Good luck finding real black powder. You can order it (so far) but you usually have to order 20 pounds of it. I was fortunate enough to find a supplier that would ship just 5 pounds, but after checking around I could not find one store in New Mexico that carries real black powder. The BP substitutes don't work for flintlocks.
The cap shortage is why i went straight to flintlock when i got my 1st muzzleloader. Plus the ability to make my own powder, patches, and balls. Flints can be purchased in large quantities and are good for multiple shot, compared to a percussion cap being only good for one shot. I'm currently looking at taking up traditional archery for much of the same reasons. Basically what I'm saying is flintlocks and long/recurve bows are better for self sustainability. Loving my Kibler Woodsrunner in 54 caliber. Looking at building the SMR or the Fowler when it comes out.
Sad fact of life in the 3rd decade of the 21st Century. Thank you for your candid view from your discussions. I have only a one-word response, “FLINTLOCK”. 🤷🏻♂️
People have tried and then get bought out before they produce the first product. Heard any more about the new primer company that were supposed to produce all these primers? Well they’re gone hmmmm wonder why?
Ask these questions: Is there enough demand to start a caps only company? Would the market be willing to pay the higher prices required to operate that company? While there is a higher demand for caps, it’s unlikely it’s higher enough to support an entire company even if the entire market abandoned the current manufactures. Would you be willing to pay double, triple or quadruple the current pricing? It’s unlikely that a caps only company would be able to get started, much less be affordable enough to stay in business. I often have conversations about firearms. I rarely have conversations about black powder guns. So unless someone is willing to expand a current, related business to manufacture caps, urging the current manufacturers to produce “just a little bit more” is our best option. The current manufacturers probably only continue to make caps to minimize lost income while updating and maintaining equipment for centerfire ammunition.
If anybody wants to make your own caps and primers I would take a look at ardvark reloading. He has a formula that is almost like a factory formula. Noncorrosive but it does have lead in it. Also with war going on with Russia and the Middle East they might be more focused on making military ammo. And I can see this becoming more and more prevalent with reloading shortages. Just my opinion. Thanks for the heads up Ethan.
Now you match this up with a homemade gascheck die set sized for what cap size you need and you really never need the company's again come on folks if people were able to figure this out while still crapping in outhouses with no electricity we in the modern Era can do this
I gave up on finding caps and got a mag spark nipple conversion for my Hawken. Now I can use 209 primers which seem to still be available. If those out there don’t want to use 209 primers then I do know of that cap makers kit. Seems pretty easy
I’m just getting back into muzzleloaders after a 30 year hiatus. Growing up in Washington, DC as a kid in the late 70’s & 80’s these were only guns my dad could buy due to their unconstitutional gun laws. We even had a percussion revolver for home protection.
Thanks for the update, and Yes, BEWARE - THERE ARE A LOT OF SCAMMERS OUT THERE saying they have percussion caps, and taking your order/payment. And as for Remington percussion caps ..... they are like the sasquatch, many have heard of them, nobody has actually seen them.
Not wanting to start a political discussion but Im pretty sure the producers are rather focusing on modern primer production for Ukraine than percussion caps. Same goes for Black Powder which is still being used as an accelerant in the propelling charges of modern Artillery.
DIY caps are awesome as long as you seal them with duco cement. Ive made and shot around 400 caps and only had 8 missfires. I dont worry about about caps and powder any more because i make my own. I shoot 30 rounds a week on average.
@blackdiamond2088 I have noticed that my misfire rate Is significantly higher than yours. I have also noticed that the primer powder is a bit loose so adding a layer of adhesive in the percussion caps like you are saying does make sense. If you have time, please let me know how you are using the duco cement? Are you adding duco cement in the percussion cap and then adding the primer mix?
@@jem_lucinamain3777 When I first started using the DIY caps I had some trouble with them too. As you say the powder would crumble and fall out of the cap as you moved around etc. Also the powder in the caps is very hydroscopic so in damp weather, the moisture in the air would kill them up to 100% failure. Kind of frustrating. But now, after sealing them with duco cement I don't have very many problems with them any longer. I've hiked for miles on end while shooting my rifle with very good reliability. Ive shot my revolver in full on snowstorms with very few failures now. I live out west and dont have much humidity to deal with, so I cant say what these caps would do in a constant high humidity environment, but on snowy days here the humidity is in the 90% range and they do fine for me. In high humidity environments you might try making enough caps for your shooting plans the night before you go out, so they are fresh and havent had too much time to sit and absorb moisture. This is what I do to seal my caps: I use a glass eye dropper with a rubber bulb on the end. I remove the rubber bulb and place 2 drops of duco cement into the dropper then replace the bulb, and suck in acetone up to about have of the dropper. I then cover the end of the dropper with a finger and shake the mixture for a few seconds. then place one drop of the mixture into each cap and let dry.
This makes sense because my gun shop got their #11 caps last year about September and October and after that they were out and haven't been seen again. I converted as many of my guns over to musket caps as possible because my shop has quite a few of them and that lets me keep as many of #11 caps as I can for the guns that I can't convert. Some of the prices online for #11 caps border on highway robbery.
