DIY percussion caps

[wyofool]

On another thread I mentioned I had purchased the "sharpshooter-22lr-reloader #11 percussion cap maker" and was asked to give a report when I got it. So here is my preliminary assessment. The short of it "it works".
I first tried it with a single layer of beer can and it seemed a bit flimsy, so I doubled it as suggested in "Guide to making blackpowder percussion caps" a pdf I downloaded from here. Using two layers seemed about right and would work on both my Hawken and Pietta New Army. Seemed to fit tight on the different size nipples. I didn't want to mix up a small batch of the priming compound that I got with the order so I went with cap gun caps. All I have are the cheap Chinese made ones (and a bit old at that). Not having a proper hole punch I just cut them with a razor blade. I started with just two in a cap then tried it in the Pietta, it went Bang! Not thinking it was enough Bang I added a small amount of fine (FFF or FFFF) BP and one cap, it went BAng! Thinking that may be enough I loaded 30gr of Graf & Sons FFF under a .451RB felt wad and lube cookie. Put the cap on and it barely went pop. Loaded up another cap with a little more BP and two caps pulled the hammer back and it went BANG or maybe more like a BOOM. I was in my garage with ear muffs on. Here is a photo of the caps and the one that went BOOM. The other photo is of the stuff used minus the beer can.
179537 179538
When I get the time and the weather clears I'll try a few more maybe with a little less BP in the cap and some of the priming compound.
Until then feel free to comment.

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

looks like they'd jam up quite nicely nicely when fired in a revolver. Have you considered using a thicker piece of sheet brass or even thin sheet copper? Might be something to try out.

[wyofool]

I made up six more and I will try them tomorrow? and see how they work firing five in a row. I tried a thicker strip of aluminum that I have for making gas checks but it would not cut properly.

[Toymaker]

My cap maker is one of the original Tap-O-Caps. Don't use it much anymore, but it worked well.
Their 2 part priming compound appears to be a binary explosive which makes me wonder if Tannerite would work.
I use toy caps made in Germany and available from WalMart. They work fine in my pistols and CVA Hawken 50 caliber but don't perform in my 40 caliber Hayes or 451 caliber Rigby. Haven't bothered to figure out why.
Beer cans seemed flimsy to me too so I went with soda cans which seem to be a little sturdier.

[ofitg]

Wyofool, a couple of people have reported that the new cap-maker from Sharpshooter punches out caps which are "dome shaped" on the bottom (instead of flat).... did you have any problem with that?

Your photos seem to indicate that the empty hulls are capable of sitting upright on a flat surface (ie, they did not tip over and lay on their sides).

[MUSTANG]

If you are having to use two layers of "Beer Can"; you may want to pursue the path that members have taken for Gas Checks over the years by trying:

(1) Amerimax aluminum flashing of various thicknesses (Ace Hardware, etc.. as source).
(2) Beer Aluminum Bottle also called a Bottle Can that is much thicker than traditional Beer/Soda aluminum cans.
(3) Aluminum Hairspray cans, aluminum Sunscreen containers, etc...

Your goal would be to find an aluminum product that has the correct thickness to fit over the percussion nipple, while retaining the strength/pressure to adhere to the nipple (ala- the path travelled for many for Gas Checks as described on this site in many different threads).

[Geezer in NH]

Thank you for the report! Please keep us informed on your progress. :goodpost:

[wyofool]

The caps are a little rounded on the bottom but it hasn't made any difference that I can tell. I took my "tamping tool" (a 16 pd nail) and used it with a small hammer to flatten the bottom more.

I have some strips of aluminum I got with my gas check maker the .009 thick works well but the strip I have is too narrow to get good caps.
The .012 and .0145 are too thick to use with this set-up. (see photo) 179692
However beer etc. cans come in various thicknesses. 179693
The Coors can is one of their Bottlecans and so far is the thickest. It works fairly well but have to punch from the non-painted side. I think the best thickness so far is the .0055 from the V8 energy drink or the Rolling Rock beer can.
179694 The V8 are on the left and the Coors on the right.

CCI primer holder cards (for lack of a better name) work for holding the finished caps.179695
I drilled out two corner holes all the way and used another card with expended .22LR cases for a lid to hold them all together.
179696
The black on the finished caps is flat black spray paint to act like glue to keep the insides from falling out. I tried cheap hairspray but it didn't work at all. They still went bang.
Tomorrow or ? I'll load up some cylinders and see how it all works.

