Just Paid 8 Cents a Percussion Cap ...

[wildman1]

Houlton, ME at a WallMart that had been open about 6 months. It was in the middle of January and we stopped to buy something, I don't remember what. They had way overstocked on BP hunting supplies and I filled two saddle bags with .490RB's and percussion caps. (We were riding snowmobiles.)  wM1

[wildman1]

If it was in a large plastic blister pack it is new.  You use to be able to buy 1000 primers in a little tiny box because there were just ten tins in there.  The past few years Remington has put the cap tins in a blister pack so they can be hung on a hook on the retailer's shelves.  A 1000 now comes in a BIG box.

Old on left, new on right.  If you got the ones on the right for $2.99 run, do not walk, back there and buy all they have.

Mine are in the blister pack. According to you they are new. And I did buy all that they had and still have a little over a thou of them. wM1

[Pettifogger]

Pettifogger your name came up today in a conversation I was havin here in Pelham. I was talkin to Piney Woods, Ida May, Wild Bill,and Captain Morgan. wM1

I didn't do it.  I swear I didn't.   

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[Thumb Buster]

Pettifogger, thanks for the info.  It is old stock.  Is there a difference in performance that is not age related?  Thanks again.

[Pettifogger]

I still have about 4000 of them.  They work fine.

[bushwhacker]

Thanks for the information. 

[Bruce W Sims]

Excuse me, Folks... the newbie on the block has a question.

I am brand spanking new to Black powder and I am starting with a Colt Dragoon Model Three.

The paperwork that came with the gun is absolutely worthless for technical information and I have not
been able to find out what size caps I am suppose to use. So far the current wisdom seems to be #11. Help?

Thanks in advance.

BTW: My dad used to send me down to the local pharmacy with a quarter and a penny--- for tax--- to get him
his daily Chesterfield fix. In a pinch he'd settle for Lucky Strike but a man's got to have his principles, right?
Anyhow I think you can still find them for that price. They are right there on the display next to the 25 cent gasoline someone mentioned. 

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[Bunk Stagnerg]

The price of caps along with everything else is only going up. The last time I bought caps from Powder Inc. were about $75 per M including hazmat.  I don’t have the invoice at hand, but they were somewhere around $50 per M, and I was glad to get some.

Digging around in the dark recesses of my loading room I discovered one or two sleeves of those “extra hot” Italian caps bought years ago from DGW. They are plenty hot as I recall, but gave corrosive a new meaning. Nipples would almost start to rust between loadings. Never go to sleep with a dirty barrel because it will be rusted overnight.

Non corrosive caps are the greatest thing since sliced bread for BP shooters. We may shoot the old way but thanks to “better things for better living through chemistry”, we shoot with a lot less work cleaning.

Hold center
Bunk

[Crow Choker]

Bruce: My Uberti 2nd Mod Dragoon works best with Rem #10's. Have tried CCI#11's, but the Rem 10's have a little snugger fit and rarely/almost never have one fall off due to firing or any other conditions. The Rem 10's fit all of my other Uberti cap an ball revolvers, and my Pietta Remington and 1851 Navy 44 caliber. Stay away from CCI #10's, way to tight. All my percussion revolvers have stock nipples except I have a extra cylinder for the Pietta 51 Navy 44 caliber fitted with Tresco nipples. The Rem 10's work fine with it. I've read that Tresco, when they developed their product used a CCI #11 as a guide for fitting. A lot of the posts on this forum from other shooters advise Rem 10's work good on Tresco's, others have penned they use CCI 11's with good results. Go to the DARK ARTS in the Den and read Mako's fine work on nipple/cone and cap dimensions. According to the info contained, Rem 10 and 11's and CCI 11's are all .166 ID.. For length, Rem 10's are the longest being .181, CCI' 11's are .165, with Rem 11's being the shortest at .153. The extra length of the Rem 10's allows them to fit down onto the tapered nipple farther, giving a snugger fit.

Now with Remington reportedly redesigning their caps I don't know how the 'ball game' affects everything. According to John Boys post the New Rem #11's are a tad longer and a bit wider. Couldn't find any info on Rem 10's. I'd buy a tin of the New Rem 10's (if available) and see how they fit and stay on when firing your Dragoon. CCI #11's would be another option.

With Remingtons claim to a 40% hotter flame, I'm courious how this will affect everyones standard loadings of black powder. How it will affect pressure, velocity, etc. Will we have to go to using FF black instead of FFF? Remingtons website advised the new 'hotter' cap was developed for black powder substitutes like Pyrodex. I don't and don't care to shoot that stuff. What are they doing, throwing those who want to shoot the real stuff under the bus? Sounds like the ol' government 'tap dance'  of getting rid of regular light bulbs and trying to force everyone to use the newer CFL ones. Looking forward to anyone who takes the time and can, do some comparisons in loads and other differences using the 'old' and 'new' Remington caps (using real black). Sure wish Mako still posted on this forum, he'd do it.

[Pettifogger]

The "new" Remington caps (the ones in the blister pack advertising 40% more flame) have been on the market for at least six years.  They still use the new and improved packaging, but they have been around a long time.  Kind of like clothes washing soap.  TIDE has been advertising their new and improved detergent for about 60 years.  The Remington 11 has the same internal diameter as the Remington 10.  The difference is that the 10 has a longer skirt so it will go onto the tapered cones a little further and give a "tighter" fit.

