Do you pop caps ???

[Mason Stillwell]

On yer cap and ball guns ??

Every time I do not pop caps before the first loading I get at least one cap that fires with no BOOM. DARN IT ALL


Later Mason

cost me a miss @ the Yavapai Rangers yearly shoot 

[Cuts Crooked]

Do you pop caps
« on: Today at 03:57:46 PM »     
On yer cap and ball guns ??

Every time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Noz]

Every time.

[Cohagen]

Mason,

Not in the habit of poping caps, but after hearing your misfortune and others, I plan to pop every time.

Cohagen

[Col. Cornelius Gilliam]

Nope!  I don't pop caps before the first loading.

I do, however, make sure no oil is used on the cylinders, ever.

I clean them seperately with soapy water, dry, and the hit them with a spray of WD-40.

Before shooting, I check each nipple to make sure they are clear, and run a nipple pick through them.

Haven't had a miss-fire yet on the first cylinder full!! (As I say that, I am crossing my fingers!!)

Good Luck,

Col. Cornelius

[Buffalow Red]

i always pop a cap then normaly go down to the hollar & fire a round out of each cly before leaving home
so when i get to match already got my fowling shot done

[Dick Dastardly]

Let's put it this way. . . . were it a real shoot out I'd sure be a lot more comfortable knowing I'd popped a cap on each chamber before loading it.  When the chips are down there's no sound worse than a     c l i c k.

DD-DLoS

[hellgate]

I used to pop caps but I still had the occasional misfire due to debris still not being cleared or getting CAP debris into the flash hole. So now I Q-tip the chambers  the night before and check for openness of the flash holes. If there is any suggestion of oil in the chamber I religiously, faithfully and without exception pass a nipple pick through each flash hole before capping on the first stage. During an important match I pick EVERY stage. It's a good way to verify there is powder in the chamber when you get that sweet "crunch" of powder granules.

[Flint]

I used to pop caps. but now I degrease the chambers and nipples with brake cleaner (or gun scrubber) and blow it all dry with an air compressor (No home should be without one).  I've shot several matches with 1860 and 1851s and my only misfires were due to caps not fitting right, and in one I wasn't paying attention and capped the empty chamber.....

If they are dry and clean, and you can see daylight through the nipple flash holes, they will fire.

[River City John]

I never used to but I have gotten into the habit, though for a different reason.
As Flint stated, I always check to make sure I see daylight through the nipples after cleaning. Because I changed out to Treso, the usual nipple picks are too large to go through and I have been lazy about coming up with a substitute. Probably a suitable length of piano wire will work when I get around to it.

The reason I pop caps on the nipples is to dirty them up a bit, gives more 'tooth' to the surface and the following caps for that first wheel-full stay on much better.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Howdy!

Yes and no.

I used to all the time, but they're becoming a bit scarce around here, so I do the de-grease thing/nipple prick thing nowadays and have had NO failures - except when the cap itself is the problem.

River City John (as usual) has stated some sage words.

[Cactus Cris]

Nope- never did.  Course I clean with an ultrasonic, then blow dry, add my lube to the cylinder pin hole.  Always ck. to see that the holes are clear b4 putting in the powder & ball.  Have the pick at the ready if needed.
  Only problem I had at the same shoot was build-up of crud on the frame where the hammer goes past.  One squrit of Ballistol & problem solved.  BTW-  shot the match  CLEAN.  Or as they said- not clean just no miss's.  Un-enlightened smokeyless shooter's.

[Mad Mucus]

To date, I've never popped caps and had no failures with original or Treso nipples on my ROA using Remington #10s... touch wood.

I always check to make sure daylight can be seen through the chambers before loading and use the correct size oxy-tip cleaner(attached to a small knotted loop on my capper lanyard) to clear between loads.

For clean-up, I use another oxy-tip cleaner(in cleaning kit) to clear, dump the paper towel wiped cylinder into a moose-milk bath for a soak, then remove the nipples, give 'em the tooth brush treatment, blow with compressed air and dry. After straight Ballistol wipe on cylinder externals the nipples go back in, good to go.

Mucus

[sundance44`s]

The #10 remington caps around here are hard to find and very expencive 4.50 a can ....so instead of wasteing them poping caps ..I use some ill fitting CCI caps for poping .......OR if time allows I use a Q tip and rubbing alcohal in each hole before I leave the house , never a problem after doing that eaither .

[hellgate]

Good nipple pick material is the wire  connectors used in model train sets. It's real stiff but can be bent & soldered into a loop. You can get the wires for about a dime a piece and each makes about 3 or 4 picks. I hand them out at shoots to C&B newbies. I used to buy the largest single strand steel guitar/banjo string but the hobby shot railroad wire works better and is much cheaper.

[Montana Slim]

Depends on how I last cleaned the piece.

If I cleaned at home, no I don't pop caps.....I even charge 5 chambers on each pistol for the next day's match.

If I've last cleaned in field conditions (multi-day match, camping, etc), I'll likely pop a cap prior to charging.

Slim

[Flint]

River City, perhaps I should have fired some clearing caps at the last match I shot the Navies, as the first stage is where I lost some caps.  What was strange is, owing to their cost, I timeshare Treso nipples between my 1860s and 1851s.  In the match where I used the 1860s, I never had a misfire, or a cap fall off.  The very same Treso nipples, installed in my Navies, lost several of the very same Remingtron #10s as used the month before on the Armies.  I had to forego the capper and pinch the caps, hand setting them to keep them on the Navies.

I have yet to figure that out, as the Treso nipples certainly didn't shrink and the caps didn't grow larger in the capper over the month between..  A real puzzle.

[hellgate]

Flint,
Are you talking about intact (unfired) caps falling off or spent caps?
If they are unfired the only cause I can come up with is there may be a bit more snap in the recoil or hammer fall of the navies (especially if they are 44s) than with the heavier Armies. The jarring might shake them loose. If the Navies are 36 cals (more metal than the 44s) then you must have bad mojo.
If they are spent caps I'd look at the load pressure (more powder or lead) and the condition of the hammer face that could grab the caps off the nipples.

[Flint]

Hellgate, the caps fell off unfired.  That's what threw me, as they didn't fall off when on the Army cylinder... Maybe bad Mojo is the answer.  The CCI caps are still too small a fit, so I'm not sure what the answer is.  i have a tin of RWS caps to try.

Incidently, like Montana, I charged the cylinders the night before and capped them at the loading table.  I used eight cylinders for four revolvers, the 1861s worked better than my 1851s, probably because the 51s were too new and too tight.  Eight cylinders got me through 4 stages before having to reload chambers.  Used the loading stand to load off the gun, much faster ptocess as you can pour the powder and seat wads and balls in the open without the barrel assembly interfering with turning the cylinder.

Of course, using so many cylinders does increase the cleaning chore back at home.