Cappers

[drobs]

Appreciate it Fingers McGee.
By the way - does your Central Ozarks group have any shoots planned in April / May? I'd like to come up for a visit if possible on next trip home to Missouri.

[Branko]

Well, ordered myself a Ted Cash capper, since people say it works well. Hopefully it'll work with the 1858 without having to mangle the cylinders.

[maillemaker]

[quote]You can't make a cap explode from pressure(and I have tried) and even if you could for a cap to do that kind of damage you'd blow the hammer back to full cock or shear it off with every shot fired. [quote]

Remember, it's not just the power of the cap. It's the charge being set off also.

"Happens that I am one of those pards who Old Scout mentioned as having a cap detonate under "finger pressure". Yes it can happen! The results ain't fun or pretty! For those who want the gory details, it happened in either June or July (I would have to check with the local Sheriffs office to be sure. It was recorded as a "firearms related injury" at the time and the doctor called in the Deputies to record the details) of 1986 in Marion County, Iowa. I was in a farm lane on my in-laws property doing a bit of target practice when a cap that I was "seating" on my 58 Remington detonated under the pressure of my thumb. Now a percussion cap doesn't have much power, not much more than the explosive force of a cap designed for toy cap guns, but the escaping gases coming back through the nipple hole from the ignition of the powder DO HAVE CONSIDERABLE FORCE!. Without the hammer down over that little hole enough hot gas can escape to do a lot of damage to any digit in its path. When it happened I ended up with a thumb that looked kind of like a peeled banana, only black! The nail bed was laid back down over the knuckle of my thumb, a strip was peeled down the inside radius, and the meaty ball was sort of bulged out. This left the bone exposed on the end of my thumb! (OUCH!) After washing and wire brushing away all the charred stuff the Sawbones was able to pull every thing back together and sew it up by running stitches through the thumbnail and the meaty part. But there was a piece missing that he couldn't do anything about. It really didn't hurt though, in fact I've never felt anything in that thumb again! Apparently the nerve bundle on the inside of the thumb was instantly cauterized. Made fer a bit of a hassle to relearn how cock a revolver!"

I guess the whole story could be made up but I don't know why he'd be more embarrassed about one version than the other.

Steve

[Hawg]

Remember, it's not just the power of the cap. It's the charge being set off also.

That's what I'm saying. If a cap(with a charge behind it) could do that kind of damage then the pressure of every round would force the hammer to full cock and probably shear it off and a chain fire would totally destroy it. I have tried everything imaginable to make a cap explode from pressure alone and couldn't do it. I've even crushed them in a vise. Plus the damage to his thumb is on the wrong side. By saying it was the caps fault he takes the blame off himself. I think he did something stupid and doesn't want to admit it.

[Fingers McGee]

drobs - We shoot the 3rd Sunday of the month from March through October. You are more than welcome to come shoot with us anytime.

[BlackPowderBen]

Branko,

If you got the ted cash snail capper, it won't work with the 1858 remington unless you widen the area around the nipple.

[Branko]

Straight line capper. It looks like it might work. Previously I bought an Italian made capper - Remington style, they market it, doesn't work with Remington 1858s. Mostly I want it so I can load faster and without the occasional cap dropping.

Although, I'm going to go with Hawg here, percussion caps need a good whack to set them off. I played with the mainspring tension screw quite a bit - lighten it too much and it won't set off. I tried to squish them with a metal rod (curiosity) and pressure just mangled them, didn't make them go off.

I'm just not seeing it, but who knows, maybe some combination of factors - maybe some grit throwing a spark? I don't press the caps too much with my thumb, they slide on just fine and snug with a light press (Remington #10s and stock Uberti nipples agree very well with each other).

[4V50 Gary]

I've seen period cappers made from leather. It's just a circular piece of leather with holes punched into it to hold the caps.

[Hawg]

I've seen rifle cappers like that.

[4V50 Gary]

A member here asked:

Gary,
I make these but never knew they "might" be period correct. Can you elaborate. I put a short leather strap in the center with a loop on the end that cinches to my middle finger. After you cap at the palm side of your hand, just flip it over to the backside out of the way so you can shoot. .....

The one I saw was a circular piece of leather with spade (or more like a diamond) like starbursts emanating from it. The cap holder was suspended from the strap of the hunting bag. Each spade like starburst had a circular hole punched into it which accomodated a cap.