#11, musket caps, 209 primers, I buy any I run across when I'm out and about, I have nipples for #11 and musket cap for all my rifles and I have 209 primer mag spark nipples for most of my side lock rifles so whatever I can find I can swap over to it and keep shooting, black powder is whats the hardest to find in my area right now, but I can find pyrodex and 777 so all is not lost.
Thanks for the update, much appreciated! I bought a cap maker about 2 years ago and it works great, I haven't any issues with them not going off, however the do not fit in Ted Cash cappers. I also used their mix in musket caps as well because when I bought them, many didn't go off and they look to have the little red paper cap inside of them, I went right over them with the mix and they work now. Primers are scarce now too and have been for quite awhile and I don't have my hopes up in seeing them anytime soon. Thanks again... 👍
Here in the UK, the situation and feeling is the same. This video has been hugelllyy helpful. I've been wondering about alot of this. Am also thinking about Flintlock!
Hey there. I have not bought a single cap since approx 2020. Around that time frame I bought several thousand remington no 10 and cci caps to have since they were available. However, I have just been making my own caps recently with 22lr reloaders system. Importantly left out is the need to use "duco cement" glue in acetone at the very end of the process which is nitrocellulose based and really helps the caps perform. Before this, I could not get reliable ignition until I used duco dissolved in acetone as the final drop on my caps. After, the caps ignited every time as powerful as remingtons. Personally, I am not too afraid of this shortage but you need to know how to also make your own caps. Its pretty shitty at the end of the day though. If new percussion pistol/rifle owners want to shoot their gun they want to just buy these caps. Maybe there will be a third party market in the future of homemade caps 😂
There are shortages on everything guns, but I noticed here in WV there are slim pickings on anything muzzleloading here in our State. One thing I am thinking of doing is changing my side locks to the Mag Spark 209 ignition system for mine. I’m thinking of changing my Remington ML over to a 209 system. I have another one that is musket cap and I cannot find them local either.
I'm sitting here making caps as I watch this video. Slow process but it is what I have to do. I have only found 1 place to buy caps online and it's a 400% mark up before the hazmat, so that's a no go. I also purchased some of the red cap gun caps to try out as well. Hopefully they do a couple runs of caps this year so we can all stock up.
I stumbled into some Remington #11 caps today. It was a gas station about 15 minutes from my house that I never realized sold guns and ammo. I picked up 6 tins of them and they still had a dozen or so left but I didn't want to buy them all up. I'll give it a couple weeks and check back, if they haven't sold by that point then I will grab several more.
Cheers. I have personally found that commonly available duco cement a generous portion dissolved in acetone and a drop of this mixture placed in each cap at the end of the process makes the caps perform flawlessly
@@Aks456 That is how I was making them. I have a dropper bottle with acetone and duco cement. I found a local gas station with caps but it's nice having the option to make my own when needed.
NO CAPS! “What does not kill me makes me stronger,” Nietzsche wrote. But hurt doesn’t make us stronger. Hurt just makes us hurt. The whole place feels like a grave. A cathedral for the dead and the fallen. The ground is littered with discarded books and magazines. A broken crack pipe has been left on a cinder block. There is a garden chair, and overturned crates and buckets. A mangled teddy bear. Death everywhere. If they were not emotionally connected to the person who has died, the body is taken outside and that night it disappears when the truly desperate come and make food of it. We have no place left to bury or hide our dead. Some have begun to inject the bodies with poisons even household bleach and posting warning signs on the bodies, this is not a deterrent and many get sick and perish because they ignore the warning. In fact few now spend the effort to cook the meat and simply gorge themselves on the raw flesh. It is now a rare sight to see even a deteriorated corpse unmolested in some way, worse are the sick that have not the strength or means to fend off the starving. No one moans or cries like in the beginning and every face has a vacant empty inhuman look, the eyes desperately searching wildly. Today I saw a woman eating small portions of flesh she had hidden in a child’s pencil case, it was decorated with figures from the cartoon called Toy Story, and when I saw it something in me broke, I am struggling to maintain a positive attitude and ashamed at my weakness and lack of coping skills. On a positive note, I long ago established a thriving cockroach farm in an 80 gallon fish tank stuffed with empty cardboard and egg cartons, and have been very disciplined with keeping my meals small so as not to generate suspicion while maintaining my protein intake enough to function. Cockroaches are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals, so my day is filled looking for weeds and other insects to keep the farm going and maintain a sense of purpose. Kuru Is A Neurodegenerative Disorder That Is Passed On Through Cannibalism and many now show the symptoms of muscle twitching, loss of coordination. Other symptoms include difficulty walking, involuntary movements, behavioral and mood changes, dementia, and fatal insomnia. You can contract the disease by eating human flesh or coming into contact with open wounds or sores of someone living with it. The only hope now is for the dark silence of death itself.
Thanks Ethan. I appreciate your videos very much. There are so many scammers on line I avoid buying on line, but I'm fortunate to have a local BP shop. They seem to be the last to get caps and powder, unfortunately. They say they are at the mercy of the distributors.
