Let's talk caps

[funkster]

So there is #11 percussion caps and then there is musket caps. I noticed that cci,remington,rws and traditions all make musket and #11 caps. My dad and a close family friend have been using cci musket caps and they do not always fire. I am looking for something that consistently works. If anyone can shed some light and steer me in the right direction that would be great.

[Jason]

I recently bought some CCI musket caps, haven't used them yet, but I did notice on the top of the container it says
"for reenactment use" hopefully they work  

[fair-chase]

When using musket caps I have found the ones from Germany (or have German labeling) to be the best. I would have to dig them out to find the exact name of the manufacturer as I have all of my black powder gear packed away for the year. I am sure some others on here know what I am referring to as it has been discussed before.

[Heredoggydoggy]

I recently changed to Musket Caps.  But I've had misfires with both #11 and Musket caps.  I'm beginning to think that it's best to put on a new cap each time, than to re-use a cap that you've carried on the gun previously.  They aren't that expensive, and you only get one chance at a critter.

There's no such thing as a Sure Thing.  A misfire can even happen with a modern firearm.

[funkster]

When using musket caps I have found the ones from Germany (or have German labeling) to be the best. I would have to dig them out to find the exact name of the manufacturer as I have all of my black powder gear packed away for the year. I am sure some others on here know what I am referring to as it has been discussed before.

I believe they are called RWS. They are the most expensive caps I have found so far. $6.99 for 100 is not bad at all.

[Whitelightning]

When using musket caps I have found the ones from Germany (or have German labeling) to be the best. I would have to dig them out to find the exact name of the manufacturer as I have all of my black powder gear packed away for the year. I am sure some others on here know what I am referring to as it has been discussed before.

The caps you are thinking of are RWS caps made by DYNAMIT-NOBEL. They should be in a red package they are without a doubt the best most reliable on the market today.

My opinion on caps is that a #11 cap will fit the nipple much tighter than a Musket cap making the #11 weather tight. I switched to #11's because I had lost a few Musket caps in the heat of a stalk. Might have been the gun and nipple I was using at the time but never have had the problem with #11's.

If you are using pellets rather than loose powder the Musket may be better for you as the niple has a larger flame channel. They will also tend to be a little dirtier as the channel being larger will allow for a littler more blow back. Just my two cents.

[fair-chase]

Yeah Funkster, RWS is what I am using. Just pulled them out. They are hard to find but if you shop around online usually you can order a 1000 of them for about 50 bucks. I will say that they did not seem to seal as tight on my original T/C nipple but when I switched to the T/C Red Hot they were much more snug.   Whats up with that, possible that my old one was worn down.  Either way I found a noticable decrease in misfires when using these over the CCI's.

[funkster]

I looked at the rws,remington and cci caps today at wholesale sports and the rws looked to be made better than the rest,but it hard to tell without testing them out!

Has anyone used #11 magnum caps? If so,how do you know your loader can shoot them?

[Whitelightning]

Magnum #11 caps, are you reffering to CCI #11 mags? The magnum caps can be shot on any #11 nipple. Magnum is a relative IMO when it comes to caps, they all should be magnum.

[funkster]

yes,the cci mags. They claim to be "extra hot" and produce a 24% hotter flame. They are more expensive then their regular #11 caps.

[Whitelightning]

The hottest #11 I have found is the RWS cap. I have had many many CCI caps fail to fire magnum included.

[Dirty Mike]

i took a german musket cap and put it in a glass of water for 24hrs then took it to the range, well my grandpa always told me they were water proof along with being the hottest cap on the market, well i loaded my muzzy, pulled the cap out of the water gave it a shake, and put it on the nipple, pulled the trigger and it went off first time with no hang fire

[Machias]

RWS all the way for me!

[Hangfire]

I had used the Italian #11 caps for years and that became the problem, it was years since I bought a thousand of them.I had switched to the flint and did not use caps at the rate I had been. They have always been kept in a dry case, but age or perhaps just the moisture in the air has affected them. I was having missfires with guns that had never miss fired. I bought a 100 of the CCI magnum and every thing works fine. When I first got into using a muzzle loader in the mid 70's I had a Zuave. It came with both nipples, the musket nipple installed. I never did have as good of ignition with musket caps as I did #11 caps.

[SkookumHntr]

I recently bought some CCI musket caps, haven't used them yet, but I did notice on the top of the container it says
"for reenactment use" hopefully they work  

- Thats the cap that I used on my late season rainy elk hunt and they worked fine! I have both and I actually like these better! The only misfire Ive ever had was with the German ones, cap went off but didnt ignite the powder. My dad has missfires all the time with his white and # 11's but on his the caps dont even go off? I dont know what his guns problem is?? ANy suggestions?

[Whitelightning]

I recently bought some CCI musket caps, haven't used them yet, but I did notice on the top of the container it says
"for reenactment use" hopefully they work  

- Thats the cap that I used on my late season rainy elk hunt and they worked fine! I have both and I actually like these better! The only misfire Ive ever had was with the German ones, cap went off but didnt ignite the powder. My dad has missfires all the time with his white and # 11's but on his the caps dont even go off? I dont know what his guns problem is?? ANy suggestions?

If he is having issues with a White and #11's most common is the cap is not seating on the face of the nipple. Make sure you PUSH the cap on the nipple with force, if you still have the issue take some fine sand paper and sand the circumference of the nipple down until you get consistent cap ignition. Ususally does not take long.
White made the tapper of the nipple a tad steep and some caps without force will not sit on the face properly.