[Crow Choker]

Pettifogger: To tell ya the truth, the "New" prefix to Remingtons caps is "new" to me. I've seen caps in some of the big box stores hanging on hooks, but never took the time to read any info on the blister pack if any that may have indicated new-improved-more power-etc. When I have gone into the 'big box' sporting goods stores such as Cabela's, Gander Mt, Scheels, etc, even though I being a black powder shooter, I don't spend a lot of time in their black powder sections. This is due to the fact they don't really offer anything I need or want. Some of it is from some outfits like 'Traditions' that IMO don't have that good a quality of products, I have other sources that offer what I need, or I make it. As indicated in my previous posts, for around the last two decades, I've bought my caps and powder from a gun shop around 45 min drive and he has been in a drought the last several years in being able to get any from his sources. I also haven't seen any printed adverts or seen any posts about the new caps on this or any other forum. Doesn't mean it isn't there, just haven't laid eyes on it. When I was in any of the black powder isles, I've never picked up any of the blister Rem packs for inspection as I always had ample supply. The last time I bought any Rem caps, they were still in the green box and not in any blister pack. That wasn't that long ago, less than the six years you indicate they've been on the market.

As far as pricing, when a business is selling a product over the MSRP, they are ripping off the public. I don't give a hoot about how available the product is or not. I've seen some of the outfits mentioned above selling 22 LR ammo for $50-70 per 1000 when the MSRP is half or less than that. A business near me, Mills Fleet Farm, when they do get 22LR ammo in, sell them for around $25 a brick, when the others I mentioned are doubling the price or more. I know who will get my business. Your post on July 23rd advised of buying gas for 24 cents a gallon, ya I can remember that and the better days of gas prices. I can recall the buying frenzy of 2008-2009 and 2012 when primers became scarce, selling for up to $70 per 1000, but then settled back down to the $30ish area. In the 2012 or so frenzy, caps took a hike to the $50-70 per 1000 as did primers, but the primers came back down, why not the percussion caps. Of course I'm talking about what I experience in my North Iowa area, but I read of basically the same situation nation wide. In his post of July 21 (post #8), john boy indicated that according to his inflation figures since 2005, the price of caps should have increased 21.8%. Cabela's in their "think the shooting public is stupid and uninformed" pricing, have inflated the price 63.6%. Come on Cabela's, you used to be a business that had honor. In his opening post, john boy said it all. Do the math, something AIN'T right!

What you posted about the dimensions of caps,

The "new" Remington caps (the ones in the blister pack advertising 40% more flame) have been on the market for at least six years.  They still use the new and improved packaging, but they have been around a long time.  Kind of like clothes washing soap.  TIDE has been advertising their new and improved detergent for about 60 years.  The Remington 11 has the same internal diameter as the Remington 10.  The difference is that the 10 has a longer skirt so it will go onto the tapered cones a little further and give a "tighter" fit.

, I agree with ya. From what Mako posted some time back about cap and nipple dimensions, that is what I was referring to. The post john boy posted (#8 July 21) indicated that the "New" #11's were .178, wider than the .166 Mako posted them as. This indicated to me that Remington made the inside diameter wider than the "old" caps. Didn't make sense. Whatever they are from Mako's info, CCI #11's are the same ID as both Rem 10 and 11's, but 10's have the longer skirt, giving them a better grip on the nipple. CCI #11's have a longer skirt than Rem 11's, making them better yet IMO and to the comments and info others have posted about the CCI 11's.

Any way Pettifogger, always enjoy yer posts and info ya have. Not lookin for a cyber/forum war. Have good days always.
Yers, Crow Choker    

[wildman1]

I didn't do it.  I swear I didn't.   

    wM1

[Bruce W Sims]

I noticed noone has mentioned anything about "Magnums". I raise this only because I settled for a 100-pk of
Winchester when I couldn't find the CCI I was looking for. I noticed a disclaimer on Track of the Wolf that using
magnum caps would cancel the warrantee on their nipples. Seemed a touch odd to me....or is there really that much difference?
And is the difference a matter of charge, or the dimensions folks were citing earlier?
Thoughts?

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[Montana Slim]

That's 80 cents per tin.  I have been shooting C&B a LOT of years and can't remember caps that cheap.

My dad & I went through many thousands of the old DGW (italian) caps back in the 70s.....mostly with our caplock rifles. Very inexpensive...decent fit & ignition, but were real dirty, too. I have several (empty) plastic containers and just a couple (full) tins remaining.

Never want to run out of caps....I have several thousand in my stash.... CCI #10s, 11s, Remington #10s, 11s and a few tins of RWS.
Some of the newer lots of caps are of inconsistent quality...I think quality got left out a few years back in the "rush" to manufacture, so i have 1,000 "plinking-only" caps.  Most recent caps purchased seem to work ok.......I have a limited and diminishing supply of 20-40 yr old caps which function have not failed.

I've seen caps for as much as $9.99 per tin, but walked by, found some elsewhere for $4.99 and bought 10 tins. No limit, I could have cleaned them out...but instead left quite a few behind for other shooters in need. The prices will flatten out when supply & demand flatten out.

Slim