RWS 250 count German #11, RWS 250 count Magnum caps are still being sold at Muzzle-Loaders and Dixie gun works. Though if you have a percussion lock with a powder drum, you can easily convert it to flintlock by unscrewing the powder drum and replace it with the touch hole liner and a flintlock by L&R locks. For percussion muzzleloaders that don't have powder drums like the 1842 Springfield and later except Philly Derringer or 4.5mm pistol and Sharps due to the lock design can't fit a frizzen spring can be sent to a gunsmith to tap a place for a touch hole liner. Side effect is that flintlocks cant use triple 7 or Pyrodex. Also, Palmetto's AAC is working on setting up a plant to make primers and I just asked them if they can see about purchasing Remington and CCI because of the primer plants. Try asking Palmetto State Armory about it as well.
I stopped by CCI's booth at shot show and talked to them about it. They didnt have anything planned for 6 months at minimum. Looked directly at their production schedule.
It really is a crappie situation. I just went goose hunting with my double 10 ga percussion scatter gun yesterday. I burned up a good number of caps. In the back of my mind I was wondering if this annual hunt was coming to an end due to lack of caps. I sure hope not. I'm glad to have this channel to keep me as informed as possible. Thank you for every update you share.
Cabela's has a replacement nipple for side lock black powder rifles and it takes a 209 shot shell primer and the nipple has a cap that screws on it with a oring and center fire fireing pin . they are for hawkens . Kentucky s and all side lock percussion cap rifles. I have got one and had it a long time and it never lets me down even when raining.209 primer stays dry and always goes boom when I pull the trigger and it is as instant as a cartridge rifle.and one thing about it you can always screw it out and put your no.11 nipple back in or your musket nipple! Its the best fireing system for a muzzle loader rifle especially deer hunting goes boom instantly when you touch her off ! Cabela's has the solution for fire in the hole men!
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0:45 I haven't used any of my caps in almost two years. Recently i started setting back powders more than i have. Powders are getting expensive and whispers of more regulation. Because we all now often a muzzle loader is used in a drive-by.
I know a store that is overlooked that sells percussion caps and they’re always in stock Remmington percussion caps 12 bucks for 100 not CCI but unfortunately I’m not going to make it public knowledge about these caps because if I tell everyone then everyone’s gonna go buy them up from the place, I get number 10 caps because if you need them for a muzzleloader, you can just stretch and bend copper To make them fit really snug t and they’ll fit just fine as 11 caps Remington caps have never failed to fire for me. I think they’re awesome.. They also have kits so you can make your own.
Saw Remington Small pistol primers on the shelf at a local store in Oklahoma. No percussion caps. 22reloader makes a #10 cap maker now you can make them.
I feel so lucky to have a retailer than goes far beyond others in that I still have access to CCI standard and magnum, Remington and RWS standard and magnum at this time.
There were plenty for sale at a trade show in Jackson, OH last weekend. There's a Gun and Archery store here in Lexington that had them recently. But, I think the Ohio Valley region of the country tends to stock more muzzleloading supplies.
Anyone have success with the 209 Shotgun primer conversion nipple for the hawken style rifle? If so, this might be another option. Ive never tried it. Maybe might make a good review video?
Been watching grafs constant out of stock highlight on caps for a few years. They never seem to get the ones everyone needs but the price keeps climbing. Remington 10 now over $100 for 1000. Use to be $79 just a couple years ago.
I was a boy in the 70 when i first got into muzzle loading and at that time with the carter administration hammering the second amendment i realized the vulnerability of caps. I already loved the flintlock for that reason.
Any word on RWS? I've been making my own and I've got 30 out of 32 to fire so far. I've been using cap gun roll caps and they work (I've been charging with pyrodex RS also) here soon, I'm probably going to get some prime-all to try.
Prime All sucks, chlorate primers have poor long term storage properties unless they are waterproofed with sealer. FA-70 is much better, EPH20 and EPNO are brisant and equal to any factory primers/caps.
Homemade percussion caps are as effective as the person making them. Couple of points that usually get overlooked. The beverage cans that are recommended to be used have paint on one side and a plastic liner on the inside. You need to lightly sand off one or the other if you want to ensure adhesion of the priming compound. While the priming compound has a hardener in the mix, use of additional hardener is beneficial - a drop of hair spray or a small drop of Duco cement, "airplane glue", etc, is helpful - some have even reported that a drop of superglue works. The homemade cap die can now be purchased in both #11 size and #10 size. It is very beneficial to make a loading block for those homemade caps because manipulating one by one with your fingers is extremely tedious.
Can you do a video on the sizes of percussion caps? I know you touched on it in this video. With the issues with percussions I'll stick with flintlocks. I would like a percussion, but not with this issue
The CCI #11 seem to fit my slix shot nipples really well. The Remington #10 is OK and the CCI #10 is tight. Both of the #10 take a wooden dowel to get them to seat well enough to fire for sure on the first strike. Don't have any Remington #11 to see about them but it seems that Remington run a bit larger that the CCI. Is that the normal consensus?