[boots]

I was getting misfires with the german caps so i am no longer using them. The diameter of the german caps is slightly different than the diameter of the remington,cci's etc. Definitely a hotter, and better cap...but if they misfire they aren't better in my situation

[teanawayslayer]

I prefer the german caps.  lot less hang fires and they seem to hold out the moisture better than the cci's ect.  They also seem to be a hotter burning primer, wich I like

[carpsniperg2]

RWS

[Jason]

Yesterday I Found the RWS German caps at Wholesale Sports $8.99 for 100

[Wacenturion]

As said earlier...............

"The caps you are thinking of are RWS caps made by DYNAMIT-NOBEL. They should be in a red package they are without a doubt the best most reliable on the market today."

Absolutely the best.  Been using them since the 70's.  Don't even waste your time with the others.  Enough said.

[KLRKeith]

I would bet it's the nipple.  I've fired thousands of CCI magnums and never a misfire.  I've always changed out the stock nipples with one with small holes in the top portions.  Hot shot, fire shot are some of the brand names.  I order them from Dixie gun works.  Musket caps i've used on a few ml that I've changed the nipple out for them.  They are so much easier to handle with cold hands..

[funkster]

Thanks for the info!

[funkster]

Went out and shot yesterday and had a blast!

I only got off about 10 shots before dark but I did have 4 rws #11 caps not go off. I don't know if I was doing something wrong or what. I will give them another shot and see what happens, if the same thing happens I am going to try the musket caps.

[bobcat]

It may not have been a problem with the caps but that they weren't fitting on the nipple correctly. Did you try to fire the "bad" caps more than once?

[funkster]

yes, I re-opened the bolt and then closed it and they fired on the second try.

[leadbalz]

That actually doesn't sound like a cap problem at all, what that sounds like is something I see all the time , when putting a cap on , it does not get pushed all the way down to seat properly, when the hammer falls it only pushes it down to where it should be, then when you re cock and try again it goes off. Try pushing the cap hard next time , when I am hunting I actually lower the hammer down on my capthe resting postion and then force the cap all the way down using the hammer and thumb pressure(not striking) of course pointing in a safe direction.I actually have to carve the cap off with a knife when it is time to go, that is how tight it is. I am still using  CCI #11 caps that I bought close to 10 years ago.

[ribka]

Yeh that. Push the cap in and make sure it is seated all the way snug.

Shot both CCi and RWS musket caps. Like the RWS better, Seem a little hotter 

[funkster]

Again good info! I will try applying more pressure to seat the cap on the nipple. I was using a capper tool(I think that is what it is called) and it is hard to feel how much pressure is being applied.

How many caps can I fire before I need to clean the nipple?

I was basically getting a feel for the riffle( I have not shot since I was a teen) I was grouping about 8" high off center at 2 o'clock at 50 yards. I have the truglo sight with the ghost ring on order. Then I will get sighted in.

[Whitelightning]

I recently bought some CCI musket caps, haven't used them yet, but I did notice on the top of the container it says
"for reenactment use" hopefully they work  

- Thats the cap that I used on my late season rainy elk hunt and they worked fine! I have both and I actually like these better! The only misfire Ive ever had was with the German ones, cap went off but didnt ignite the powder. My dad has missfires all the time with his white and # 11's but on his the caps dont even go off? I dont know what his guns problem is?? ANy suggestions?

If he is having issues with a White and #11's most common is the cap is not seating on the face of the nipple. Make sure you PUSH the cap on the nipple with force, if you still have the issue take some fine sand paper and sand the circumference of the nipple down until you get consistent cap ignition. Ususally does not take long.


Ya like was said in this post!!!

[Whitelightning]

Again good info! I will try applying more pressure to seat the cap on the nipple. I was using a capper tool(I think that is what it is called) and it is hard to feel how much pressure is being applied.

How many caps can I fire before I need to clean the nipple?

I was basically getting a feel for the riffle( I have not shot since I was a teen) I was grouping about 8" high off center at 2 o'clock at 50 yards. I have the truglo sight with the ghost ring on order. Then I will get sighted in.

Yes you have to push the cap on the nipple. I put the cap on with the capper and then I PUSH the cap onto the nipple to seat it. If the cap is not SEATED on the face of the nipple it will mushroom and NOT FIRE. Most of the time when you can RE-Cock and the cap fires it is due to the cap NOT being fully seated. If pressure alone;one does not correct the issue sand the nipples circumference with fine sandpaper a little at a time until you can fire multiple caps without a miss fire.

 I can tell you from experience this usually is the case as I have well over a dozen Muzzle loaders in my safe. I have sanded many nipples over the years.

[funkster]

Again thanks. I can't wait to get out and try this out! If the extra seatting does not work I will try the sanding.

[gadwall]

I believe they are called RWS. They are the most expensive caps I have found so far. $6.99 for 100 is not bad at all.
 
 
 
 

I won't shoot anything but RWS because they are the most consistent for me in #11's and musket caps.

Gadwall

[Armadillo]

Never had a problem with CCI mags except....In an incredible rain downpour here on the westside. They always go "boom" for me when its super dry outside

[Kowsrule30]

When using musket caps I have found the ones from Germany (or have German labeling) to be the best. I would have to dig them out to find the exact name of the manufacturer as I have all of my black powder gear packed away for the year. I am sure some others on here know what I am referring to as it has been discussed before.

Yep the only ones I'll ever use are NO 1081 They say Dynamit Nobel on them in english and Vorderlader-Zundhutchen made in Troisdorf Germany....

[PA BEN]

I havn't used them in my Black Diamond  but I tried CCI #11 Mag caps in my side lock shot gun and had miss fire after miss fire. Never had a miss fire w/remington #11 Mag caps.

[Smokepole]

Nice looking gun.  Gonna get me one someday.