[flmason]

Haven't found a reference in the manual as to cap size.

Any consensus on what the best fitting/functioning caps are?

Seems I have to buy in lots of 1000 to do mail order, so I'd hate to be wrong first time out, at approx. $50 a case.

Like everyone, I'm looking for the size that's the best fit and goes "pop" the most reliably. Will probably also engage in some sort of weatherproofing of an extra cylinder at some point. (Seems more cost effective than purchasing an R&D cylinder, though perhaps somewhat less effective for having a cylinder ready to go at all times.)

[arcticap]

The consensus seems to be Remington #10's with the factory nipples.
Why not try a tin first?

[flmason]

@articap - Haven't found a local source, so I'm stuck buying lots of 1000 online everywhere I've looked so far.

Otherwise I agree, I'd just go buy a tin of each and try them out.

Looks like Remi 10's and CCI 11's have similar diameters. Since I'll be using either Pyrodex or 777, I may go in for the CCI #11 Mags as a first cut, unless anyone has a reason why that's a bad idea? (Sometime mag primers in centerfire loads are know to decrease accuracy, for example.)

[bonza]

Splurge on a set of #11-size after-market nipples (6mmx.075 tpi), & then you can buy some #11 caps & know that they'll fit plus the nipples will be better quality than the factory ones anyway. I mainly use CCI #11 caps on my Pietta '58 .36, but have used RWS #1075s as well with good results from both.

[flmason]

@bonza - Well... I'd hope to get a little use out of the nipples that are on the gun before they have to be replaced. Just as a matter of industry standard and decent documentation the size that they are should be both a standard, and listed in the manual.

I'm surprised that in an endeavor with such a generally high regard for safety and manufacturing quality that the BP community seems to accept so much quality variation.

Having to "try different sizes out" on a brand new gun is strikes me as an artifact of poor manufacturing tolerances at a point on the gun that is critical?

Would you accept a box of cases for a centerfire gun that had random sized primer pockets?

[arcticap]

Dixie has been known to ship out a small number of tins of percussion caps without charging a hazmat fee.
Maybe you can try getting a sample of caps from them. :)

[scrat]

cci # 11. then when i switch the cyliner. Well then Winchester Large Pistol and Federal Large Pistol

[jmaubin]

Remington #10s

[mykeal]

Having to "try different sizes out" on a brand new gun is strikes me as an artifact of poor manufacturing tolerances at a point on the gun that is critical?

You don't understand the manufacturing process.

There is no standard for percussion cap sizes. Nor is there any standard for nipple dimensions. Without an agreed standard for design the results will always have significant mismatches. It has nothing to to with manufacturing tolerances.

Here's the data:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/mykealsm/Guns/CapSizes.jpg
These numbers are averages of at least 20 samples of each brand and size. Notice that CCI No. 10's and Remington No. 10's are completely different; the same goes for the No. 11's. Reason: lack of a agreed standard. How does a manufacturer design for a "No. 10" cap when there is no agreement on what a "No. 10" cap is?

To make matters worse, other people have taken the same measurements and come up with widely different results. The reason: cap dimensions not only vary between brands, they vary between batches within a given brand and size. Bottom line: you don't get 3 decimal place precision for 4 cents.

Your comparison with centerfire cartridge cases further illustrates the problem. There is an agreed standard amongst modern ammunition manufacturers for case and other component dimensions. This was caused by the need to agree on projectile dimensions. No such requirement exists for the black powder guns as the bullets are swaged or patched on loading.

Given this situation there is no way to come up with a consensus as to what caps best fit a given gun's nipples (caps fit on nipples, not on guns). There is a wide variety of nipples that can be installed on a given gun; the only interface requirement is thread dimensions. Beyond that the overall length of the nipple, the distance between the nipple seat and the tip of the cone, the diameter of the cone tip and the taper of the cone are not specified anywhere, and all are important dimensions. So, saying a CCI No. 10 cap is the best one for a 1858 Remington New Model Army really is meaningless. The gun may or may not have nipples that cap will fit. The gun manufacturer may have changed nipple suppliers; the nipple supplier may have changed parts in the machine that makes the nipples; a previous owner may have changed the nipples to an aftermarket brand. And, to make it complete, the cap manufacturer isn't working to a standard and may have changed his product slightly for some reason.

[Mark whiz]

I'll vote for the CCI#11 Mags - I use them on my Pietta 1858 and my Knight rifle and they have always gone boom.

[BHP FAN]

CCI # 11's, Remington #10's.

[flmason]

@mykeal - OK, point taken. Perhaps I used the wrong words. It seems odd to me that at this late date there isn't a *standard* in use for cap and nipple dimensions.

As the questoon as it pertains to my particular revolver. Guess I should've pointed out it's new and thus was curious what others were using on their factory provided nipples.