This morning I stumbled into a sporting goods store that had a longforgotten stash of #11 CCIs. I bought 1000. I should go get some Powerball tickets now
You said that percussion caps are a low priority, is that because they can't sell enough to be profitable? How has demand for caps been over the last 40 years? I remember a time before inline rifles when sporting goods stores had huge selections of guns, kits and accessories available, now the pickings are a shadow or what they were. Bass Pro in my area had no caps, patches and the balls were very expensive. There isle was 10% of what it was 10 years ago. They had one old traditions kit that was stuck in the back room that the guy showed me, he said they wouldn't be oredering any more when that was gone.
I was checking every trip to my local Wallyworld and managed to score half their stock in early August last summer. The sales guy wanted me to take all of them so he wouldn't have to deal with it again. But I'm not that guy!!! Only about $6 each tin, but quality was kind of poor with many per tin that were half filed or otherwise defective. I think I sent Ethan a picture after his last report of quality issues.
I'm thinking of a couple solutions: 1) there is 209 primer conversion nipple available. I have a couple. These may or not be legal for hunting in your State, but you can still shoot. 209s are plentiful 2) you can often find #10 percussion caps...get an extra #11 nipple, carefully file it down to accommodate the #10s. In the past several months, i have found 10s when 11s were nowhere to be found. I stocked up. Just my humble opinion.
@@BrilloHead well, I said "file" but really what I do is to wrap the threads of a #11 nipple with duct tape, chuck it up in a drill and use a strip of emery cloth to sand it down. Just keep checking the #10 cap fit as you go along.
Ethan, I really do appreciate your work in keeping us informed. I don't understand why CCI doesn't increase production output if there is such a high demand for percussion caps. They certainly wouldn't have any trouble selling them. And after all, the idea behind any company is to make money. When you here that WalMart gets only 1000 caps for the entire year, that just doesn't make sense for both the retailer and manufacturer, when they could probably sell 100 times that inventory at each store. Me smells a rat in the form of some woke corporate board members that just don't like us very much.
I have an older muzzle loader that takes caps I got this from my dad when he passed. It was around 15 year ago I have no idea how to tell what size caps I need. I want to get into muzzle loading and would love to use my dad’s old gun even though caps are had to find. But I have no idea what I am really looking for on the size. Is there just one size? How can I find out what size I need? What I know about the rifle is it is a 54 cal. Musket ball cap that is really it. I can try to get more info by looking up the model number and stuff if that will help.
I just got into cap&ball in 2023 with a 50cal Lyman trade rifle with 2 tins of cci no 11 went out to test fire it and the first 5 caps didn't work at all my brother has a genuine antique pistol cap&ball and he lent me caps that worked I got in contact with the gun shop and thay haven't got any and fast forward 2024 no body's got caps and reloading for most firearms are unobtainable, I can go online and buy some accessories but they can't deliver any ammunition or the parts to relode cus our gubinment says its illegal...
I wonder if You could shape a fire steel into the shape of a regular flint for a flintlock rifle !? I don't know if it would work , but , I don't know why it wouldn't ! ( when was the last time You ran out of fire steel in a bic lighter before You ran out of fuel ?
I got in to Muzzle Loading just over a year ago and today 7 guns latter and a ton of money spent / lost due to no stores or dealers near me it is safe for me to say there is a ton of Price Gouging going on and mom and pops gun stores gave up selling caps and powder to cost and INS rules and laws in place so they are done with it unless a new company is started cause it is more then clear cap makers have other plans and were not on there to do list again a new company needs to be started
You can get no 10 cap makers for around 50 bucks. Sheet copper makes better caps than aluminum cans. You can get a lifetime supply of potassium chlorate and antimony trisulfate quite reasonably. Sulfur is easily obtainable and the ground glass is a DIY. I have better luck with alcohol than acetone. A drop of duco cement in your acetone is supposed to prevent crumbling but I am still working on confirming that. As always your mileage may vary.
There has been one shipment from them in the past two years if that I am aware of. I’d love for them to be more reliable, but with what’s happening in Germany, I won’t hold my breath.
Here in France the situation seems to have improved. Last year the shortage was terrible, and profiteers were splitting boxes into packets of 50 and selling each packet for 25 euros!! Now they are reappearing on our websites for 35 Euros per 250 (winged musket caps are cheaper). Which is not as good as 18 euros like in 2022, but better than last year.
@@ILoveMuzzleloading Hi mate we have 2 brands to choose from. One brand is Sellier and Bellot. I think they are based in the Czech republic. The other one is RUAG Ammotec Furth, Germany. They are sold as size 1075, and fit my Hawken and my Pietta revolvers. I will send you an email of the boxes. I'm English by the way although I live in France. Better gun laws here than the UK! The main website in France for all gun related stuff is Naturabuy. There are whole sections of it dedicated to Black Powder arms and reloading.
