Pushing percussion caps on with wooden dowel....

[nightwolf1974]

First off, I'm a huge Mike Bellevue fan since I found him on YouTube!
In his videos, as he loads his C&B revolvers, he finishes by pushing the percussion caps on snuggly on with a wooden dowel. Which I like the idea.

Does anyone else do this?

 

[bang]

I've always had good luck with thump pressure.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Yes, always.

It helps ensure the cap is fully seated all the way down on the nipple. This helps guard against light hammer strikes where the cap has to be struck twice or more before firing. As the gun is fired, fouling can build up on the nipple, making a full seat of the cap even harder. You could do it with your thumb but it will be sore and dented by day’s end (been there). There is also some theoretical risk the cap COULD detonate and you do not want your thumb on top of it if it were to happen. Elmer Keith claims it happened to him once.

Using a stick to seat the caps will virtually eliminate light strike issues, provided your mainspring isn’t underpowered and the hammer contacts the cap properly.

 

[wb78963]

After seeing pictures the remainder of the thumb of SASS shooter "Cuts Crooked" after a cap detonated I might just start a cap carefully but usually use a capper.
Pietta includes a nice little brass rod with their snubbys used for loading. It is worthless for that but makes a very good strong tool for seating caps.
Using a stick is better that a thumb, but if a cap detonates causing high pressure hot gas I will go with something a bit more substantial.
Bunk

 

[rodwha]

I just use my thumb as well. I like to scale down what all I need. My shooting back has plenty of manure in it as is. I don’t use a capper either, though I have 2.

 

[Jaegermeister]

I’m a thumb guy as well. Of course make sure of which size is best for your gun. #10 or #11 can make a big difference. Of course I’m sure everyone here knows that.

 

[M. De Land]

I use a pop cycle stick as they are soft wood , light and easy to carry in your shirt pocket. Saves the thumb and have never had a cap detonate from pressure alone. It's the impact on the cap fulminate that causes detonation not pressure. You can test this in your shop vice. Put on a face shield , leather apron and gloves, squeeze several caps in your shop vice as tight as you can. I believe you will prove to yourself that what Mike B. is doing is perfectly safe.

 

[Gee Dog]

I've tried that in a shop vice and with plyers, etc. Pressure alone won't set caps off. Needs "percussion", as in … you know.

 

[FishDFly]

I put the caps on with a capper or with fingers depending where I am and what match I am shooting.

After the caps are on the nipple I seat them with a wooden dowel. One end of the wood dowel has a larger dowel on it to make the dowel easier to hold on to when seating the caps.

Works for me and it gets the caps all the was down on the nipple and no fingers are used for seating.

I was told at one match what I was doing was deemed not safe, it seems safe to me.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I keep my fingers well clear of the front of the chamber when doing it.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I seat caps by thumb and then pressing the hammer down on them under thumb control.

 

[toot]

I for one have been used a wooden Dowell for a century, and have had no issues with it. you are pushing it on with pressure nor striking it with a percussion / banging movement.

 

[Sven205]

I use a wooden chop stick that has been cut in half.

Cant eat too well with them, pushing caps is a much better use..

 

[Gee Dog]

In cold weather a capper is handy. When it's warm fingers work good. mostly. Either way, I'll go through again and seat the caps firmly with a dowel - whether they need it or not.

I don't like that seating caps with the hammer business. Sure it works (at one's peril) but that ain't how it's properly done.

 

[William P Sepessy]

The one time I used a push stick on the caps I had a problem. Cold day at a Cowboy shoot and I guess with my partially numb fingers I pushed the caps on too hard. Only three caps went off out of ten. Second stage was no better. Close examination showed the priming compound had been "cut" out of the Remington # 10 caps and deposited as little green "wafers". These were both on and inside the nipples, blocking the flame on any additional attempt to fire. Since then I depend on thumb pressure with which I can feel the cap bottom out on the nipple and I push no farther. Caps seem to go off every time with that approach. BTW, I occasionally see those little green "wafers" of priming compound when I open a new tin of Remington caps. Not often, but then I have to find the cap that is missing it.

 

[A34]

Yes, I use a dowel as well most times.

 

[wb78963]

I discovered today there is not enough push even using the brass Pietta loading rod to properly seat RWS 1075 or CCI#11 caps on Slixshot nipples.
Shooting a Pietta 1860 Army the CCI#11 caps would work on the Pietta nipples but not the RWS1075. Those caps were a little too small. My project in the morning is to take a set of the Pietta original nipples and file them down a bit until I get reliable ignition with the RWS caps .
Also one of the Pietta original nipples was too short and would not allow the hammer to hit the cap.
Wonderful quality control I guess.
Respectfully submitted
Bunk

 

[gbush]

I finally filed down all the nipples. Then the caps fit. I tried and experiment, I bought several kinds of nipples to test them. I also bought CCI, Remington and Winchester caps. None of the nipples or caps would allow me to properly seat the percussion caps. Finally, I just filed down the nipples until they fit and seated properly.

 

[Zonie]

I finally filed down all the nipples. Then the caps fit. I tried and experiment, I bought several kinds of nipples to test them. I also bought CCI, Remington and Winchester caps. None of the nipples or caps would allow me to properly seat the percussion caps. Finally, I just filed down the nipples until they fit and seated properly.

There aren't any "standards" for percussion caps or percussion nipples including the MS spec's.
There are MS (Military Standard) specs for almost anything you can think of from the sizes of screws and bolts, pilot relief tubes and enema nozzles but no percussion nipples. (Yes, there is a spec for brass nipples but they are for pipe nipples used in plumbing).

Because of this lack of a controlling specification, each company makes their caps and nipples slightly differently and the only way to find out which cap works best is to try out as many different caps as you can find.

Often the problem is with the nipple and filing down the size of the cone is the only fix that's available to us.

 

[A34]

While not what the OP asked about, if you're trying to get the caps to fit, you might also be having cap jams. This guy has some good BP articles. This one involves modifying the nipples to help reduce those jams. While your filing them, you might as well made this mod too: