loose caps on nipples

There are numerous cures, one of which you've already tried. Keep in mind that chain fires are initiated from either the front or the rear (nipples), loose caps are asking for a surprise one of these days.

Factory nipples are notorious for being sub-par no matter who manufactures the gun. In my experience, replacing them is almost standard operating procedure at the first sign of an issue. Roughly half my guns have replacement nipples. Take a look at TrackoftheWolf.com

I suggest either Ampco Bronze or Stainless Steel. Once you replace the nipples with either of these, chances are your troubles will be over.

I had the same problem with a new (2010) Uberti 1851 .36 cal. the cure was replacing the tapered factory nipples with un-tapered stainless from Track of the Wolf. The factory nipples fit on a Colt 1849 Pocket .31 cal. that I was working on so they are still being used.

Your problem is indeed common. Try replacing the nipples with ones designed for #11 caps. The Ampco nipples that Foto Joe suggested are good ones.

You might just need CCI brand no. 10 caps. They Fit the smallest nipples best. My Early 70's revolvers all use them. All other brand sizes are to big.

a slight squeeze seems to do me. that is if i cant find the right caps. try some RWS 1075. on my walker ive used 1055 which are rifle caps and they work even better, they are that little bit longer and so go further down the tapered nipple. but then you need a rifle capper as they dont fit a pistol one.

I've been making do with a squeeze to ovalize them and that's been working pretty well so far. But if you're doing a lot of shooting in a day it gets pretty hard on the finger tips. I'm looking at deciding which C&B guns I keep and which I sell off. Then I'm going to buy a set of Treso or other aftermarket nipples for all of them which fit the caps I can get correctly.

Which brand are you using? If they are Remington, then the CCI#11 may work and for sure the CCI#10. If you are already using CCIs and the #10 is still too big you could still try the RWS#55 which are the smallest made that I know of. Otherwise get the Treso or stainless steel replacement nipples from TOW.

The Remington #10 cap is longer than the #11 so with the tapered nipple if it is long enough should fit better. With the aftermarket nipples both #10 and #11 caps will work.
Caps falling off or jamming up the works are a PITA

I'm sure you meant Treso nipples, not caps, and I assure you they are different.

If you have tried all 5 of the commonly available caps (CCI No. 10 & No. 11, Remington No. 10 & 11 and RSM 1075) with the same results then new nipples are the only possible answer.

The Colt instructions of the time period recommended to pinch the caps if their fit were too loose so that they would stay in place.
Some reproduction nipples were simply made with cones that are too small to fit the available caps.
Proper fitting caps shouldn't require any additional crimping because they fit snugly enough to where they need to be seated on to the cone by applying some pressure using a push stick, capper, thumb or such.

beag_nut: If you're not willing to listen to the advice and experience of the rest of the community, I can do nothing more.

The guns are so designed that the fired caps can and will fall off of the nipples to the right as the cylinder is rotated to the next chamber.

I have the same problem of caps not staying on the nipples. You advise replacing the nipples but to do so on all of my cap and ball revolvers is cost prohibitive. I have 8 revolvers each with 6 nipples. At $3.99 per nipple that's a bit much on a fixed income like mine.

use super glue and be done with it

loose goose

buy a tin of remington 10 Caps they are the smallest ive found.if that doesnt work buy new nips.

Okay, let's step back a minute here. Have you made an attempt to replace the nipples yet??

The viable answer is to do so. ALL nipples are tapered, that's how they keep the caps on. The caps are designed to press down over that taper. As I stated above, factory nipples are notorious for being of poor quality. Companies like Treso engineer their nipples specifically to fit Remington, CCI et. al. The Ampco bronze nipples are very resistant to corrosion and preferred by many here. Stainless also are a good choice, I use both depending upon what I can get my hands on.

If you are dead set against replacing the nipples then your only choice is going to be to pinch the caps, a lot of people do but most of us are too lazy to do so and just change over to a higher quality nipple.

