Percussion Cap Storage Life

[springfield art]

Winchester sealed 1000 packets; ten tins in wrap w/ Green Label. I have brief chance to buy at $50! BUT, the Winchester address has no ZIP code, which means they are at least 50, maybe 60 or more years old. Do sealed No. 11 Caps last that long, or would they have lots of 'duds'? Requesting reply/opinions from the peanut gallery! Thanks!

 

[garypl]

I have CCI caps that are not sealed that are at least 45 years old and they work fine. For $5.00/tin I would snap them up and use them for target practice but probably not for hunting - not a big problem if one is a dud while target shooting but big problem if a hog or bear is running at you!

 

[springfield art]

I have CCI caps that are not sealed that are at least 45 years old and they work fine. For $5.00/tin I would snap them up and use them for target practice but probably not for hunting - not a big problem if one is a dud while target shooting but big problem if a hog or bear is running at you!

Thanks! Helpful! Fast reply, too!

 

[Whitworth]

Buy 'em. I got a sleeve of ancient Remington #12's at a sale and those I've tried were OK. The tins might be worth $5 a pop

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have left overs from when I had my ml shop in Indiana in the 70's. They are various brands, several are imports. Still good. Like bp, just store in a dry area.

 

[nit wit]

They will be fine.
Nit Wit

 

[Notchy Bob]

I would say buy them. I have a half dozen or so tins of Alcan #12 caps left over from a package of ten (1,000 caps) my dad bought in about 1968. They have been stored in ammo cans, but not in a climate controlled environment. We have just a few old nipples for #12 caps, and last time I went to the range I put one of the old nipples on a brand new rifle, and shot the old #12 caps. No problems whatsoever.

There are at least a couple of active threads on the forum right now, maybe three, that discuss problems with new CCI caps. Those old caps may actually be better than new ones.

So, you have a chance to buy unopened rolls at $5 per tin? I would stock up.

Notchy Bob

 

[NorthFork]

I have a variety of caps given to me over the years. Some are, as best I can figure, 60 to 70 years old. They all go bang. Some were even stored in a damp basement!

 

[TDM]

Agree with all the above. As long as they’re stored dry and at a reasonable temperature it’s ok. I’ve shot some 40+ year old caps lately with nary a problem.

 

[cynthialee]

I have a very small amount of #12 caps from the 60's that fire every one I have tested

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Great grandad's caps still go off, and are beautifully made compared to modern ones. Only thing is they are corrosive of course, but are from the first time around, mid 19thcentury.
Our Eley musket caps we got as kids in the 1970's were old stock, with the labels pretty well rusted off, yet the caps work fine and I still use them.

So your nearly new (comparatively) caps should be just fine!

 

[waarp8nt]

I still have a few red and blue plastic containers full of caps from DGW that my dad bought in the 70's and they shoot fine. They were stored in a closet until 1982 then moved to a cool dry basement.

On a side note, it's 1am, I can't sleep and I'm bored....science says the oldest rocks found on Earth have been around for 4.28 billion years, my flints still spark just fine.

 

[Colonial Boy]

I have caps that are at least 50 years old and they’re OK, or at lesst the tin that I opened a month ago have so far all gone off as expected.
When I started out with muzzle loaders, 73 years ago, I was given an 1851 Navy Colt and the caps that came with it were probably bought new with the gun because up till then it was almost unused.
When I got one of my first, if not the first, percussion long gun, an 1855 Enfield converted to a shotgun, I bought musket caps, Eley brand, that dated from the late 1800s, this would have been around 1955, and never had a problem; although breach loading cartridges from pre WWI could not be relied upon.

 

[t405govt]

I received blue paper wrapped sleeve of 1000 Dynamit-Noble red box caps from an old club member who no longer shot they work fine. price tag on sleeve was marked 8.68!

 

[Billy Boy]

Winchester sealed 1000 packets; ten tins in wrap w/ Green Label. I have brief chance to buy at $50! BUT, the Winchester address has no ZIP code, which means they are at least 50, maybe 60 or more years old. Do sealed No. 11 Caps last that long, or would they have lots of 'duds'? Requesting reply/opinions from the peanut gallery! Thanks!

I have 30+ year old Rem 10s and 11s stored in the tin only and they perform perfectly.

 

[springfield art]

I appreciate all the positive feedback! Here's the result! I went back to the shop and realized the little price gun sticker they put on the packs, HID the small print that said; Center Fire. They were not muzzleloading caps but primers for cartridges. The labels stated, Percussion Caps, but that must have been how they were defined back in the day. I still learned a lot from the "Peanut Gallery" and can use the knowledge at a future time! (The owner of this shop often buys estates, etc., and has an "odds and ends" rack for items that are not in modern mainstream inventory.)

 

[garypl]

Well that's a disappointment - thought you found yourself a good deal!

 

[Muley Gil]

I appreciate all the positive feedback! Here's the result! I went back to the shop and realized the little price gun sticker they put on the packs, HID the small print that said; Center Fire. They were not muzzleloading caps but primers for cartridges. The labels stated, Percussion Caps, but that must have been how they were defined back in the day. I still learned a lot from the "Peanut Gallery" and can use the knowledge at a future time! (The owner of this shop often buys estates, etc., and has an "odds and ends" rack for items that are not in modern mainstream inventory.)

Still a good deal if you reload.

 

[hanshi]

I still have a couple tins of those old caps that are 45 years old or older. I've used them and everyone of them still popped like a champ.

 

[Richard Dittman]

Buy 'em. I got a sleeve of ancient Remington #12's at a sale and those I've tried were OK. The tins might be worth $5 a pop