Trouble with percussion capd

[tallwalker]

I am new to muzzleloading and have a stupid question. I am shooting a Pedersoli 12g SxS with #11 percussion caps. Great fun at the skeet pad! I generally half cock both barrels and fully cock each barrel in motion and fire each barrel. More often than not firing the first barrel knocks the other cap off. Is there some technique I am missing?

[Col4570]

Yes just give your Caps a little squeeze they will not fall off then.Good luck.

[Omnivore]

Ultimately it's about getting the proper fit between nipple and cap. Different brands of nipples, and different brand of caps, fit differently. If the caps are too loose, squeezing them will help, but if you get tired of squeezing caps you can try to find the right fitting combination. Too tight and you have a different problem; occasional misfires, as much of the hammer energy is spent in further seating the cap. You can force the tight caps on with a stick or something too, but having the right fit is best.

[dagger dog]

In an article by John L. Fuhring, you can make a percussion cap crimp tool from a diagonal cut plier, by cutting a notch in the jaws with a Dremel tool for the the correct diameter, to swage the skirt of the cap, for a tighter fit.

Michael Costa, who sent me that cartridge "funnel" mentioned above, had another outstanding idea. It is a simple and inexpensive tool to crimp down oversized caps. I have yet to use it, but it is a brilliant idea. All you have to do is go out and buy an inexpensive diagonal cutter and drill a hole where the two blades come together. You might have to take a small round file to get the diameter just right, but when you do, you will have a crimper that will produce caps that fit your revolver's ( or rifle's), nipples perfectly. It is so cheap and easy to make one of these things, I think they should be in everybody's "possibles" bag when they go to the range.

Thanks to Mr. Fhuring.


Measure the diameter of your perc' cap and make the notch a wee bit smaller, it's a grind test, grind test thing.



Welcome to the forum !

[johnson1942]

buy magspark nipples for them and use shotgun primers. fires every time and burns the powder better. warren out doors on the internet has them, yours is a shot gun, why not use shotgun primers.

[tallwalker]

Thanks for the tips everyone. After looking more closely, I think much of the problem is coming from this cheapo straight capper (CVA I think). It does teds to pinch the caps around the sides a bit which is ok, but the height is so sloppy it may not be seating far enough down. Think I will just finger them until I can get a feel for what else may be going on.

[fouronesix]

Thanks for the tips everyone. After looking more closely, I think much of the problem is coming from this cheapo straight capper (CVA I think). It does teds to pinch the caps around the sides a bit which is ok, but the height is so sloppy it may not be seating far enough down. Think I will just finger them until I can get a feel for what else may be going on.

Could be. If your cap fits the nipple correctly you should be able to "feel" it bottom out on the priming compound with a little finger pressure as it expands the cap flange over the nipple cone. If you can feel it do that it is seated correctly. If it bottoms with that little bit of finger pressure it should not rattle off when the 1st bore fires.

No problem using the inline capper- just follow up with finger pressure to bottom after applying with the capper.

If all else fails try some new nipples. It's better to start with slightly over sized nipple cones because they can be turned down for a proper snug cap fit. Simply chuck in a hand drill and apply a file or coarse diamond hone. Check often with a cap for that perfect snug fit that bottoms out.

[Omnivore]

I think much of the problem is coming from this cheapo straight capper (CVA I think). It does teds to pinch the caps around the sides a bit which is ok, but the height is so sloppy it may not be seating far enough down.

Hmm. Sorry, but to me that makes no sense. The in line capper has metal behind the cap (mine do anyway), so you should be pressing the cap onto the nipple with the capper. Doesn't matter how "sloppy" the capper may be; just push the cap on with your thumb over the back of that portion of the capper that sits over over the cap.

If the cap bottoms out on the nipple and it's still loose, that's a completely different issue, and to truly solve it you'll want a better fit between cap and nipple.

A proper fit has the explosive in the cap seated against the top of the nipple, every time, with a little shove, and at that point it should be somewhat difficult to pull the cap off.