Rifle Primer Conversion Units to Replace Peercussion Caps

[Rokon]

What has been the community's experience with specific rifle primer conversion nipples to get us through percussion cap droughts?

 

[russellshaffer]

A piece of aquarium tube from a pet store or Walmart will work with a small pistol priner. The pistol primer is softer than a rifle primer and goes off just fine. Put the rounded top of the primer in first and push it through.

 

[Maven]

I once had such a device (1/4 x 28 "nipple") that used a small rifle or small pistol primer, which had the "firing pin" in the screw off cap. I.e., it was a sealed system, but useless if you lost that cap. While it worked well enough (100% reliable), getting the fired primer out and replacing it, was not especially easy even with the provided tool. With cold fingers it would be nigh on impossible. Needless to say I sold it years ago and never regretted it.

 

[tgfrench]

I can't reply to a specific rifle primer conversion unit, yet I bought the 22LR percussion cap maker.
I have cranked out several hundred as needed with this tool. I wouldn't have gotten through the current shortage without it.

 

[burlesontom]

I once had such a device (1/4 x 28 "nipple") that used a small rifle or small pistol primer, which had the "firing pin" in the screw off cap. I.e., it was a sealed system, but useless if you lost that cap. While it worked well enough (100% reliable), getting the fired primer out and replacing it, was not especially easy even with the provided tool. With cold fingers it would be nigh on impossible. Needless to say I sold it years ago and never regretted it.

I still have mine. Made by Uncle Mikes, It worked great but like you said sometimes the spent primers were hard to remove. 100% reliable though. And water proof.

 

[russellshaffer]

I also have a percussion cap maker. It works just fine. The caps aren't as nice as the commercial ones but they are reliable. The aquarium tube with primers also works OK but you can't buy primers either. The tubing also keeps cap fragments contained. After all is said and done, I would prefer to use commercial caps if available and not priced out of reason. We do what we have to do, I guess.

 

[TDM]

I think its a good idea for every cap shooter to purchase the 22LR kit and a couple of bags of the primer compound. For the money its cheap insurance. I have the #11 set and plan to get the #10. I suggest using .005" soft sheet brass instead of aluminum cans. The sheet brass is easy to find, Amazon, etc. Makes much nicer caps.

But yes, since I'm lazy, I prefer store bought.

 

[RIDE-RED350R]

Back in probably the early 2000s my Dad got the rifle primer conversion nipple for his TC New Englander. I agree that it's as close to 100% reliable as a man made thing can be. Also agree on the difficulty removing a spent primer. I never went that way as I found it to be much too fidgety. I'm also the guy who prefers 4-wing musket caps over #11 just because they are bigger and easier to handle afield, so my opinion may be a bit unfairly skewed.

But yes, they definitely work. Dad always only used Pyro and I never witnessed even one hangfire when he pulled the trigger using his rifle primer setup.

On a related note, I've been able to source CCI musket caps locally and have got myself a respectable reserve of them again. I still haven't seen reloading primers locally in a long time

 

[rkg1]

I had one on an underhammer rifle that worked well and was very reliable but it was hard to get the primer into place and the primer was just too small to handle easily so I change it back to percussion cap and use a cap holder to prime it and that works betterand easier.

 

[Pirate's Son]

I'm a Musket cap convertee and glad for it! If someone sends me the hat, hoodie, t-shirt, Nascar style decal or an all expense paid guided & catered Elk hunt of my choice (I'll keep it in North America.) Then I'll proudly wear it, stick it on my truck or enjoy the Irish Whiskey around a camp fire on my Elk hunt.

All in the name of, Musket Caps on your non-Musket smoke pole!

I have had my T/C .54 Renegade since I built it in 1981. Used it to hunt and shoot all over OUR country. But always was nervous when it got wet. I've missed a chances to add to the freezer over the years because of damp primers or soggy powder.

But that is part of the challenge of hunting with a real muzzleloader. I've got an animal with the last round in my bolt action rifles magazine. I've got an animal with my 3rd arrow after the first 2 deflected and the animal stood there and wondered why sticks are flying around. Where I hunt now usually take a couple of deer every year over many years. A real muzzleloader now, now you only have one chance, so you better do it right!

Growing up on the wet side of Oregon did nothing to get me to accept a wet hunt. I had success in soggy trips but having druthers is my issue. You'd think I'd know better? Of course not!

After retiring from the Navy. I returned to live in Oregon. To hunt in the rain, again. But I wised up! I only stayed in Oregon for 18 months, with good time deducted, I left and I splashed down in Southeast Alaska! Yes indeed, I went to a place that makes Oregon's coast look like Palm Springs.

Lucky for me one of the first gent's I met was a BP smoke sucker who liked his T/C kit's and hunting/shooting in any weather. He turned me on to the Musket Cap nipple for T/C real muzzleloaders. Now you still have to use the regular "keep your powder dry" precautions. Tape over the muzzle and keeping the lock and cap as dry as possible. But in over 20 years I've never had a soggy mis fire.