The original owner, John Francisco, was a sutler during the Civil War and probably used it around 1870-1890 for his double barrel shotgun. A few months back there was an Ask Sarah inquiry in Muzzle Blasts magazine where the rib of the double barrel shotgun had a hunting scene on it (hunter with his dogs, birds, trees or something like that). It was the exact hunting scene on that shotgun he owned!

I have to find the images and write an article for Muzzle Loader on some articles in that museum (Francisco's Fort in La Veta, Colorado).

[brotherg]

Well, this thread kind of went off the rails. So be it, I will be careful with my thumbs.

Spent the evening loading and unloading, while NCIS droned in the back ground.

I think the capper is kind of nice. It is growing on me.

If you hold a finger over it while you engage the next cap you can keep it from shooting caps into the carpet. The next vacuum should be interesting, I have attached a fire extinguisher to the Kirby. It may already be a vacuum attachment, I will have to check the manual.

Next, if you pull it off just right, the cap will not shoot off the nipple into before mentioned carpet.

Remington, 10 or 11 work just fine.

I may file a little off the end, it seems to be a little long. I may also buy several more, wisdom from you forum geniuses.

It works better on my Remington than on the Colt. The Remmy has a little more room in the loader, and the nipple angles slightly outward. The colts are straight and the loading area is a little cramped. Even though the cylinder is roomy. You have to go straight in and out. I can not comment on the snail cappers as I believed the scuttlebutt about them not working on the Remington and did not buy one.

Your mileage may vary. The moral of the whole boring story is to practice, try stuff out. 150 year old technology is not intuitive to today's brain. I am pretty used to everything being engineered for me. It is refreshing to have learn a skill.

This, among many things is what I love about cap and ball. It requires an actual human being to operate the machine.

I think this thing has potential.

BTW, after capping several dozen, over an unloaded cylinder, on two different guns, none went off and my thumbs are undamaged. The potential still remains, always be safe.

[drobs]

Can't find the thread right now but another one of our esteemed members dremeled out the openings for the nipples on his Remington cylinder to allow the use of a snail capper.

I thought that was a great idea and gonna have to give that a try.

Random example borrowed from the web:

[4V50 Gary]

Interesting photo of those cylinders. You can figure out what type of key Ruger uses to cut the cylinder stop notches and the mill bits for the nipples. They're very different from the aftermarket maker.

[salvadore]

Hawgy, there be a lot of steely eyed gunslinger in here........Just sayin.

[Hawg]

Like I give a dead rats behind. I call it like I see it and if they don't like it, oh well.

[DD4lifeusmc]

Way back in the days of Montgomery Wards, I got into BP through their catalog.
Bought a CVA 50 cal mountain rifle and 2 navy Arms 44 caliber NMA's
I bought the accessories there too.
One was a no name brass capper.
I used it for both rifle and pistols.
Learned to slightly tip it up on end when capping the cylinders and then it fit just fine.
push the cap on, roll the capper over and finish seating if needed.

Takes practice but everything you do does.
At first you didn't know how to breath. But aft 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years or so most of us do it pretty darned good.

yes you may have to open the slot a bit or modify the capper tip a bit.
But they do work!

[Model12Win]

At first you didn't know how to breath. But aft 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years or so most of us do it pretty darned good.

Breathing is instinctive. Even embryos know how to breath, and embryos are pretty dumb when you get right down to it!

[salvadore]

OK Hawgy, just don't be the guy snorin in the next room......Just sayin.

[Hawg]

OK Hawgy, just don't be the guy snorin in the next room......Just sayin.

Whatever. I was a regular on the SASS Wire when he first came up with this story. I called BS on it then too.

[salvadore]

Do ya ever call b.s. on sass Hawgy?.

[Hawg]

I have but I haven't been there in a long time. Not since I gave up CAS.

[salvadore]

Didn't have enough 32 short shooters Hawgy?

[B.L.E.]

I find cappers a great way to carry caps when on a woods walk or hunting. For range use, it's more bother to constantly refill the capper than it is to just put the caps on the nipples by hand.

[Hawg]

Didn't have enough 32 short shooters Hawgy?

What are you getting at?

[salvadore]

The lack of a power factor, mouse fart loads, etc.