percussion caps & black powder shooting?

[blackpowder]

I hope I am in the right section with this (if not, some kind admin. please put it there).

I am new to shooting black powder percussion revolvers. I've got the hang of loading and shooting and really enjoy it. There is just one thing which is annoying to no end. However carefully I place the percussion caps on the pistons, I cant manage to get them to stay put. frequently they fall off during carry or shooting. perhaps some experienced shooter can let me in on some tricks to get the caps to stay on the pistons?

many thanks !

 

[sureshotbob]

I'd say try a differant brand of cap or see if you can get oversize nipple's.

 

[David LaPell]

Ok, for starters what kind of revolver are you using and what size caps, #10 or #11? Do the caps seat all the way on the nipple? If they are too loose and seem to be bigger, you're probably using a cap too large.

 

[growr]

I shoot cap and ball revolvers (1860 Army reproductions) and have since learned that replacing the nipples with ones made by Treso has solved my problems, their nipples take Remington #10 caps. They go on nicely and STAY on so that caps do not fall into the lockwork. I got way to good at dis-assemble of an 1860 to clear spent caps. The nipples are about $5.00/ea. and well worth every penny of it! I had to learn this from my fellow SASS shooters from Canada at a State SASS Championship....12 stages and all 9 shooters from Canada had their guns run flawlessly. I HAD to find out what their secrets were...Now I know. Might work for you as well.
Randy

 

[walnutred]

The other old trick is to slightly pinch you cap before putting it on the nipple.

 

[Cooter Brown]

The other old trick is to slightly pinch you cap before putting it on the nipple.

That's what I used to do, but "growr's" solution sounds a lot better.

 

[m1gunner]

Find some tighter fitting caps. Loose caps are the number one cause of chain fires in C&B revolvers.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

I shoot cap and ball revolvers (1860 Army reproductions) and have since learned that replacing the nipples with ones made by Treso has solved my problems, their nipples take Remington #10 caps. They go on nicely and STAY on so that caps do not fall into the lockwork. I got way to good at dis-assemble of an 1860 to clear spent caps. The nipples are about $5.00/ea. and well worth every penny of it! I had to learn this from my fellow SASS shooters from Canada at a State SASS Championship....12 stages and all 9 shooters from Canada had their guns run flawlessly. I HAD to find out what their secrets were...Now I know. Might work for you as well.
Randy

Thanks, Blackpowder, for asking this question. and Growr for the Tresco new nipple tip. I'm a new BP shooter, too and whatever caps I'm using are on the tight side. In fact I start to worry about getting too agressive and having one go off. It's hard with the capper, too.
Percussion revolver fun is way out of proportion to the low cost of the gun and gear. I got this Uberti and all this stuff with it shipped for $275. And I do what the old timers did. I raise the barrel skyward when cocking for thenext shot to keep the shot caps from going in the action even though they are tight on this gun.

 

[m75rlg]

I don't have any experience with BP revolvers, but on my cap lock rifles I have found a couple of dry fire strikes of the hammer on the nipple will slightly flare the top edge of the nipple. From that point on, the cap is weather tight and never falls off during a long day, or days, of hunting.

 

[Erich]

As everyone has said, proper-sized caps and proper cocking technique (which certainly comes with experience) can take care of almost all of the problem. For those rare times when I really don't want a percussion cap falling off and slowing things down, I use these little plastic tubular "keepers" that slip down over the outside of the percussion cap and hold its shoulders to the nipple even after firing. For some reason these aren't so easy to find anymore; they used to be pretty commonplace.

 

[seagill]

Thanks Blackpowder for starting this thread, and thank you to the members who who responded. Had the same problem with my 1858 Remington, but it's been so long since I've taken it out I'd forgotten about it. Guess it's about time to find an outdoor range in my area. The wealth of knowledge on this forum never ceases to amaze me!

 

[Bat Guano]

You can make those 'keepers' from plastic fuel line. I don't use them much on my ROA with Tresos, but 3/16" ID seems to be the right size...

 

[blackpowder]

many thanks for all the tips! I think I will try smaller size caps. And thanks, also, for the cocking tip "upwards" because the fired caps fall off even more readily.

The gun is a Remington model 1858 made in 1864. So I want to keep it all original and not change the nipples.

Wait! Just had a closer look and the caps dont exactly go on so easy as to seem oversized. Perhaps I try to pinch them a little before putting them on as walnutred suggests.

 

[Mustang51]

...The gun is a Remington model 1858 made in 1864. So I want to keep it all original and not change the nipples....

You're a braver man than me. I bought an Uberti, so that in the event something breaks, I won't feel too bad about it. Do you have a picture of yours?

 

[blackpowder]

You're a braver man than me. I bought an Uberti, so that in the event something breaks, I won't feel too bad about it. Do you have a picture of yours?

yes, I can make one - no problem. But how to upload it into this thread??

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Mustang51:

Nice photo of the original next to the Uberti. Most interesting of all is the huge difference in front sights. I bought my first Remmie replica back in 1975. At that time, the Italians were not putting such really tall front sights on them. As a result, my old EuroArms Remmie always shot high. When I decided to buy a conversion cylinder for it the first thing I did was had a gunsmith recut the sight dovetail and he mounted an Uberti front sight on it. Much taller, about like yours. That brought the point of impact down to the point of aim and I went ahead with the conversion. A few years later I picked up a Stainless Uberti that already came with the conversion cylinder. These cylinders are chambered for 45 Colt, but I usually shoot them with 45 Schofields loaded with FFg.

Here is a photo of my old EuroArms Remmie with its conversion cylinder and tall front sight.

I would be curious to know where the originals hit, with their much lower front sights.

Don't have much to add about C&B, I decided a long time ago that I prefer shooting my Black Powder in cartridges.

 

[Mustang51]

I would be curious to know where the originals hit, with their much lower front sights.

Yes, I would also. When I first saw the Uberti, I thought I would have to take a file to it, but it shoots to POA.

 

[blackpowder]

I would be curious to know where the originals hit, with their much lower front sights.

The originals, at least mine, hit to point of aim at 15 yards. However, groups of six fall anywhere from 4 to 8 inches with the gun on the bench rest. I suppose the replicas do better.

How can I upload a pic?

 

[JohnnieB]

How can I upload a pic?

Look at the top line of the box you typed your post in. See the paperclip to the right of the smiley-face? Left click it and use the browse button to go to the folder where the picture id stored on your computer. Click on your picture name and it will be attached to your post. Hit the Preview Post button to make sure it is attached.
Note - Pics (JPG) are limited to 800x800 pixels.

Also, the World with something like a paperclip laying sideways located below the Smiley-Face on the top row is how you insert a URL (Link) in your post.

There is also a way to post larger pictures using a an on-line server (Photobucket), but I don't know how do do that one.

 

[sureshotbob]

I used to collect Colt signiture series BP revolvers .I had a Walker ,Dragoon,1860 army,1851 navy and a 1849 pocket .All of them used to shoot about 8"-10" high . They were very acurate at 25 yards the only down side was the work in doing a good cleaning after shooting them.p/s the Walker was my favorite to shoot.