When loading my rifle to hunt my running mate also got me into leaving the nipple off when loading powder, patch and ball. Bouncing my rifle on the butt plate then putting a good dab of FFFFg in the touch hole. Then screwing the nipple in and putting on the Musket Cap. It's never failed to go "BANG!"

I'm new to this wonderful forum and just getting my love for BP. All things that go "BANG!" I guess.

Last year is where I also learned about "ammogedun" and the "reloadodemic." I didn't learn about the "primersforyournipplesovid-19" until I joined this forum a bit ago.

One of the first things that you need to learn when emigrating to another country or Alaska is if you see something you need, buy it then. If you wait, it'll be gone! If it's something you do not want to do without, buy it in bulk and ship it in. So on a cultural exchange trip to Vegas a while back my running mate and I bought a case of 5000 Musket Caps. I'm pretty sure it had more to do with the booze than any kind of foresight.

I inherited a bunch of BP stuff when I lost my friend a few years ago. He had about 15 lbs of powder and a bag full of tins of No.11 primers. When I started to get my BP groove back and was seeing what I have, looking at my buddy's stuff sure made me miss him. I wish his wife hadn't made him move to Florida when he retired!

 

[Muzzle57]

I'm a Musket cap convertee and glad for it! If someone sends me the hat, hoodie, t-shirt, Nascar style decal or an all expense paid guided & catered Elk hunt of my choice (I'll keep it in North America.) Then I'll proudly wear it, stick it on my truck or enjoy the Irish Whiskey around a camp fire on my Elk hunt.

All in the name of, Musket Caps on your non-Musket smoke pole!

I have had my T/C .54 Renegade since I built it in 1981. Used it to hunt and shoot all over OUR country. But always was nervous when it got wet. I've missed a chances to add to the freezer over the years because of damp primers or soggy powder.

But that is part of the challenge of hunting with a real muzzleloader. I've got an animal with the last round in my bolt action rifles magazine. I've got an animal with my 3rd arrow after the first 2 deflected and the animal stood there and wondered why sticks are flying around. Where I hunt now usually take a couple of deer every year at 250-300 yards with a 300 H&H I've tuned to a fair thee well over many years. A real muzzleloader now, now you only have one chance, so you better do it right!

Growing up on the wet side of Oregon did nothing to get me to accept a wet hunt. I had success in soggy trips but having druthers is my issue. You'd think I'd know better? Of course not!

After retiring from the Navy. (Oh, by the way, thanks to all of you out there whose financial contributions paid for my hunting trips and greens fees!) I returned to live in Oregon. To hunt in the rain, again. But I wised up! I only stayed in Oregon for 18 months, with good time deducted, I left and I splashed down in Southeast Alaska! Yes indeed, I went to a place that makes Oregon's coast look like Palm Springs.

Lucky for me one of the first gent's I met was a BP smoke sucker who liked his T/C kit's and hunting/shooting in any weather. He turned me on to the Musket Cap nipple for T/C real muzzleloaders. Now you still have to use the regular "keep your powder dry" precautions. Tape over the muzzle and keeping the lock and cap as dry as possible. But in over 20 years I've never had a soggy mis fire.

When loading my rifle to hunt my running mate also got me into leaving the nipple off when loading powder, patch and ball. Bouncing my rifle on the butt plate then putting a good dab of FFFFg in the touch hole. Then screwing the nipple in and putting on the Musket Cap. It's never failed to go "BANG!"

I'm new to this wonderful forum and just getting my love for BP back. Just as last year I got my groove back for reloading long guns. Then went on to spending my kids inheritance on setting up and learning about progressive reloading for handguns. All things that go "BANG!" I guess.

Last year is where I also learned about "ammogedun" and the "reloadodemic." I didn't learn about the "primersforyournipplesovid-19" until I joined this forum a bit ago.

One of the first things that you need to learn when emigrating to another country or Alaska is if you see something you need, buy it then. If you wait, it'll be gone! If it's something you do not want to do without, buy it in bulk and ship it in. So on a cultural exchange trip to Vegas a while back my running mate and I bought a case of 5000 Musket Caps. I'm pretty sure it had more to do with the booze than any kind of foresight.

I inherited a bunch of BP stuff when I lost my friend a few years ago. He had about 15 lbs of powder and a bag full of tins of No.11 primers. When I started to get my BP groove back and was seeing what I have, looking at my buddy's stuff sure made me miss him. I wish his wife hadn't made him move to Florida when he retired!

Haze gray and underway!

 

[APG]

I have a replacement nipple on my Traditions Hawken rifle that uses the larger musket caps inplace of the percussion caps. I use the CCI musket caps that hardly work for my reproduction 1861 Springfield rifle but works great on my Traditions muzzleloader.

 

[Sixgun_Symphony]

It may be prudent to go with flintlock ignition system as one does not need store bought caps or primers.