Percussion Caps

[Craig/Fl]

Hi All, I bought a T/C Renegade (50 Cal)at the end of hunting season last year, it  came with various brands of caps that I shot over the summer. had a couple of no fires but not knowing how old they were and how they were stored I don't want to jump to conclusions on brand names. Is there any particular brand that is preferred?, season opens next weekend and I want to get the best... thanks

[Bigsmoke]

RWS or Dynamit Nobel are probably the hottest caps on the market.  and the most expensive.  And the hardest to find.

CCI caps come in two flavors:  standard and magnum.  Personally, I leave the standard at the store and buy the magnums.

Remington are the most criticised.  Frankly, I think they are getting a bum review;  I have never had a problem with them.

Others  I have seen several private label brand caps that have always proven less than satisfactory.  Personally I would stay away from them.

If you want really hot ignition, MSM makes a nipple in various threads that converts from #11 cap to musket cap ignition.  That'll light your fire.  And you can find musket caps by both RWS and CCI.

Be aware that if you decide you want to order caps mail order, regardless if you get one tin or 10 cases of them, you will still have to pay the HazMat charge of (what is it now?) $22.00 per shipping box.  Oofda!

[Gordon H.Kemp]

Hi , Craig ! You will no doubt be getting several different opinions on the "best" brand of cap. Over the past few years I've used several brands , the cap situation is like Bear Archery building bows and arrow points to be sold under different names . RWS , CVA , Remington , CCI etc. There is no doubt that some are Hotter" but that dosn't mean they are more reliable ? My personal experience is that Remington is as good as any on the market today , they arn't the "hottest" but I don't recall having any "duds" out of several hundred caps . I have had failures on CVA and some other brands !
          What outfit owns Bear Artshery now ? It had changed hans at least two times the last time I was there ! I worked for Cheman Electric and we used to do quite a bit of work in the plant .I think the last project was a compressor  on the backside of the building . If youv'e been there long we may have crossed paths ? Have you checked Ocala for real BP ? there was a gun shop that carried Goex a couple of years ago (may have since dropprd it) because of all the restrictions . That Renegade .50 is a great rifle I have one and it's done well for me . Hope you have a good season !

[Uncle Russ]

Gotta agree with Bigsmoke, RWS is and has always been "top of the heap", when it comes to caps....IMO.

On my .58 / .56  Renegade (I have both barrels), I also converted from a #11 cap to a Musket cap but not because it was hotter...I did it so I could use my fingers to place the cap on the nipple.
 My big old fat hands and fingers don't handle those little #11 caps too well, and even the better Ted Cash cap dispenser is not the most reliable gadget in the world either, so I started using Musket caps set on with my fingers....I can actually feel this things seat, and they are sooo easy to come off after firing.

Of course I'm concerned that I might pop one with my fingers and I don't like that idea, but I certainly prefer using my fingers and a piece of stiff leather with proper size holes, than any of the spring-loaded, gravity fed, magic gadgets we use for setting caps today.

Recent batch of RWS I bought locally was $9.99 per 100 or $86.00 per thousand, so they ain't cheap.
I'm sure they gotta be cheaper than this in the real world, but when you live in the middle of nowhere, you sometimes have to take what's offered.

Which brings my main question to mind......which is just a wee bit off topic.

What, exactly, is the CCI "Reenactment Musket Cap"?

 These can be had in Wenatchee, at the same store, for $7.50 per 100...
However, since I didn't know anything about them, and the clerk didn't know, and after the two by-standers offered their "informed"  opinion, I decided to spend a little extra and get something I am very familiar with.
One person thinks they are not designed for full charges, but for reenactment or blanks only.
The other thinks they are for noise making only.
And me, the idiot that's going to buy them, doesn't have a clue, so I went with my gut feeling of being safe.

After giving this considerable thought, my "opinion" is...
Heck! It's just a name. A name that is a popular hobby today and just might help sell their caps.
I think the cap is the same cap we have had for years...
So, trying to balance the expense of the trip to Wenatchee already there, and since I have always preferred the RWS cap, compared with the rather modest savings I could have gained.... I ended up buying 4 boxes of the RWS.

Now, I would truly like to know if there is any real difference in the CCI Reenactment Cap???

Was my thinking at the time...sound thinking? Or, did fear of the unknown cost me a few bucks?

Inquiring minds kinda thing.

Uncle Russ...

[Gordon H.Kemp]

Dang .! Russ , as old as you are and don't know what there for ? Their not really working caps, but you put mthem on the nipple and say "BANG" so you don't scare folks coming out to see the reenactment  !!! :lol:  

[Shadow Hawk]

i too have a renagade 50 cal. and ive used rws,cci,and rem. on both my rifle and pistols. i,ve always had better luck with rws. less dudes and less falloff.

[Craig/Fl]

Thanks for info guys, sorry I didn't respond sooner but I had trouble trying to access the site. I have some CVA, Winchester and Remington caps, Seems like the Rems are the preferred so I'll use those. Muzzleloader season starts today and will be hunting  this afternoon, I was skunked during archery season and am looking forward to my first black powder harvest.
Gordon, Bear was bought buy Escalade Sports around 2004, I started there 05, Things seem to be getting better every year for Bear even despite the slow economy.  
Thanks Again, Craig