[n.h.schmidt]

There is a alternate way to use the German caps for this. This was not my idea but I now use it myself. Soak a strip of the caps in water for about 30sec to a min. You can then rub the thin red paper off the strip and peel it back. This exposes the dots on the heavy paper strip. While wet you can use a sharp knife(I use a pairing knife) to lift off the dots. You can go right down the strip and build them up on the blade. I use eight dots for my caps,so when I have eight dots I scrape them off the blade and into the cup. Use anything to tamp them in.A matchstick will do . Set aside to dry. These are powerful and you have no paper to clog things up. Safe as long as you work wet. I have used as few as four dots for my revolver ,it worked fine. I have used a many as twenty dots for my rifles. They worked too but no better than eight. I do use hairspray to hold the dots in but spray paint could work too. The china caps can also work this way but you need to scrape off three times as many dots to get the effect you want. The water does not ruin the the mixture as you might think. I also use two ply pop cans for this.
n.h.schmidt

[wyofool]

this may sound strange to some folks on the boolits forum but n.h. What hairspray do you use?

[n.h.schmidt]

After carefully researching all available resources on the subject. Meaning nothing, I chose Rave. I use several light coats. I have found that a heavy coat can kill the cap.Light coats seem to be good though. I kind of like the paint idea though.Might hold better.
n.h.schmidt

[JavelinaBlanco]

What about a Corona can? Ive seen the commercial where they fall down stairs and off of bike racks etc.
Never mind, your caps may end up dancing to the beach...


If you are having to use two layers of "Beer Can"; you may want to pursue the path that members have taken for Gas Checks over the years by trying:

(1) Amerimax aluminum flashing of various thicknesses (Ace Hardware, etc.. as source).
(2) Beer Aluminum Bottle also called a Bottle Can that is much thicker than traditional Beer/Soda aluminum cans.
(3) Aluminum Hairspray cans, aluminum Sunscreen containers, etc...

Your goal would be to find an aluminum product that has the correct thickness to fit over the percussion nipple, while retaining the strength/pressure to adhere to the nipple (ala- the path travelled for many for Gas Checks as described on this site in many different threads).

[wyofool]

All my Corona came in bottles and they don't work very well, tastes ok though

[trapper9260]

How dose these caps work with a side hammer rifle? I been have a hard time to have them go off with 2 dots of the German and 3F in between the 2 dots that I cut out.

[n.h.schmidt]

Trapper
The brand of toy caps is important. Are you using the German made caps? Also your nipple design needs to be right too. I have found that the Mountain state spitfire nipple to be outstanding for this. Cain's outdoors sells them. Worst of all is a nipple that tightly bored . The bronze nipples that many use are terrible for the home made caps. In my cap tester almost no fire or sparks fired through the bronze nipple.
n.h.schmidt

[wyofool]

If you are having to use two layers of "Beer Can"; you may want to pursue the path that members have taken for Gas Checks over the years by trying:


(2) Beer Aluminum Bottle also called a Bottle Can that is much thicker than traditional Beer/Soda aluminum cans.
(3) Aluminum Hairspray cans, aluminum Sunscreen containers, etc...

I found an aluminum Sunscreen container it is .017 thick, too thick for caps but not gas checks.

[wyofool]

Yesterday, I tried the 15 rounds I had loaded with the cap gun caps with bp. It took about 20 to get 9 to fire. I used CCI caps on the other 6. I may have to refine my manufacturing procedure a bit to improve the results. I was happy that the 5 with my DIY black powder went bang with 7 cap. The Hawkin didn't like them at all but went bang with the CCI including my DIY bp. My boolit catcher got all but the rifle rounds, I think they went all the way through.

[wyofool]

Yesterday I made up 15 caps using the primer compound that I got from 22lr reloading. It only took a short while to mix the 4 powders then carefully add a small amount to each cap followed by a drop of alcohol. After 5 minutes I tamped them down with a small piece of 1/8th dowel. This morning I loaded up 3 cylinders as I did yesterday and headed out. I took the chrony to check the fps. All 15 fired the first time. The Goex fff with .451 rb were all about 850-900, my BP was about 100 fps less. Overall I'm happy with the results. I think the cap maker with aluminum between .0065 and .009 thickness and the primer compound is a winner.
I have ordered some of the German made caps and will try all of this again after I get them. And cast some more RBs.

[Duckdog]

I use a small disc of paper on top of the primer compound, after adding drop of acetone to "hold" the compound in place. It works very well. I use a small punch from one of those punch kits a guy can get from Harbor Freight or the likes, to make the disc.

I just use beer or pop cans for my caps, and can't say I've had any issues. Are you using the scoop from the kit? I took a stiff piece of wire and soldered a small pistol primer on one end and a large pistol primer on the other for my scoop. It works very well and gives the perfect amount.

In any case, it sure sounds like you have it figured out!

[wyofool]

Yes, I'm using the little scoop that came with the kit. I made what you describe for measuring the BP I put in the caps when using cap gun caps.