Maybe it's because people buy more than they can use in several lifetimes. It's a fear factor. In old times, you went to the local store and bought some tins as you needed. If you pooled all the caps together that people owned in America, there would be plenty to go around.
We obviously need more cap manufacturers.
we need a new cap maker screw all the old ones
GOEX needs to start making caps. Just do it !
@@556suppressor GOEX is a powder mill owned by a solid fuel rocket engine company. I doubt there's any way they could tool up to do that.
@@krockpotbroccoli65 Don't give up. They can expand their business enterprise.
@@krockpotbroccoli65 Check that. Co-Owned by the military.
this is why i am adding a flintlock to the mix .
Good luck finding real black powder. You can order it (so far) but you usually have to order 20 pounds of it. I was fortunate enough to find a supplier that would ship just 5 pounds, but after checking around I could not find one store in New Mexico that carries real black powder. The BP substitutes don't work for flintlocks.
Make your own powder.
Yes, you can. Easier said than done though, and certainly not for the casual shooter.@@americanman4746
@@stevehorton621 check out buffalo arms. I ordered 5lbs on many occasions.
@@stevehorton621amen! Goex or bust!!
I’m making caps myself, H-48 compound, very very good ignition, no delay, about hour to make 150 pcs and 2-3 aluminum cans. Highly recommend this.
The cap shortage is why i went straight to flintlock when i got my 1st muzzleloader. Plus the ability to make my own powder, patches, and balls. Flints can be purchased in large quantities and are good for multiple shot, compared to a percussion cap being only good for one shot. I'm currently looking at taking up traditional archery for much of the same reasons. Basically what I'm saying is flintlocks and long/recurve bows are better for self sustainability.
Loving my Kibler Woodsrunner in 54 caliber. Looking at building the SMR or the Fowler when it comes out.
Reject percussion, Return to flintlock.
@@SenkaBanditor just advance to 209 primers. 1000 cheddites for $60 even with this crazy inflation.
Grew up learning how to shoot on a Tennessee percussion model . Never thought there’d be a cap shortage . Those were the good old days .
Sad fact of life in the 3rd decade of the 21st Century. Thank you for your candid view from your discussions. I have only a one-word response, “FLINTLOCK”. 🤷🏻♂️
cap and ball revolvers have left the chat
This makes me think how hard would it be to start a company making high Quality caps.
There are people a lot smarter than me trying to figure that out, I'm hoping to hear more later this year.
A HUGE pile of paperwork is needed. If it was easy, and profitable, it would be done by now!
People have tried and then get bought out before they produce the first product. Heard any more about the new primer company that were supposed to produce all these primers? Well they’re gone hmmmm wonder why?
@@dowdawgyou bring up a very good question. I had not thought about the why before. Seems like there might be more to the story than meets the eye.
Ask these questions:
Is there enough demand to start a caps only company?
Would the market be willing to pay the higher prices required to operate that company?
While there is a higher demand for caps, it’s unlikely it’s higher enough to support an entire company even if the entire market abandoned the current manufactures.
Would you be willing to pay double, triple or quadruple the current pricing?
It’s unlikely that a caps only company would be able to get started, much less be affordable enough to stay in business.
I often have conversations about firearms.
I rarely have conversations about black powder guns.
So unless someone is willing to expand a current, related business to manufacture caps, urging the current manufacturers to produce “just a little bit more” is our best option.
The current manufacturers probably only continue to make caps to minimize lost income while updating and maintaining equipment for centerfire ammunition.
If anybody wants to make your own caps and primers I would take a look at ardvark reloading. He has a formula that is almost like a factory formula. Noncorrosive but it does have lead in it. Also with war going on with Russia and the Middle East they might be more focused on making military ammo. And I can see this becoming more and more prevalent with reloading shortages. Just my opinion. Thanks for the heads up Ethan.
Now you match this up with a homemade gascheck die set sized for what cap size you need and you really never need the company's again come on folks if people were able to figure this out while still crapping in outhouses with no electricity we in the modern Era can do this
They are also making enough of the new 6.8 ammo for the us militaries new guns.
The wars will likely have an impact on the availability of powder, perhaps more than caps
@@johndally7994 Right now, there's no way to buy any caps at this time.
I gave up on finding caps and got a mag spark nipple conversion for my
Hawken. Now I can use 209 primers which seem to still be available. If those out there don’t want to use 209 primers then I do know of that cap makers kit. Seems pretty easy
I’m just getting back into muzzleloaders after a 30 year hiatus. Growing up in Washington, DC as a kid in the late 70’s & 80’s these were only guns my dad could buy due to their unconstitutional gun laws. We even had a percussion revolver for home protection.
Thanks for the update, and Yes, BEWARE - THERE ARE A LOT OF SCAMMERS OUT THERE saying they have percussion caps, and taking your order/payment. And as for Remington percussion caps ..... they are like the sasquatch, many have heard of them, nobody has actually seen them.
Saw two sites today both wanted zell or PayPal 🚩.
Did a quick google review and saw scam reviews.
