at a time, and by shaking the container, you can upright all the caps for a visual inspection of the caps to make sure there is priming compound in the cap. Over the years, I have found, and removed 2 caps that failed the visual inspection, and the rest of the caps fire.

Being able to do a visible inspection gave me the peace of mind knowing that if a cap failed to fire, it was my fault- not the cap.

Home-made cappers using thick harness leather or leather from an old heavy belt, wit holes punched in around the edges to hold the caps, and slits from the holes to the nearby edge to allow the capper to be pulled away from the cap and nipple after the cap is seated also allow this visual inspection of caps before relying on what comes from the factory. Right now, the only percussion gun I own is a shotgun, and the capper works very well on both nipples.

I have seen several such cappers, some with as few as 10 caps, and others with about 25. Usually, two pieces of thinner leather sandwich the thicker piece with the caps, to protect the caps from moisture, and corrosion. The smaller "Tabs" are made to be used when hunting.

 

[morehops]

I always change for a new cap on a new day. But when I think about it, the containers that caps come in aren't sealed totally once you open them, so what's the big deal. The powder and conical that I shoot costs a LOT more than a cap but when you consider how few times I might do it over a year it's not a lot of money to discharge the rifle every day and start new.
Still , I usually keep a charge in the rifle if I expect I'll be hunting again soon. One time I did that and just quit hunting BP for many years. I had a loaded rifle in the safe for about 10 years with the muzzle covered, and the lock and nipple stuffed with patches and a note "LOADED" in the lock mechanism. Finally took it out to the range and believe it or not it fired like a brand new charge. No kidding.
Maybe I just got lucky but I wouldn't hesitate to leave a rifle SAFELEY charged ( my opinion of "safely"). Still I probably would put a feash cap on. Go figure.

 

[petew]

I usualy take the cap off, fumble it, and drop it in the dirt or snow. :redface: Looking for it most times results in steping on it .
Pete

 

[silly goose]

I probably drop about 1/3 of them, and those I don't even look for. I used to look, but never found one, so now don't even try. Maybe I'm not that cheap after all. :wink:

 

[FRJ]

I just shot my 54 after 2 months of being loaded, fired like a champ first time. I don't see any reason to fire it and clean it every day. I just keep a scrap of leather between the nipple and the hammer until I'm going to use it. As for the caps I dont see any reason not to reuse them but I dont even cap mine till i'm ready to shoot. Always look at the compound in the cap before trying to shoot it. I've found several caps over the years that had no compound in them.FRJ

 

[morehops]

Always look at the compound in the cap before trying to shoot it. I've found several caps over the years that had no compound in them.FRJ

Good point. Something that I don't do consistently enough.