Shortage of Caps/Primers

[arcticap]

The toy plastic ring caps are more sensitive to going off during capping so be sure to use a push stick.
One fellow on Cascity was seriously injured due to accidental ignition during capping.
See the photo in post #3 [click to enlarge it] and his warning statement in post #4. --->>> https://www.cascity.com/forumhall/in...ic,1620.0.html

And skinny 1950 posted on thehighroad that it also happened to him using the toy caps.

"I was using toy caps for quite a while with my Uberti 1851 Navy until a cap went off as I was putting it on the nipple,the ball shot out the side of the gun hit the frame and shaved a slab off. I don't know where the ball went but I sustained a minor injury to my thumb. Good thing it was pointed downrange or someone could have been hurt. Up to that point the toy caps were working great as they don't jam up the gun like the CCI #11's. Anyway the toy caps go off a lot easier that metal ones and could lead to injury." [Post #41] --->>> https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...2#post-7036183

Also, the plastic ring caps may also be more susceptible to creating a chain fire.

[rking22]

May sound like a stupid question, but I am confused. I have had a tap o cap for a long time and used it with beer can material and paper roll caps. Question is, are the plastic ring caps being used directly on the nipple or disassembled and used with tap o cap made caps???

[mooman76]

Directly on I believe.

[arcticap]

May sound like a stupid question, but I am confused. I have had a tap o cap for a long time and used it with beer can material and paper roll caps. Question is, are the plastic ring caps being used directly on the nipple or disassembled and used with tap o cap made caps???

I'm referring to them being used as direct replacements for percussion caps.
However the ring caps can also be disassembled for use as a source of primer material for homemade caps, to augment the paper roll caps used in them.
Some folks also use a black powder nipple charger to prime their nipples with 4F powder for use with homemade caps.

[Wisest.fool]

Got luck and found a store getting out of reloading. Everything half off. Got 30lb powder and 30k primers for 700$ im set for the apocalypse or the next few years.

[Tasbay]

May sound like a stupid question, but I am confused. I have had a tap o cap for a long time and used it with beer can material and paper roll caps. Question is, are the plastic ring caps being used directly on the nipple or disassembled and used with tap o cap made caps???

I use them as a straight instead of: They will fit the #11 with a bit of a squeeze . I sort of roll them on from one side and once on they are a tight fit. As mentioned above be careful pushing them on. I have had one discharge while loading the 58cal with 120 grains of powder... Got a bit of a fright and singed the thumb, defiantly enough to learn a lesson. That said I have shot thousands of rounds fired by toy caps. Just don`t push them down hard. I also carry a pin on me to pick out any plastic that gets pushed into the nipple hole. Currently I use them on my 58 CVA Mountain Rifle, Pedersoli Hawken, Zoil Zauave.

[rking22]

Thanks for clarification, sounds like they might be just the thing for hunting in the rain, tight seal. The 1000 I pick up in the morning will probably last me out. I still use rocks more, but have a new underhammer I am looking forward to playing with. Wife calls it my toy gun, haven’t figured out why ???

[Golfswithwolves]

Them new fangled cap guns never will ketch on! Rocklocks win!

This is a very wise observation. You can shoot a flintlock for as long as the earth is still made of rocks.

[Castaway]

Just pulled out my die for making caps this evening and did a soda cans worth. Tomorrow I’ll do another can or two. Once upon a time I used red roll caps but now use the compound used in a 22 rim fire reloading kit.

[tankgunner59]

I went looking for some SRP's the other day and our LGS confirmed the makers are selling all they make to the ammo manufacturers for the foreseeable future to replenish ammo shelves. I live just 90 miles from Graf and Sons and after contacting them I got the same story. Looked online and out of all of them I could only find LRP's and LPP's.

[Theditchman]

I have a prime all tool but I have never used it...does it make them for a #11 nipple? or would a musket nipple be better?

[LAGS]

The tool makes #11 caps that work well.
So far in my testing, I am getting good results with several types of Priming Compounds.
Toy Roll Caps work , as well as the powder out of the Plastic Toy Caps.
But it is a lot of extra time to recover the amount of powder needed for a single cap.
I am using the Prime All compound that you can buy.
It works Ok when mixed per the instructions it comes with.
It is a version of the old H48 mix used in the 30- 40 ammo.
But the chemicals are more reliable when mixed by Weight to an Accurate H48 ratio.
I also mix up the FH42 primer mix used in WW1.
It uses the same chemicals as the H48 , just a different Ratio.
It ignites better , and burns a little Hotter.
It also uses less powder in the cap..
I am hoping to write a thread on Making your own Caps in a week or so , and share some Tips I found or things I do to make things better or easier than just doing the basics.

[fiberoptik]

I’m interested. Need more info. I tried my Tap-O-Cap with the red paper caps & it never set off the rifle. Started taking them apart to add a pinch of bp under them.
Need to find a cheap Reliable way to go boom !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[arcticap]

This video shows how small pistol primers can be adapted to be used in place of percussion caps with some guns.
Small rifle primers have the same diameter as the small pistol primers.

[LAGS]

The Old Roll Caps or when they had Green Sticky Caps would set off a rifle no problem.
But the newer caps today just don't have the power.
That is why I switched to the Prime All or other mixed primer compounds.
I started playing with different priming compounds again when I started Reloading 22 LR ammo.
One tip.
When you put the Primer compound in the cap or 22 shell casing.
Put 2 drops of Acetone that has a couple of drops of nail polish mixed in to make a better Binder.
I found that 10 drops of Nail Polish to a ounce of Acetone works well.
It keeps the priming compound in place and keeps it from turning back to powder and falling out.
I did try putting BP in the caps to assist in getting the toy caps to fire better.
The only draw back is , the cap is then so Full , it is hard to get it to stay on the nipple

[mooman76]

I bought one many years ago, like 30-35 years. It seems to me even then it stated would not work reliably with BP substitutes.

[n.h.schmidt]

I mostly us the FA42 formula. Works real well and with pyrodex too. There is a way to use the role caps you can still get. Take a strip and soak it in water for about one min. Take it out and rub to top paper to break it loose. You can then peel the top layer completely off. You can then harvest the dots right off the bottom with a sharp knife. Get the angle right and you can zip right down strip. For me when I had ten or more on the knife blade,I scraped them off into the percussion cap cup. Press down later but while they are still wet. You will need to bind them in the cup. This way You can make them as powerful as you want with NO paper. I have used as many as 20 in a cup and didn't half fill it. For the revolvers six dots will do.
n.h.schmidt

[RoyEllis]

LAGS have you tried clear lacquer thinned with fast dry lacquer thinner? If I'm not mistaken, the 1800's caps were "waterproofed" with clear lacquer but that was stopped in the early 1900's.

[LAGS]

Clear Lacquer , thinned down with lacquer Thinner is a good option.
Finger Nail Polish is very similar and can be thinned with Lacquer thinner too.
But Acetone seems to dry faster.
You can also just use Nail Polish Remover as a thinner / wetting agent with the nail polish.
For the most part , I am trying to work with simple materials that everyone has access to , that are very inexpensive.
My wife gave me a bottle of nail polish that she had , but didn't like the color.
But it is also very cheap at the dollar stores and can be found in every drug or grocery store.
Another binding agent I am going to try is Shellac thinned with Alcohol

[n.h.schmidt]

Shellac thinned with denatured alcohol. Works very well as a binder. I use shellac flakes to do this. The flakes last forever until you want to use them.Many places online sell it.I you buy the shellac that's in a can to use like varnish.It will work once thinned out but most will go to waste. Duco cement thinned with acetone works like the nail polish.
n.h.schmidt