I’ve got an empty tin of remingtons I bought earlier this year, half of them didn’t even set off my charge and I wasted $20😭
Not wanting to start a political discussion but Im pretty sure the producers are rather focusing on modern primer production for Ukraine than percussion caps.
Same goes for Black Powder which is still being used as an accelerant in the propelling charges of modern Artillery.
Absolutely, the situation is affecting things. No doubt about it.
DIY caps are awesome as long as you seal them with duco cement. Ive made and shot around 400 caps and only had 8 missfires.
I dont worry about about caps and powder any more because i make my own. I shoot 30 rounds a week on average.
Thanks for sharing the tip!!
More people should do this instead of hitting the lazy button.
@blackdiamond2088 I have noticed that my misfire rate Is significantly higher than yours. I have also noticed that the primer powder is a bit loose so adding a layer of adhesive in the percussion caps like you are saying does make sense. If you have time, please let me know how you are using the duco cement? Are you adding duco cement in the percussion cap and then adding the primer mix?
@@jem_lucinamain3777
When I first started using the DIY caps I had some trouble with them too. As you say the powder would crumble and fall out of the cap as you moved around etc. Also the powder in the caps is very hydroscopic so in damp weather, the moisture in the air would kill them up to 100% failure. Kind of frustrating. But now, after sealing them with duco cement I don't have very many problems with them any longer. I've hiked for miles on end while shooting my rifle with very good reliability. Ive shot my revolver in full on snowstorms with very few failures now. I live out west and dont have much humidity to deal with, so I cant say what these caps would do in a constant high humidity environment, but on snowy days here the humidity is in the 90% range and they do fine for me. In high humidity environments you might try making enough caps for your shooting plans the night before you go out, so they are fresh and havent had too much time to sit and absorb moisture.
This is what I do to seal my caps:
I use a glass eye dropper with a rubber bulb on the end. I remove the rubber bulb and place 2 drops of duco cement into the dropper then replace the bulb, and suck in acetone up to about have of the dropper. I then cover the end of the dropper with a finger and shake the mixture for a few seconds. then place one drop of the mixture into each cap and let dry.
This makes sense because my gun shop got their #11 caps last year about September and October and after that they were out and haven't been seen again. I converted as many of my guns over to musket caps as possible because my shop has quite a few of them and that lets me keep as many of #11 caps as I can for the guns that I can't convert. Some of the prices online for #11 caps border on highway robbery.
#11, musket caps, 209 primers, I buy any I run across when I'm out and about, I have nipples for #11 and musket cap for all my rifles and I have 209 primer mag spark nipples for most of my side lock rifles so whatever I can find I can swap over to it and keep shooting, black powder is whats the hardest to find in my area right now, but I can find pyrodex and 777 so all is not lost.
Thanks for the update, much appreciated! I bought a cap maker about 2 years ago and it works great, I haven't any issues with them not going off, however the do not fit in Ted Cash cappers. I also used their mix in musket caps as well because when I bought them, many didn't go off and they look to have the little red paper cap inside of them, I went right over them with the mix and they work now. Primers are scarce now too and have been for quite awhile and I don't have my hopes up in seeing them anytime soon. Thanks again... 👍
Here in the UK, the situation and feeling is the same. This video has been hugelllyy helpful. I've been wondering about alot of this. Am also thinking about Flintlock!
Being from California, the idea that Walmart might carry percussion caps made me lol
But they do carry 209 shotgun primers( near me). Mag spark nipples will fire them
Hey there. I have not bought a single cap since approx 2020. Around that time frame I bought several thousand remington no 10 and cci caps to have since they were available. However, I have just been making my own caps recently with 22lr reloaders system. Importantly left out is the need to use "duco cement" glue in acetone at the very end of the process which is nitrocellulose based and really helps the caps perform. Before this, I could not get reliable ignition until I used duco dissolved in acetone as the final drop on my caps. After, the caps ignited every time as powerful as remingtons. Personally, I am not too afraid of this shortage but you need to know how to also make your own caps. Its pretty shitty at the end of the day though. If new percussion pistol/rifle owners want to shoot their gun they want to just buy these caps. Maybe there will be a third party market in the future of homemade caps 😂
Picked up some CCI at Academy Sports today after checking there many times. Now is the time to look for them!
I'll have to keep eye out for the remington caps.
There are shortages on everything guns, but I noticed here in WV there are slim pickings on anything muzzleloading here in our State. One thing I am thinking of doing is changing my side locks to the Mag Spark 209 ignition system for mine. I’m thinking of changing my Remington ML over to a 209 system. I have another one that is musket cap and I cannot find them local either.
Gave an honest, clean, no bad language comment a couple hours ago. It disapeared. Problem?
I don’t remove comments. Your comment doesn’t show as removed by TH-cam so I’m not sure what happened.
I had the same problem on my channel, Its YT doing it , Certain words do it ! It's not the YT creator
TH-cam will just shadow ban random comments. No idea why, there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason.
Last march I found an entire shelf full of CCI #10’s at Morgantown, WV Sportsmans warehouse and picked up a few thousand. Been riding on those since.
