#10 caps fall off cones Pietta 1860

That's a new one. Usually folks complain #10 are too tight. Maybe #11 got packed in a #10 tin. You could try roughing up the nipple with a file/sandpaper etc. to give the cap something to grab on to or replace the nipples. Could try a different brand of cap.

I follow the advice of this pamphlet and pinch the caps on.

I think the reason the remington caps fit most guns is because they are longer. Most nipples are coned so the cap slides down till it fits.

The cones nipple i think is also many problems people have also. since its coned it splits the cap and then you have cap fragments that fall into the action and bind it up, jam it up and then parts get broken.

The better nipples like the treso are true in size from set to set so you dont have one set of treso nipples that kinda fit good with one cap and kinda fit loose with another. Also since they arnt as coned like the stock nipples they dont split the caps as bad keeping the fragments to a minimum.

The only problem is the treso cost you a pound of powder and a few hundred rounds of ammo.

If you look at the chart there is a few smaller around then the remington



This may or may not be your problem its hard to say without looking at what you have and measuring your caps but your nipples could be a hair to long. They may bottom out inside the caps before the cone part wedges the cap. A fix might be as simple as grinding a little of the tip of the nipple so the cap slips down farther on the nipple where it fits tighter?

I think CCI #10 may be to tight. It never hurts to try em all though i tried em all before i decided on what i liked.

It was easy in the begining when i first started because i just bought what i could find. percussion caps were like 22LR you had to hunt and clall around. Now the caps are easier to find around here i can pick what i want.

do you pinch before you install them? or pinch them after you have them on the cones?

Click to expand...

I pinch the caps before I set them on the nipples. It's far from an exact science, but it works for me most of the time. Caps that fit perfectly on the nipples when I take the first few shots do not fit once the nipples foul up.
It's the nature of the beast. Self contained cartridges were the solution back in the day.

RWS 1075 seems to work best in a Uberti. You may also consider getting Ampco nipples expressly for a Uberti. Sometimes the stock nipples aren't too good. Check the Possibles Shop.
http://www.possibleshop.com/s-s-nipples.html

I put some cci 10's and Rem. 11's on my new 1858 Pietta and fired just the caps. Every single cap fired and went to pieces.

Is this normal? My Ruger the caps stay in place when shot with powder and ball.

1KPerDay said:

is it better for reliability that the caps stay on the nipples and have to be pried off, then? I assume so.

Click to expand...

I would rather they stay on then jam up the action to be honest.

The way they fragment sometimes into 2-3 pieces the smaller fragments fall down into the action.

Get a flashlight and look at your pistol. If you cock the hammer to full cock you can see down into the action thats where the bits usually fall when you have issues.

Again, consider Ampco nipples.

I read somewhere on one of the forums that whether you use 2F or 3F makes a difference in whether the caps stay on or fall off after firing. They claimed that the 2F resulted in lower pressures which left the caps in place. I only have a ROA and have never had any issues so haven't been able to check this one way or the other.

What do the nipples look like on the Ruger?

Just an observation between Pietta and Ruger. I have both. My Ruger does not shed or fragment caps while my Pietta does. The major difference that I can see is that the hammer of the Ruger is wider and covers the entire cap, while the Pietta hammer is thinner which lends the cap to come apart. I have not shot my Pietta 1858 yet with powder, just 2 cylinders of caps and all shredded both no. 10's and 11's. None jammed the action, but that was pure luck.

Can't remember whether they frag with my Pietta Remington, or not.
I think they do.

You can go to the hardware store and buy a few feet of 1/4" od, .170 id vinyl tubing, cut into short lengths about the length of the nipple on the subject revolver, insert the cap in the proper orientation in the tubing end then place the assembled tubing and cap on the cone. Loose caps will stay on the comes and shedding of caps and cap pieces will be minimized. Not historically correct, but is a cheap fix to a sometimes frustrating issue.

Now that's a thought. Thanks for sharing. I remember seeing some red ones in a packet that a good friend gave me some years back. I'll have to find them and it sounds like a good idea. Might even make the chore of capping easier.

Yep..they are a lot easier to grab and place on the cones as opposed to the caps alone, if you dont use a capper tool.

351 WINCHESTER said:

Just an observation between Pietta and Ruger. I have both. My Ruger does not shed or fragment caps while my Pietta does.

Click to expand...

A healthy Ruger or Uberti revolver's hammer will not touch the cones when fired. A Pietta's hammer will strike the cone which makes it easier for these modern, thin walled caps to come apart.

swathdiver said:

A healthy Ruger or Uberti revolver's hammer will not touch the cones when fired. A Pietta's hammer will strike the cone which makes it easier for these modern, thin walled caps to come apart.

Click to expand...

That isnt a good thing?

I wanted to lighten my hammer spring and i was told that a heavy hammer spring helps keep the hammer held firmly against the cap when the charge detonates that way IF there is any blowback the hammer tension doesnt let anything blow back and allow the cap to fly off.

I have since kept all my guns with heavy tension of the hammer against the nipple so there is no slop right where the hammer rests on the nipple.

I did have my little tension screw loose so there was some slop right there but i stoopped that.