Problem with Percussion Caps

**Democrat Gun Owner** · August 2nd, 2015, 08:58 AM

I pulled the proverbial trigger and bought myself a Pedersoli Philadelpia Derringer. I've wanted one for a while. It is kind of a link between my firearms and my love of American history especially the Civil War and Lincoln.

Because of its diminutive size (I barely get two fingers on the grip) and it being my first powder gun, I wanted to work my way up to a full charge. I shot it twice with only a seated percussion cap and nothing in the barrel...no problem. Cap ignited when struck by the hammer both times. Kinda like a cap gun from my youth, but a little more expensive.

The manual I got with the gun lists 35 grains of Pyrodex P as the proper charge. Still wanting to move up slowly, I loaded it with only 20 grains and a lubed wad rather than full charge with lead ball. I seated a cap just like the first two shots, but this time, the hammer strike did not ignite the cap. I tried again with the same cap...nothing. So, I carefully removed the cap and tried another...same result, nothing after two tries.

I took the wad out and dumped the Pyrodex. I cleaned the gun (mostly to do a thorough once over it). I removed the nipple. It still looks brand new to my novice eye. There are no burrs or mushrooming...I did some Internet research on percussion cap guns before I even started (I prefer the term gun freak or gun geek over gun nut). I know not to dry fire a percussion cap gun which is why I seated a cap to just try the trigger initially.

After the cleaning, I tried three more caps with nothing in the barrel, and none ignited. Two of these caps actually split slightly after being struck by the hammer, so I am assuming the hammer is hitting them. After the splits, I made sure the nipple was screwed in tight as not to be too high to damage it. It was tight even before I "tightened" it.

I'm using Remington #10 percussion caps so I don't think it's cap quality. I bought the gun new and it's a Pedersoli, so I hope what looks like a good nipple to my untrained eye is not defective.

So, is there anyone out there who has had similar problems? Any suggestions on what I can do to fix my problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

**Grey Bearded One** · August 2nd, 2015, 10:18 AM

Heh, heh, heh. He said "nipple."

**bamboomaster** · August 2nd, 2015, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by Democrat Gun Owner

I pulled the proverbial trigger and bought myself a Pedersoli Philadelpia Derringer. I've wanted one for a while. It is kind of a link between my firearms and my love of American history especially the Civil War and Lincoln.

Because of its diminutive size (I barely get two fingers on the grip) and it being my first powder gun, I wanted to work my way up to a full charge. I shot it twice with only a seated percussion cap and nothing in the barrel...no problem. Cap ignited when struck by the hammer both times. Kinda like a cap gun from my youth, but a little more expensive.

The manual I got with the gun lists 35 grains of Pyrodex P as the proper charge. Still wanting to move up slowly, I loaded it with only 20 grains and a lubed wad rather than full charge with lead ball. I seated a cap just like the first two shots, but this time, the hammer strike did not ignite the cap. I tried again with the same cap...nothing. So, I carefully removed the cap and tried another...same result, nothing after two tries.

I took the wad out and dumped the Pyrodex. I cleaned the gun (mostly to do a thorough once over it). I removed the nipple. It still looks brand new to my novice eye. There are no burrs or mushrooming...I did some Internet research on percussion cap guns before I even started (I prefer the term gun freak or gun geek over gun nut). I know not to dry fire a percussion cap gun which is why I seated a cap to just try the trigger initially.

After the cleaning, I tried three more caps with nothing in the barrel, and none ignited. Two of these caps actually split slightly after being struck by the hammer, so I am assuming the hammer is hitting them. After the splits, I made sure the nipple was screwed in tight as not to be too high to damage it. It was tight even before I "tightened" it.

I'm using Remington #10 percussion caps so I don't think it's cap quality. I bought the gun new and it's a Pedersoli, so I hope what looks like a good nipple to my untrained eye is not defective.

So, is there anyone out there who has had similar problems? Any suggestions on what I can do to fix my problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It may help a bit to understand that the production process of various percussion cap manufacturers almost certainly varies from decade to decade, probably too from year to year, and possibly from batch to batch. When you're looking at a component that costs roughly $.06 - .07 each, don't put too much faith in whatever advertised tolerances may be, but just find something that works for your pistol.

You're perhaps using Remington #10's because those are what your Pedersoli manual recommended.

I principally shoot a Ruger "Old Army" and although their manual recommends a #10 cap, only a #11 cap functions reliably for me in this firearm. I found that most of the time when I used #10's, they would either not ignite or when they did, there was a 50% chance that they would become stuck between the cylinder and the frame. So years ago, I made the change exclusively to Remington #11's and haven't looked back since.

Here's some comparative information that may be useful to you ("OD" is Opening Diameter and "OAL" is Overall Length:

CCI 10 : OD: .160 OAL: .160
CCI 11 : OD: .166 OAL: .162
REM 10 : OD: .167 OAL: .168
REM 11 : OD: .166 OAL: .145

While these measurements are approximations, note the smaller OAL on the REM #11's.

Additionally, here's a link to a picture that shows the visual difference:

http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/F...izecompare.jpg

It basically sounds as if you doing everything right, but as you know, some ammo that feeds reliably in one semi-auto may not feed reliably in another. Perhaps trying the REM #11's may alleviate the issue...

When I cap each nipple on my Ruger Old Army, I turn the cylinder a second time and using a 4" piece cut from a wooden dowel, lightly press each cap snugly against the nipple. Seems to help because the residue buildup near the end of a long event does affect how the cap fits.

Hope this is helpful....

**Gunsnwater** · August 2nd, 2015, 07:09 PM

Is there priming mix in the caps? I had some that fell out. Smack the dead ones with a hammer, use safety goggles. Do try other brands. Your discription sounds like crushing hits leading the answer to bad caps.