#10 Caps To Small

[hylander]

So I picked up 500 CCI #10 for my soon to be here Pietta 1858
I also picked up a new spare cylinder at the same time.
I just tried the caps on the new cylinder and they are to small, only go on about half way ???
My old Piettas took the CCI #10 perfect.
Kind'a bummed seeing how caps are so hard to come by.
Should I change the nipples to another brand or try to find some #11

[starmac]

My situation is exactly opposite here, I haven't seen any # 10's for a long while, and I have to pinch the 11's a bit.

[Mike 56]

#10 Remington caps will fit perfect otherwise use CCI#11 just give them a pinch. I made a tool to resize #11 CCI caps i drilled a hole in a pair of dollar store wire cutters it worked great. You can chuck your nipples in a drill press (OUCH!) using a file you can size them to fit CCI #10 caps.

[fouronesix]

Just chuck the nipples in a drill and use a file to take down to correct dia. for the cap. Be sure to maintain the angle of the nipple- check often with a cap until the cap bottoms out with finger pressure and is snug fit. Really a no brainer.

[Battis]

From an old Colt Industries pamphlet:
"Percussion caps are now made in sizes from nine to thirteen. Ten and eleven are the best numbers for the small and medium-sized arms, and twelve for the larger sizes, although, as different-sized nipples are sometimes met in specimens of the same model, no hard and fast rule can be given. It is better to have caps slightly too large than too small, as large caps can be pinched together at the bottom enough so they will stay on the nipples, but small ones must be driven down on the nipple by the blow of the hammer, and this process frequently cushions the blow to the extent of producing a misfire."

[fouronesix]

For C&B revolvers you want a snug fit that also bottoms out. To squeeze an oversize cap to fit a smaller nipple me thinks increases the chance for a chain fire or a cap jiggling loose and jamming the cylinder.

[celem]

There is no real percussion cap standard for size. CCI #10 caps have an inside diameter of 0.160 while Remington #10 caps have an inside diameter of 0.167. CCI #10s are a perfect for Pietta nipples but Remington #10s will fall off of a Pietta nipple. I don't own a Uberti revolver but my understanding is that Uberti nipples are larger than those of Pietta and thus Uberti revolvers can use Remington nipples.

Simply purchasing a Number 10 percussion cap is to imprecise to work in all cases. See the chart below:

[hylander]

There is no real percussion cap standard for size. CCI #10 caps have an inside diameter of 0.160 while Remington #10 caps have an inside diameter of 0.167. CCI #10s are a perfect for Pietta nipples but Remington #10s will fall off of a Pietta nipple. I don't own a Uberti revolver but my understanding is that Uberti nipples are larger than those of Pietta and thus Uberti revolvers can use Remington nipples.

Simply purchasing a Number 10 percussion cap is to imprecise to work in all cases. See the chart below:

Thanks for the chart but it seems Odd.
I just got back from the LGS with some CCI #11 and Remington #10
The CCI #11 fall off, The Rem. #10 fit Perfect, nice and snug and bottom out on the nipple.
According to that chart the CCI #11 should fit tighter than the Rem. #10 but they do not

[Mike 56]

Remington caps will fit because they are longer. I have CCI #10s and #11s as well as Remington #10s and #11s. Uberti nipples will not fit a Pietta revolvers they have different threads. http://www.possibleshop.com/s-s-nipples-cb.html

As far as pinching caps causing chain fires i have been shooting cap and ball revolvers for 30yrs ago back when i started shooting them it was a **** shoot sometimes #10 CCI caps would fit sometimes not so we always bought #11s Only had one chain fire using loose fitting .451 balls. I had never seen Remington caps until five years ago. I usually buy CCI caps 49.00 a 1000 its a lot cheaper than 8.00 a 100 for remington caps. BPS is the only place that sell BP supplies were i live.

[fouronesix]

One of the reasons Remington caps will fit a slightly larger nipple is because of their design. They have split petals that will spread out more easily. I quit using Remington caps after a short trial with them 40 years ago. They never would stay on tight because of the petals and I didn't like the foil liner either.

CCI has always done well for me. The key for any reliable cap function is a good fit to the nipple. Plus CCIs seem to have been the most available over the longest period of time through the greatest number of sources. And no, not every nipple nor cap is the same. There always has been and always will be small inconsistencies. Simple cure is to turn and file the nipple to fit right. Better than chasing around looking for different caps then ending up with a bunch of different caps for different guns or different nipples when the nipples get changed out.