Caps not working on revolvers

[Nobade]

My homemade beer can caps work great on rifles. Never a misfire. But it often takes 4 or 5 of them to fire a revolver chamber. They go off every time, sound plenty strong, but don't light off the powder. My current theory is I am loading them too heavy and they blow out the sides instead of down into the nipple. Going to try a batch with less priming mix. Anybody else seen this?

[Tar Heel]

I would guess that the nipple throat and orifice are smaller on the revolver cones. Do the caps fit snugly on the revolver cones or are they, being rifle sized or musket sized, too loose on the revolver cones? If they are too loose, you can try sleeving them in vinyl tubing over the cones. Cut a small piece of tubing and shove it over the seated cap down to the base of the cone. Leave the cap head exposed to the hammer strike. Sleeve should be about 3/16" or so long.

[HWooldridge]

Most rifle hammers have a depression that encapsulates the cap to a degree - while revolver hammers are more or less flat faced, so your theory may be spot on. The cap is exploding before actually sending fire through the nipple. What does your DIY cap look like after firing - is it more or less intact or blown to pieces?

[Nobade]

Most rifle hammers have a depression that encapsulates the cap to a degree - while revolver hammers are more or less flat faced, so your theory may be spot on. The cap is exploding before actually sending fire through the nipple. What does your DIY cap look like after firing - is it more or less intact or blown to pieces?

Pretty well destroyed. Much more so than factory caps.

[n.h.schmidt]

Yes You can overpower your caps for the revolver. Have done so and now I have greatly reduced my powders. I use two layer pop can caps,sometimes use .005 copper or now brass. The tubing over the cap is a great idea. Keeps it all together no frags.
The tubing also forces more of the blast through the nipple.I can watch this on my tester. The problem with copper or brass is the greatly increased cost. With the folded over pop cans,I get a two layer cap.48 per can that way and I can get the cans free or a nickle per can.

[45 Dragoon]

What Revolver?
It may not be the caps. Does the hammer face contact the nipples? Can the cyl move forward enough that caps are "out of range"? (Massive Endshake on an open top)

Mike

[n.h.schmidt]

He did say they go off every time. Just don't fire the chamber Nobade what are you using for prime? What nipples are you using? What powder?

[Nobade]

He did say they go off every time. Just don't fire the chamber Nobade what are you using for prime? What nipples are you using? What powder?

Three different revolvers. A '62 pocket police, a '51 Navy and a '60 Army. The '51 has TOW nipples, I don't know about the others since I bought them used but they seem to work fine. Powder is either Old "E" or homemade, same with both. Prime mix is FA48.
I'll see if I can get two layers of pop can into my forming die, and see how they work if I load them lighter. All the fun of experimenting! And if less mix works better, then I just get to make more caps at a time.

[LAGS]

For making my caps with F48 or F 42 , I use an empty small pistol primer cup soldered to a brass rod as a scoop.
Just one level scoop works fine , especially with the F42.
I don't do too many Revolver primers now that I sold my Colt.
But try copper or brass for your cups also.
To up your load in the cap , you just use a rounded measure in the scoop.

[Brokenbear]

Two layers of soda can solved my problems ..but I only use 3 cap gun "dots" as the ignition ..the problem I was having was the single layered cap cup was being blown to pieces by the back pressure of the discharge ..once I went to the double wall caps I now have.. once fired ..a fully intact cap on each nipple that I remove with a flick of a finger nail
I use a plastic mallet on my cap die ..so when building double walls I do a half tap to begin the forming then a normal tap to complete ..
The .005 brass is much harder to form than double walled aluminum cups

Yes I think you are using too much ignition

Yes I think double wall cup will make you a better cap not only staying together as well as staying on the nipples better

Bear

[Nobade]

Thanks guys! You are confirming my theories. Time to make more caps when the weather warms up a bit and go shoot more. Always a good excuse for that!

[bedbugbilly]

If you purchased the pistols used - do they have the original factory nipples in them?

The problem may very well be what you suspect it is - but factory nipples are not the best. I have owned many C & B revolvers - different makes - over the past 60 years. I had more than one where caps would go off but charges wouldn't and it was due to the factory nipples not being of good quality - i.e. various diameters of cone diameters, non uniform flash holes, etc. I'm not saying that it is the problem but take a look at them to make sure the flash holes are uniform.

A C & B cylinder chamber is very much akin to an under hammer rifle in that the nipple goes directly into the powder chamber with very little distance for the flash to travel. Over the years, I have had percussion caps that I considered "weak" but they seemed to have no problem in igniting the chamber on a C & B.

It will be interesting to see what you discover as you may very well be on to the problem with them being too hot?

I have seen homemade caps but never tried any such as those made out of the aluminum cans. If you think your caps may be too hot - am curious - do they fragment on ignition or stay in once pier one piece but flare out? Or - do they stay on the nipple and need to be flicked off?

Good luck and please let us know what you come up with - all interesting!