wet caps

[vikingsword]

Been hunting the last few days and the leather capper around my neck ended up brushing up against snow laden trees and brush getting caps damp/ wet; not knowing the compositional makup of the cap goods I was wondering if anyone could tell me if you can let caps dry out and be usable still? Or are they damaged and disposable? Wes

 

[paulvallandigham]

Most modern-made caps have a piece of cellophane over the composition to try to water proof it. If the caps are not soaked in water for a long time, its possible that you can dry out any ice or snow that may have gotten into them, and they will still fire. All you can do is try them, on an empty gun to see how many fire and how many don't. When in doubt, refill your capper, and consider using a capper that is more resistant to moisture and snow. Tedd Cash makes two cappers, one oval shaped, and one shaped like a comma, that are pretty good at keeping snow, and water out of your caps. I like the home made leather ones, for the range, or Seneca runs, or woods walks, but not for hunting.

\xx

 

[twotoescharlie]

let 'em dry and use them for target practice. I always buy a fresh tin of hot caps for hunting every season.

TTC

 

[George Holton]

:barf: Thank the Lord He had that much snow,not us in lower MI. Bob

 

[NoJacketRequired]

Wes - I have limited experience with various brands but will let you know what I've found with CCI #11 and #11 magnum caps as I use this brand exclusively. They don't have any form of internal waterproofing that I can see. The standard #11 cap has a disk of priming compound that looks like a little round piece of orange construction paper; the #11 Mag caps have two disks, one placed atop the other. There's not much except friction holding these disks of priming compound in place. The only way I know about the makeup of the #11Mag caps is that I had some of the disks fall out of my Mag caps!

My experience to date is that CCI caps will fire reliably if they've been damp and then dried out slowly. They will also discolour a little bit at the outer edges of the priming disk, and when that discolouration covers the entire surface of the priming disk the cap may be considered to be unreliable. Experience to date shows they all fire, but the ones that are discoloured seem to fire with much less vigor than the ones with bright orange priming compound.

For the price of a tin of caps, it's worthwhile to buy a new tin for hunting. Also, although it's nothing like "period correct" since it's made of plastic, there's a device on the market called a "Star-7" capper. It's what I use and I like it. It looks like a green plastic spider with 7 legs. Around its outer periphery it has at the end of each of its seven "legs" an individual cap holder which keeps a cap ready for easy priming of the nipple. These caps are exposed to the elements. In its centre it has a flip-top storage container that's pretty much weather-tight, and holds at least 7 more caps. In this manner you can have caps at the ready, and if they get wet you've got a dry supply that's also easily accessible.

I guess we should keep in mind that along with the wise old addage about keeping our powder dry we should also be keeping our caps dry! :wink:

 

[BrownBear]

Ah man, Wes.

You need to talk to Smokehouseman. He had three caps fail to go off today while a buck watched, then slowly ambled off into the spruce. Last day of the season, of course.

Turns out he was hanging his capper inside his shirt earlier in the week to keep away the snow and rain, but lots of sweat. You know the drill.... I watched you pounding through the same stuff.

Remington caps, for whatever that means. He's pretty sick about it, but looking for alternatives.

Snowshoe hare hunt this weekend? Gotta test those caps somewhere.

 

[vikingsword]

Hey thanks NoJacket! As a matter of fact CCI's are the caps I use almost exclusivly, and I know they discolor quickly. In the past and even recent, I've always discarded any caps I new to have gotten damp, not wanting to take the chance, and to me a small price to pay for piece of mind. When I go out for a shoot or a hunt, I always fill the leather capper so I don't have to hunt the slots looking for a cap when in a hurry, and so when they appear to have been damp I discard, but that's alot off caps over time, so I was just wondering if anyone else had anything to say about it. Thanks again! viking-sword

 

[vikingsword]

BrownBear, I'm in recovery from my hunt yesterday, hiked back and up the backside of Pillar, above the Highlines, tons of tracks(deer and bear) and finally found them bedding and feeding. I posted the hunt and results in the Muzzleloading Hunting section, and yep I'm going to make you search for it hehe! I might ask the boss if I'm free this weekend for the hunt if there's room, don't want to impose. Sure enjoyed the other day, and thanks. It took me almost two hour to get home with the ice and frost on the road. vikinsword

 

[smokehouseman]

Vikingsword you beat me to the punch, I was going to ask the same question. I'm still shaking my head, and will carry those visions those nice bucks drifting off into the muskeg yet untouched. I thought I had taken all the percautions, short of putting the capper in a plastic baggie, which I don't want to do, I'm at a loss for keeping caps dry in this Kodiak climate. I thought I was safe since I had popped 3 caps in the morning before taking off for the hunt. There's just got to be a better way, was hoping some of the members would have some good ideas.

 

[vikingsword]

Smokehouseman, I feel for ya, thought I was gonna go meatless on the road system this year, those last two hard winters left a bad winter kill and I didn't see near as many. I don't know what the cap answer is, but I'm not gonna expend to much time experimenting on it, I'll just buck up for new caps when I need them and wait for my next shower, as that's when all my brilliant Ideas come to me anyway. Are ya gonna get off the road system for deer at all?

 

[Many Klatch]

Smoke, there's always the flintlock. The flint doesn't get wet and you can dump the powder in the pan and recharge it quickly if it gets wet.

Many Klatch

 

[shmrck1]

NLR,
I too also use nothing but CCI magnums and
find them to be very reliable even in damp
conditions.I will say that I may replace my
cap two or three times during a day of hunting
in damp conditions.The one I take off I just put in the bottom of my bag where I have several
of those silicone dry bags.When I get home
I will take them out and lay on a paper towel.
Air dry if indeed they need it and use them again.
Never had a problem.
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[BrownBear]

Snakeyes- That's good to know. Will try it.

Vikingsword- I was wondering about your drive home. Did you get your deer on Pillar? Joel was up there yesterday and it got a little too "beary" for him and he turned around. Gotta work Saturday, but if the weather cooperates, I want to mash bunny heads Sunday AM or PM. Are you available Smokehouseman? Wsa planning to go out this morning, but 30-35 knots NW is too much, I think.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

The flint doesn't get wet

Hey not true, the flint does get wet.

They jsut fire great wet or dry ;-D

 

[Bill Hall]

I can remember a couple of times when I ran some caps through the washing machine. I let them dry and they worked fine. I think they were cci, since that's what I usually use. But, I would never trust them for hunting, just for target shooting. Bill