Are precussion caps corrosive?

[Guvnor]

I have a cabela's hawken rifle. While I always clean my barrel with soapy water after shooting, ive rarely bothered to clean around the hammer. It gets a bit dirty there from the caps going off but I never really worried about it.

But now im starting to wonder if caps are corrosive...should I be scrubbing around the hammer as well?

 

[ArmedBear]

Modern caps are not corrosive.

When I started fooling with frontstuffers, 30 years ago, you could buy some that were ("fulminate of mercury" caps). They were imported from Italy, as I recall.

Since then, the quality of Italian BP firearms has increased dramatically, and I don't think anyone wants corrosive caps any more, even for cheap. It's hard to get all the crud out of a BP revolver.

That said, I have gotten rust from blow-by, where some of the black powder flame and fouling get past the cap and onto the hammer and the surrounding area. I definitely would clean that area, too. The fouling is actually a mix of the cap and BP fouling, which is corrosive.

 

[wittzo]

The hammer on my stainless Pietta Remington has turned the color of black chrome. I can't get it silver colored anymore, but I haven't tried hitting it with Blitz, either.

 

[Smokin_Gun]

Should be scrubbing where ever there's Black Powder Residue. At least I do... :O)

 

[BHP FAN]

sounds painfull...

 

[snooperman]

Some percussion caps are corrosive

I still have a few boxes of caps I bought at Friendship, IN at the national matches in 1982-83 and they are Fiocchi and quite corrosive. They are made with the old mecuric compound. Some of the new ones such as Remington are not as corrosive. Some of the older German caps that I have are also corrosive. That said, so is Black powder.