Percussion Cap Fit

[Thumb]

I've been shooting my 32cal BP rifle and have about 20 rounds through it now but I have a question about the caps. I have both #10 & #11 caps and have been using the #11's so far. My question is how tight is the cap suppose to be on the nipple? The #11's seem to be a little too big and I am getting residue around the nipple area. I can fit a #10 cap on the nipple but it's pretty tight. What should I be using, a little too big or a tight fitting cap?

 

[nit wit]

I have pinched the bottoms before to tighten them and split the cap with a thin blade so they would go on.As long as they stay on and fire it really doesn't matter.
NW

 

[don hepler]

I'd want a fit that would not fall off or be too tight, that it might miss-fire. The best way to achieve that would be to chuck the nipple in a drill and using emery cloth to remove just enough metal to get the fit needed. If anyone dry fired the rifle without a cap, a small burr could occur, and just remove that. A #10 Remington fits the nipple on my 32 TC Cherokee, without any modification.

If you decide to chuck up the nipple, you can put a small nut on the threads to protect them from being damaged.

I could not tolerate a loose cap, or having to pinch the cap to get it to fit. Fix the problem, or find another brand, that will fit, would be my advice. All #11"s or #10's will vary a few thousandths, from manufacturer to manufacturer.

 

[wayne terry]

I like a tight fitting cap, nothing like having game in your sights to only hear a click and then discover you cap has fallen off.

 

[Thumb]

Thanks guys, I'll see what I can do and try different brands also. I'd like a little tighter fit myself, not loose where it could fall off.

 

[mooman76]

Maybe you could post the brands of caps and someone here could probably help. Different brands fit differently.

 

[Col. Batguano]

If I'm at an event where reloading time matters, then I like looser caps that I don't have to pry off. In the field I want them to stay put, because the first shot is the most important one.

 

[crockett]

Thumb: on a percussion revolver the fit of the cap is critical. Loose caps can fall off and create a chain fire. On a rifle I think it is just the opposite. A too small cap might sit above the nipple and the fall of the hammer might just force the cap all the way down on to the nipple but not explode it. So.. I think the cap ought to go on fairly easily- not so loose it could fall off but still an easy fit. If you sit in a tree stand or keep a cover over the cap as a safety measure the issue of a cap falling off is mostly eliminated.

 

[Swede50]

My father missed a deer last year because the cap fell off his rifle.
I have had the problem with the cap not going off because the cap was to small or the nipple was to big.
This is an issue that needs to be addressed before hunting.

 

[newtewsmoke]

My question is how tight is the cap suppose to be on the nipple?...What should I be using, a little too big or a tight fitting cap?

tighter is better'n looser, i like a snug cap that i press on the nipple using the hammer and thumb pressure,(muzzle control!!) don't know if the hammer press is really necessary, but its a habit i got into after tight fitting caps were causing mis-fires on the first crack.

 

[Sure Shot 2]

What should I be using, a little too big or a tight fitting cap?

The proper cap you should be using is stated in the rifles owners manual. As far as a cap tightness. Snug is what your looking for. When reinstalling unfired caps I purposely removed prior or new loosely fitting caps I've tried to mount once but found too loose on its nipple. I just bite mine a little as to make them a bit out of round. Then they fit snugly. You don't want to collapse them near closed. Just enough pressure applied to make them a little out of round is all that's needed.

 

[ohio ramrod]

The Dixie catalog has a table that shows the sizes by manufacture. :idunno:

 

[mooman76]

A small piece of aquarium tubing over the cap helps keep it snug and also helps keep moisture out.

 

[Thumb]

Too answer a couple things, one is that my grandfather built these from scratch back in the 70's so there is no manual and I am not hunting with this rifle, just target shooting so the chance of the cap falling off is unlikely but still possible. The caps I am using now would fall off if I tipped the rifle upside down and like I said before, I am getting a lot of powder residue around the nipple, barrel and stock from the cap so that's why I was wondering if I should go to a smaller cap size. The ones I have right now are both CCI caps in both #10 & #11.One is loose and the other is tight to where I have to press down on it to get it to go on the nipple and am afraid if I shot it, I'd have to have a pair of pliers to get it off.

 

[bpd303]

Try the tighter caps. You will not have to use pliers as the caps split when fired. Just try some with out powder & ball to see if it takes more than one hammer strike to set them off.

 

[biliff]

Blowback is more a function of the nipple than the cap. A burnt out nipple will let a lot more crap blow out on to the hammer nose and surrounding area, but even a good nipple will have some blowback. Just the nature of the beast.

Since you're just target shooting the looser caps will work fine and are going to be easier to seat on a dirty nipple and remove after firing.

For a hunting rifle the cap would need to be a tight fit to keep it in place and also to provide a seal against moisture (one reason for not doing the pinch an oversize cap trick, you don't get the benefit of a good seal).

 

[jimnbubba]

I found a 209 cap nipple that you put the cap on then screw a top on it with a firing pin like affair in it no caps to fall off it's on ebay