Seating caps

[bill-e]

Hi all,

I was just reading an online article and they show the caps being placed on the nipple by hand but then seated using a dowel. Is this the proper method for performing this operation?

Besides firing off the round, what kind of damage to your fingers has been reported from mishaps?

Thanks

 

[Blizzard of '93]

my C&B revolvers I push the cap on the nipple w/my thumb as best I can. when all are seated I very carefully use the hammer on each to push it down firmy while pointing the muzzle downrange of course.
so far no accidental fires and no misfires.
I've read that some use a piece of dowel to seat the cap but haven't tryed it, sounds safe enough though.

 

[mykeal]

While there are many folks who express concern about a cap igniting while being installed on a nipple by hand, I've never seen any reports by anyone actually experiencing it, at least not since they stopped using fulminate of mercury in the caps about 50 years ago.

The explosive material in the caps is impact sensitive. It's very unlikely that you could produce an impact, that is a mechanical shock, with your fingers. They're soft tissue.

As to whether the use of a dowel is 'the proper' method of seating a cap, that very much depends on circumstances. Many people don't have the dexterity to seat a cap in the small recess available on some revolvers, so in that case the use of a dowel is very helpful. 'Proper' is whatever works for you.

 

[Bob Riegl]

:v In my history with C & B revolvers there are only two incidences that I can personally recall in the past 25+ years. One incidence occurred to a friend in North Carolina where he did lose a bit of his thumb and suffered some eye damage from fragments. The other was reported on another web site just about two years back. Whether or not there are any others, I haven't been made privy to any of these occurrences. However, in the line of safety I have heard lots of person using a wooden dowel to seat a cap. That being said, there are simple cures for this problem and I have repeated said instructions often enough, the last time was this last week on this Forum. I will not bore you with a repetition but a simple act with a small file and a drill---can reduce the diameter of a nipple quickly to make the caps fit & release properly without force of any kind. :thumbsup:

 

[bingo1952]

I had one light off on a 58 Remy close to 20 years back. I was using a piece of dowel to make sure th cap was seated. I didn't suffer any damage but I should have worn my brown pants that day. :rotf: If thumb pressure doesn't do it it doesn't get done.

 

[bill-e]

Thanks. Currently I'm using pinched #11 caps for my Pietta 1858 and I can easily still push them on with my thumb....I don't need the dowel for added force or dexterity, I just thought it was considered safer to do it that way.

I'm all for not using it if I don't need to.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Use the correct size nipple and cap combo and they only take a little push with your thumb and will not come off. I use TRESO nipples and #10 remington caps. The perfect match.

 

[bill-e]

I couldn't find #10 caps....got about the last #11's around. Seems strange to me that they only have full stock during BP season....I wudda thunk people still shoot their BP guns the rest of the year especially in rural New Hampshire??

 

[widget350]

On the rare occasion I install a cap by hand, I seat it by hand. I almost always use an inline capper, though.

 

[mazo kid]

Personally, I don't see a whole lot of difference between setting a cap using a dowel or using a capper....both are exerting pressure on the cap. Others have said it and I agree, use proper fitting caps and there should be no problem. If the cap is not seated completely down, usually the force of the hammer will seat it and fire the charge. For many years I just used my thumb to gently push the cap on the nipple of my revolvers.

 

[SAJones]

I have a pistol w/ a nipple that is a bit tight for #11s, so I made a "cap seater" out of a flat piece of metal. I use it very gently, & have had no problems. Tried to carefully file the nipple down, but it's pretty hard. I occasionally use the "cap seater" for some revolvers w/ #10s, but usually don't have to resort to that. Done carefully & with firm pressure, no impact, it should be as safe as seating primers in a modern cartridge case while reloading.

Sidenote: I got a batch of CCI #11s that are just a tad small. Only way to get them on securely is w/ the cap seater. Hope the next batch is up to standards.

 

[cmdrted]

Interesting thread. Not new to c&b just rusty after 25 years but yesterday I shot my new Umberti 1858 Rem and I used my 25 year old #11s. They were CVA caps. THey went on easy, all of them fired, but every other fired cap had to be pried off. I tried new CCI 10s and almost all of them had to be pushed onto the nipples and 4 outa 6 "misfired" requireing another go round of a hammer fall. I tooth brushed the residue off the nipples between firings, no diff. As an aside the Umberti prefered 451s/30 gr fffg to 454s.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Most Ubertis use .454 balls. When you say preferred do you mean they were easier to load? You want to shave a nice, even ring off the ball as you seat it in the chamber to prevent chainfires. That does take a little more force.

 

[cmdrted]

The 451 did shave a minute but always present ring, while the 454 did shave a much larger ring. I meant as a 25 yard informal accuracy test the 451s /30 gr loads shot tighter groups than the same load with 454. I tried 27, 30 and 39 grains, yes I know it is supposed to be by volume but I dillion scaled all my spouts for actual grain weights, and that's what they measured. I also tried all the above loads with both diameter balls, both hornady swaged. I used Waly World shortening for chamber mouth lubes. The groups measured out 2 1/2" 451 and 2.75 to 5 inches for 454.

 

[cmdrted]

And by informal accuracy test I used a 2 hand hold resting my hands on my rolled up jacket. My issue was with the darn caps. I'm hoping tommorow to bo better, ie not being in a hurry, maybe brush and patch between cylinder fulls and after I use up both boxes in extensive shooting decide wether I want a 451 or 454 lee round ball mold. The caps are kinda causing me a little angst. I may remove the nipples and polish them a bit. I did order the bronze nipple pack just because!

 

[Zonie]

cmdrted
Sounds like your pistols nipples are made for the #11 size.
That would explain why the #10 caps were hard to shove on and why they were mis-firing (The first hammer blow seats the cap and the second fires it).

 

[cmdrted]

Thanks Zonie, I was hoping it would be something like that. What amazes me is the age of these caps, they are at least 25 years old, they are the brass colored/ actual brass caps that came in a cva plastic "tin". None of them failed to fire! I stored them in the basements of the places I've lived, most of them bone dry and dusty, and in nothing more sophisticated than those rubbermaid tub thingeys.

 

[Dphar]

Hi all,

I was just reading an online article and they show the caps being placed on the nipple by hand but then seated using a dowel. Is this the proper method for performing this operation?

Besides firing off the round, what kind of damage to your fingers has been reported from mishaps?

Thanks

No.
Caps should be a tight enough fit to mostly seal out moisture and to remain on the nipple till fired but I would not use a dowel to seat them.
Thumb pressure is usually enough.
If you are worried about finger damage from an AD carefully set the hammer on the cap and press gently to set it down fully on the nipple. The cap should be all the way down on the nipple for reliable ignition.

Dan

 

[cmdrted]

You know that actually makes more sense using the hammer to gently seat it. If it accidently goes off at least the ball is going down the barrel!

 

[crockett]

I must be living a charmed life. The first caps I used were over sized and had to be pinched to stay on the nipples. Even then an occasional cap would fall off. Common sense told me something was wrong so- lucky for me- there's a good gun shop nearby specializing in only black powder. They sold me a new set of nipples and after that no more problems, push on the caps by hand, just mild pressure, they always stay on, they always fire, maybe a rare cap or two has to be pried off with a little extra pressure.
I've never heard of this use of a wood dowel or using the hammer to fully seat a cap.