Believe me, there is a difference in nipples and if they weren't tapered you'd have even more problems. If you don't want to change to a higher quality set of nipples then you are left with pinching them and should one come loose and you don't catch it the resulting chain-fire might change your mind about trying different nipples.

We all do things differently, all of our methods are correct for us. Find what works for ya and let us know about it. Our minds can be changed often and we all learn from this forum. But in this particular instance the consensus is change the nipples, learn from those who have learned the hard way.

Beag nut;

What kind of pressure are you installing the caps with ?

Thumb pressure ? (which is relative to ones ability to push those tiny caps with your thumb).

This may be scary to some, but I push them on with my thumb(I have big hands and big thumbs. LOL), then seat them a little snugger with a 1/4" wooden dowel or safely lower the hammer onto each cap and push on the hammer with my thumb.

I just want to make sure they are seated fully so I do not have to do a double tap on a chamber.
Just like not seating a primer all the way on a smokeless pistol cartridge, the hammer drops, but does not fire cause the hammer just now seated the primer fully, then the next hammer drop on that round ignites it.

I have always been under the impression to not baby firearms.
It is a machine, load it and treat it like you mean it.

If the above does not work, then get new nipples as stated by others.

I dont mean to hash on you, but it is the experience that I have had while only been shooting black powder for a couple years, maybe.
I'm a quick learner, been shooting all kinds of firearms since I was a kid(I am pushing 50 now, boy where has the time gone...)

Hope this helps.
Happy holidays to all

Clarence

Caps are easily and symmetrically re-sized using a small socket from a ¼'' ratchet set. Either a 5/32” or 4mm size will work.



Simply place cap on hard flat surface open side up and apply downward force with the socket. A gentle tap may be required. If the re-sized cap resists being removed from the socket gently grab it with pliers and rock it back and forth.



I modified my socket slightly with a pointed stone on a Dremel tool to provide a forcing cone of sorts.

See, I learned something new today. Good tip although like I said before, I'm lazy. I'd rather replace the nipples.

beag_nut said:

Smokin'Joe:
Now THAT'S what I'm talking about, a new idea! Time will tell if it's the best one (we engineers know that there's always a better idea), but at least it makes some sense.
FotoJoe:
Tapers work, when the materials have elasticity. Caps don't; they are made from annealed copper or brass.

Click to expand...

beag_nut, I can assure you that caps have elasticity (or at least "enough"). I'm going to use some terms like "usually" and "probably", but caps are going to usually be made of a high-copper alloy, probably either C21000 or C22000. (Unfortunately, I do not know the exact alloys used by various manufacturers.)

About the taper design being inferior and the caps lacking elasticity... For example, CCI #10's are too small for my particular nipples. The skirt on the cap makes a solid contact with the outside taper of the nipple long before the priming compound in the cap can get close enough to the face of the nipple. I'm literally doing this as I am completing this message. Using only moderate thumb pressure, the cap is so firmly seated on the nipple that I can't remove it, even with the cylinder removed so I can get two fingers on the cap. I'm either going to need pliers, or to re-mount the cylinder to my frame and fire it. Because the cap is tight, but the priming compound is not fully seated, it may take 2 or more hammer blows before it will go off. Again, my case is obviously different. These caps are too small, while CCI#11's are slightly oversized, and require pinching on my particular nipples.

If none of the common brands/sized of caps will fit your nipples, they might:

1) Have the correct taper angle and nipple length, but were cut down to an undersized diameter.
2) Have the correct taper but the nipple was not cut short enough (too long).
3) Have an incorrect taper that is too shallow.

In all 3 cases, the cap would bottom out before its skirt had a chance to grip the taper.

If pinching or otherwise resizing your caps is unacceptable, and unless the cause happened to be 2), I would say a new set of nipples. There are several "if"s involved for remedying #2, but buying new nipples is still probably the preferred solution to that as well.

I think makos_goods(?) posted some nice CAD models to illustrate cap fitment and the relative sizes of various cap brands. If I can find it, or someone else does, I think they may help you visualize what is really happening.

Edited to add: I did manage to remove the cap, and a piece of my thumbnail, without aid of hand tools. YMMV