Shortage of Caps/Primers

[Ozark mike]

I just went and picked up some #10s and some small rifle primers. Looked like there was very little available at the store though.

[LAGS]

Went down a couple weeks back to a LGS.
They only had 300 Musket caps left.
And they were almost out of All reloading supplies as well as all ammo except super odd calibers

[Woodnbow]

Check out page 13 in this document -

http://aardvarkreloading.com/resourc...2019-06-28.pdf

Very interesting, but reading it could land you on a federal watch list...

[Shawlerbrook]

Thank God I am set for a long while. Have you seen the asking price for primers on Gunbroker.....$100-175/1000. Are they out of their minds.

[ofitg]

One other Tip for making a more durable and reliable primer.
When you put the priming compound in the cup, you put in one or two drops of Acetone Mixed with about 10 to 15 drops of Nail Polish in about an Once of Acetone.
The nail polish in the Acetone when dry , acts a a very durable and almost waterproof Binder.
It keeps the priming compound from drying out and turning back to powder and falling out

LAGS - if you're interested in trying something new, you might consider "Wicket's" method for compressing H48 in percussion caps without any binder at all. I described it in post 466 of this thread -
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ompound/page24

I have to admit, it seemed a little "spooky" when I first tried it..... but thinking about it, if a cap popped during the compression process (and none ever did), how is it so much different from popping a cap on a rifle's nipple 12 inches away from your face?

[Ozark mike]

Thank God I am set for a long while. Have you seen the asking price for primers on Gunbroker.....$100-175/1000. Are they out of their minds.

Sure sounds like it

[LAGS]

Thank you ofitg.
I will give that method a try.
I have the punch already that I use for my Final Forming and squaring of the cups.
I will let you know how it goes , or if it doesn't go well , I will let you know what the back side of the moon looks like.

[Ozark mike]

Check out page 13 in this document -

http://aardvarkreloading.com/resourc...2019-06-28.pdf

Well that document just made my reloading bucket list that much more time consuming

[LAGS]

Today I tried pressing the primer compound into the cup.
It worked good and looks like it will keep the compound in place without a binder.
But I will try some adding the Acetone and Nail polish to see how that works also.
One advantage I see with pressing the compound is.
Being pressed in place , makes it take up less space in the cup.
For a measure I use a small pistol primer cup soldered to a brass rod as a scoop.
It throws .6 grains of both H48 and FH 42 primer compounds.
I also made up a scoop out of a Large Rifle primer cup soldered to a brass rod.
That one throws 1.0 grains of both primer compounds.
By pressing the compound in place , I can use the larger scoop and not have the primer cup too full to sit properly on the nipple.
I will keep you posted on how my experiments go.
I know there will be more persons wanting to start making their own primers or primer caps if this shortage continues.

[Geezer in NH]

With a stash like that you need to make provisions for their dispersal if you drop dead or your wife will have a garage sale at $1 a sleeve just to get rid of them.

Uh he would be dead so Huh?

[TheOutlawKid]

I make my own h-48/fa42 primer mix but i use duco cement thinned in acetone as a binder. Its nitrocellulose glue. Works great and moisture proof

[LAGS]

I did some more testing on the primers done with pressing the priming compound into the cup with my drill press.
After sitting overnight , they were flaking off tiny bits of compound.
It didn't effect the performance.
But the ones that I pressed and put a drop of the binder on did not flake off at all.
I am going to make up two batches.
One with the compound pressed and the binder , the other only pressed.
I will put them into a sealed container and probably set them in my vibrating brass cleaner for a while and see which holds up best.

[LAGS]

I tried putting the home made primers in the tumbler for a few minutes today.
The ones with the priming compound alone did not hold up too well.
They started flaking off very quickly.
And if dropped on the table from about 6" high , the priming compound cracked or fell out.
But the primers made with the binder held up well.
So from now on , I well press the compound in place , then add a drop of my binder.
I do not intend on shooting only home made primers.
But it will give me all the primers I will ever need , and offset the need to find or buy factory primers.
Cost wise , making your own is well worth it.
Time wise , it does seem to take some time.
But look at the time you might spend hunting all over for some primers.
Or for some people , Driving great distances to get primers.

[ofitg]

LAGS - since the main ingredient of nail polish is nitrocellulose, it sounds like you and Outlaw Kid are both using essentially the same type of binder. After you add the drop of nitrocellulose/acetone on top of the pressed primer pellet, how long do you wait for the binder to dry and harden?
I remember that "Wicket" experimented with sealing his caps using liquid shellac, but the caps would not fire unless he waited a long time for the binder to dry completely.

Edit - I'm wondering, how many pounds of force are you applying to the handle of your drill press when you compress the H48? When I was experimenting with this stuff, I was applying up to 20 pounds (perpendicular to the handle). I measured the force by pulling down on the hook under a Berkley hanging scale -

[LAGS]

I only had to let the binder in the primers dry for a few hours.
But that is here in Arizona , where it has been around 110 degrees for weeks.
But I make up the primers in the morning and test them around noon.
But most are made in the evening and dry overnight to be tested in the morning.
You may have a point about the amount of pressure that I apply to compressing the compound.
I never put any kind of scale on my press handle.
Cause , I don't think many guys on this forum would have a scale to duplicate my procedures.
I am trying to keep my testing and Assembling of the primers Simple and not some Rocket Science project.
I want to be able to Help the average guy to deal with this shortage or just get the Basic Knowledge to do some things on their own.
That is why I try to work with Simple and available tools and materials.
I think Shellac takes much longer to dry.
That would be a good reason my wife doesn't use it for nail polish.
But I may load up a batch of primers and do some testing to see how Waterproof they are.
Who knows , I might be using my own primers for hunting someday.
But a lot of you guys have to deal with a High Humidity Situation when storing the primers for a long time.
The waterproofing will help out with that.

[arcticap]

The shortage seems to be spotty since some folks in some locations have reported that they can get caps locally.
Some of the sporting goods chain stores have them in stock so maybe they're getting large priority shipments as they become available.

[arcticap]

Midway now has CCI #11's in stock @ $52.99 per 1000. --->>> https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1301928524?pid=995981

Beware that the RWS caps being sold by Midway, are 1075 Plus even though the product page title doesn't clearly state it.
And a photo of the container of 250 [seen when selecting the quantity] is labeled as being regular 1075's which is misleading.
A user review explains it. --->>> https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1022777938

[John Boy]

Midway now has CCI #11's in stock @ $52.99 per 1000.

* They are the only vendor that will ship from an Internet purchase
* Others 'store pickup only' or no ship
* Remingtons = Out of Stock
Based on the current prices, looks like RTK Corp (CCI) has a lock on the market and prices are equal to "Scalper Prices"
When I bought 5000 from Cabelas about 4 years ago, at $32 per 1000... I cringed at the price but the going prices now are really putting it to the percussion shooters

[LAGS]

One advantage to being able to make your own primers is.
I have several friends that shoot Black powder like twice a year.
They don't want to invest in buying 1000 primers on line , only to have them sit for years.
Nor some of them do not have the ability to even invest $50.00 at one time for an hobby that will not be going on for months.
I showed them they could knock out 100 primers in a night at minimal cost when they will need them.

[John Boy]

Finally a source for a Percussion Cap Maker ... https://www.survivalistboards.com/sh...d.php?t=654706

#11 caps in theory should work on my Pietta Cap & Ball revolvers that are set up for #10 Remington caps.