I'm sitting here making caps as I watch this video. Slow process but it is what I have to do. I have only found 1 place to buy caps online and it's a 400% mark up before the hazmat, so that's a no go. I also purchased some of the red cap gun caps to try out as well. Hopefully they do a couple runs of caps this year so we can all stock up.
I stumbled into some Remington #11 caps today. It was a gas station about 15 minutes from my house that I never realized sold guns and ammo. I picked up 6 tins of them and they still had a dozen or so left but I didn't want to buy them all up. I'll give it a couple weeks and check back, if they haven't sold by that point then I will grab several more.
Cheers. I have personally found that commonly available duco cement a generous portion dissolved in acetone and a drop of this mixture placed in each cap at the end of the process makes the caps perform flawlessly
@@Aks456 That is how I was making them. I have a dropper bottle with acetone and duco cement. I found a local gas station with caps but it's nice having the option to make my own when needed.
Large rifle primers too are hard to come by.
NO CAPS! “What does not kill me makes me stronger,” Nietzsche wrote. But hurt doesn’t make us stronger. Hurt just makes us hurt. The whole place feels like a grave. A cathedral for the dead and the fallen. The ground is littered with discarded books and magazines. A broken crack pipe has been left on a cinder block. There is a garden chair, and overturned crates and buckets. A mangled teddy bear. Death everywhere. If they were not emotionally connected to the person who has died, the body is taken outside and that night it disappears when the truly desperate come and make food of it. We have no place left to bury or hide our dead. Some have begun to inject the bodies with poisons even household bleach and posting warning signs on the bodies, this is not a deterrent and many get sick and perish because they ignore the warning. In fact few now spend the effort to cook the meat and simply gorge themselves on the raw flesh. It is now a rare sight to see even a deteriorated corpse unmolested in some way, worse are the sick that have not the strength or means to fend off the starving. No one moans or cries like in the beginning and every face has a vacant empty inhuman look, the eyes desperately searching wildly. Today I saw a woman eating small portions of flesh she had hidden in a child’s pencil case, it was decorated with figures from the cartoon called Toy Story, and when I saw it something in me broke, I am struggling to maintain a positive attitude and ashamed at my weakness and lack of coping skills. On a positive note, I long ago established a thriving cockroach farm in an 80 gallon fish tank stuffed with empty cardboard and egg cartons, and have been very disciplined with keeping my meals small so as not to generate suspicion while maintaining my protein intake enough to function. Cockroaches are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals, so my day is filled looking for weeds and other insects to keep the farm going and maintain a sense of purpose. Kuru Is A Neurodegenerative Disorder That Is Passed On Through Cannibalism and many now show the symptoms of muscle twitching, loss of coordination. Other symptoms include difficulty walking, involuntary movements, behavioral and mood changes, dementia, and fatal insomnia. You can contract the disease by eating human flesh or coming into contact with open wounds or sores of someone living with it. The only hope now is for the dark silence of death itself.
Damn. Some Stephen King stuff right there. Props.
During my younger adult life we never had shortages of ammo, primers, powder, caps…. I am so tired of this craziness!
It's pretty wild.
I ordered some #10 caps from Cabela's. They came in Remington. I was able to get 500.
Thanks Ethan. I appreciate your videos very much. There are so many scammers on line I avoid buying on line, but I'm fortunate to have a local BP shop. They seem to be the last to get caps and powder, unfortunately. They say they are at the mercy of the distributors.
Thanks for the info. This is good to know.
RWS 250 count German #11, RWS 250 count Magnum caps are still being sold at Muzzle-Loaders and Dixie gun works. Though if you have a percussion lock with a powder drum, you can easily convert it to flintlock by unscrewing the powder drum and replace it with the touch hole liner and a flintlock by L&R locks. For percussion muzzleloaders that don't have powder drums like the 1842 Springfield and later except Philly Derringer or 4.5mm pistol and Sharps due to the lock design can't fit a frizzen spring can be sent to a gunsmith to tap a place for a touch hole liner. Side effect is that flintlocks cant use triple 7 or Pyrodex. Also, Palmetto's AAC is working on setting up a plant to make primers and I just asked them if they can see about purchasing Remington and CCI because of the primer plants. Try asking Palmetto State Armory about it as well.
Cap guns ( or lack of caps ) makes Me REALLY lean towards buying a flintlock rifle .
Just bought eight tins of cci # 11 at Walmart yesterday .
I stopped by CCI's booth at shot show and talked to them about it. They didnt have anything planned for 6 months at minimum. Looked directly at their production schedule.
Why I started making my own caps. I think they should make a longer run since there is such a back log.
Im trying to get into cap and ball but lack of supplies is frustrating me
It really is a crappie situation. I just went goose hunting with my double 10 ga percussion scatter gun yesterday. I burned up a good number of caps. In the back of my mind I was wondering if this annual hunt was coming to an end due to lack of caps. I sure hope not. I'm glad to have this channel to keep me as informed as possible. Thank you for every update you share.
May just have to go back to flintlocks.
I got my first muzzleloader a few years ago and have everything I need except for percussion caps so I haven't been able to fire it.
