Percussion caps

Stophel · October 08, 2007, 07:07:44 PM

What caps do you all use on your percussion 58 Remingtons? Years ago, I had a Pietta Remington, and I had a most horrible time with caps...so much so that I very quickly grew to despise the per-cussed system. I had unfired caps falling off the nipples sometimes, but the main problem was that busted caps would fall off the nipples and solidly jam up the gun. I could rarely get off a cylinder full without at least one good jam. I would imagine that I was using CCI #11 caps. I thought I might still have some of them in a drawer, but I don't (the drawer is chock full of rifle and pistol primers, though...I am not fond of reloading and haven't done it in quite a while).

I'm gonna give percussion another go. Is there a recommended cap for the Pietta, that will stay on the nipples, before, and AFTER firing?

IF I can get the gun to fire reliably with percussion caps, I may just forego getting the conversion cylinder...and use the money to buy a second gun!

sharps50/70 · October 08, 2007, 07:34:43 PM

The size of caps vary by maker. My Pietta likes Remington #10 but not CCI #10. Remington #11 are too big. I have used CCI #11 but have to squeeze them to make them fit. Just buy several sizes of caps by different makers and try them. I know it's an expensive way to go but...

The alternative is to replace the nipples, bought from a well known supplier and ask what size cap they take. You may not get the right answer though.

hellgate · October 08, 2007, 09:03:34 PM

All of my many C&Bs take the Remington #10. If they didn't originally I took the nipples out and put in the Uncle Mike's/Butler Creek SS replacement nipples. Now you can get replacement nipples from Thunder Ridge Muzzleloading supply that take the Rem#10. They are the Thunder Ridge Stainless Steel replacement nipples (slightly shorter than a lot of stock nipples so sometimes they need shimming, email me, it's easy if needed) or get the Treso nipples which are a little longer than most nipples and may allow the hammer face to get battered if you drop it onto an uncapped nipple. Both nipples like the Rem#10s. Both have smaller flash holes which reduce blowback of the caps compared to the original large flash holed nipples. You'll be happy with the newer nipples and be mad at yourself for letting those wonderful perCUSSIN' revolvers gather dust.

Tuolumne Lawman · October 09, 2007, 04:54:41 AM

My Uberti forged frame 1858 likes Remington #10s also. I have found however that CCI #10s will work, though a little snugger. I just make sure my maispring is tight!

As an aside, I had been using the 1858 with a Kirst in CAS, and had lightened the mainspring screww. When I tried to use it with the percussion cylinder at a re-enactment, it wouldn't go off with any brand reliably. Then I remembered to tighten my mainspring!

Stophel · October 09, 2007, 07:35:48 AM

Are you supposed to adjust the nipples so that the hammer just BARELY touches them? Or so that it is just a hair short of touching them?

hellgate · October 09, 2007, 10:07:38 AM

Ideally, just a hair short but depending on the cap thickness you can get failure to fire off the cap. A fellow who I know is a better/faster shooter than me had all kinds of problems with misfires in a nice pair of Uberti SS Remingtons. I came out ahead of him in a two day annual shoot because he went to the Remington #10 caps and the "hair" was just a little too thick. The previous owner of the guns had been using CCI caps (probably #11s) which are thicker copper cups and probably have more priming compound. The guns worked flawlessly for him but not with the thinner Remington caps that didn't get enough "crush". I looked over his guns and could see that the caps weren't getting smacked far enough against the nipples to crush the priming compound and go off. Once the new owner shims his nipples out a couple more thousandths he'll have a sweet pair of guns that will serve him well. If you want the hammer face to just barely touch the cone that'll make it work. Too much smack on the cone will indent the hammer face and may cause grabbing of the cap by the hammer in Colts and the caps can get pulled off when cocking where they invariably fall into the works.
The CCI caps are made of thicker copper and are not as forgiving of nipple cone shape or size so they either fit real snug or they don't. The Remington caps are thinner & pre split so they "give" as they are pushed onto a nipple cone and stay put. I have a plethoria of guns. Half of them will take CCI#11s, the other half will take RWS#1075s (basically a #11) ALL the guns will take the Remington#10s.

Stophel · October 09, 2007, 01:11:30 PM

I should have my new gun either today or tomorrow.

I rember with my first one, I had to file the nipples down a bit (they were turned in as far as they could go), because the hammer was bearing on them too much. It wasn't hurting the hammer much, but it was battering the crap out of the nipples.

I'll go to the gunshop and try to pick up some Rem. #10 caps and see what I get.

Steel Horse Bailey · October 12, 2007, 11:20:50 AM

Maybe it's too late, but take a nipple with you - perhaps the dealer will let you open the can and try them for size.

Another thing - most of us have found that factory supplied nipples (cones is the original term) are pretty spotty in their dimensions and have too large flash holes. This goes against logic - it'd SEEM that a bigger hole lets more flame in/'thru and that's better, BUT ... what happens is that the larger hole lets more "explosion" 'thru to the nipple and causes many more nipples to slit badly and fall off ... usually right into the guts! The old Uncle Mike's nips were the first to correct this, and now Thunder Ridge Muzzleloading (here's their page on nipples) http://69.5.8.138/parts_nipples.htm sells theirs AND Treso brand replacements. About $22 a set, delivered. WELL worth the $$$$.

I've always heard that the hammer shouldn't hit the cones, which will deform them - but as Hellgate points out, there can be too much of a gap.

Have fun findin' all this out!

will52100 · October 20, 2007, 10:29:54 PM

I haven't tried a lot of differant nipples, but what I've found that works for me is Tresso nipples. They take Remington #11's which are easy to find around here and every cap gun I've got works great with them. They don't batter up eigther, there hard enough to indent the hammer if it hits them very hard. It's got to the point that if I order a new cap gun I order a set of Tresso's to go with them. There a might high priced, but after thousands of rounds I haven't worn a set out yet.