Cabela's has a replacement nipple for side lock black powder rifles and it takes a 209 shot shell primer and the nipple has a cap that screws on it with a oring and center fire fireing pin . they are for hawkens . Kentucky s and all side lock percussion cap rifles. I have got one and had it a long time and it never lets me down even when raining.209 primer stays dry and always goes boom when I pull the trigger and it is as instant as a cartridge rifle.and one thing about it you can always screw it out and put your no.11 nipple back in or your musket nipple! Its the best fireing system for a muzzle loader rifle especially deer hunting goes boom instantly when you touch her off ! Cabela's has the solution for fire in the hole men!
0:45 I haven't used any of my caps in almost two years. Recently i started setting back powders more than i have. Powders are getting expensive and whispers of more regulation. Because we all now often a muzzle loader is used in a drive-by.
I know a store that is overlooked that sells percussion caps and they’re always in stock Remmington percussion caps 12 bucks for 100 not CCI but unfortunately I’m not going to make it public knowledge about these caps because if I tell everyone then everyone’s gonna go buy them up from the place, I get number 10 caps because if you need them for a muzzleloader, you can just stretch and bend copper To make them fit really snug t and they’ll fit just fine as 11 caps Remington caps have never failed to fire for me. I think they’re awesome.. They also have kits so you can make your own.
Saw Remington Small pistol primers on the shelf at a local store in Oklahoma. No percussion caps. 22reloader makes a #10 cap maker now you can make them.
Went this route. The die cuts caps out of beer cans the priming compound $20 for enuff to prime 2000 caps. The die is like $45 though. One time buy.
Thank You Ethan for all your research! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
Makeing my own.
thank you for the information keep up the good work
I feel so lucky to have a retailer than goes far beyond others in that I still have access to CCI standard and magnum, Remington and RWS standard and magnum at this time.
The shop I frequent in central Florida has had CCI 11& 12s in stock for months.
There were plenty for sale at a trade show in Jackson, OH last weekend. There's a Gun and Archery store here in Lexington that had them recently. But, I think the Ohio Valley region of the country tends to stock more muzzleloading supplies.
Anyone have success with the 209 Shotgun primer conversion nipple for the hawken style rifle? If so, this might be another option. Ive never tried it. Maybe might make a good review video?
Yes, the Mag Spark!
In stores???????????? not here in WA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cabellas has remington in stock. Don't know how long
I smell a business opportunity here!
This what I’m thinking too
Do percussion caps come in different sizes?
Magspark 209 adapter, save caps for your revolvers
I purchased some Remington caps at Cabela"s about a month ago.
Thanks so much ! Greatly appreciate it .🤠
Been watching grafs constant out of stock highlight on caps for a few years. They never seem to get the ones everyone needs but the price keeps climbing. Remington 10 now over $100 for 1000. Use to be $79 just a couple years ago.
Thanks, Ethan. Good info as always.
Glad it was helpful!
I was a boy in the 70 when i first got into muzzle loading and at that time with the carter administration hammering the second amendment i realized the vulnerability of caps. I already loved the flintlock for that reason.
Screw the blue!
Any word on RWS?
I've been making my own and I've got 30 out of 32 to fire so far. I've been using cap gun roll caps and they work (I've been charging with pyrodex RS also) here soon, I'm probably going to get some prime-all to try.
Buffalo Arms has RWS 1075+ in stock, limited to 1,000 caps per purchase. They ain't cheap.
Prime All sucks, chlorate primers have poor long term storage properties unless they are waterproofed with sealer. FA-70 is much better, EPH20 and EPNO are brisant and equal to any factory primers/caps.
Wish we could get more RIO 4 wing caps. The CCI caps are not as hot and have miss fires in 1842 Springfield and Richmonds muzzleloaders
Homemade percussion caps are as effective as the person making them. Couple of points that usually get overlooked. The beverage cans that are recommended to be used have paint on one side and a plastic liner on the inside. You need to lightly sand off one or the other if you want to ensure adhesion of the priming compound. While the priming compound has a hardener in the mix, use of additional hardener is beneficial - a drop of hair spray or a small drop of Duco cement, "airplane glue", etc, is helpful - some have even reported that a drop of superglue works. The homemade cap die can now be purchased in both #11 size and #10 size. It is very beneficial to make a loading block for those homemade caps because manipulating one by one with your fingers is extremely tedious.
Can you do a video on the sizes of percussion caps? I know you touched on it in this video.
With the issues with percussions I'll stick with flintlocks. I would like a percussion, but not with this issue
The CCI #11 seem to fit my slix shot nipples really well. The Remington #10 is OK and the CCI #10 is tight. Both of the #10 take a wooden dowel to get them to seat well enough to fire for sure on the first strike. Don't have any Remington #11 to see about them but it seems that Remington run a bit larger that the CCI. Is that the normal consensus?
Just bought a 250ct of rws no11 equivalent caps today. W.e sell sporting goods hanover pa.
Hey brother! It's now mid August. Any update on the caps? Thanks!
FYI-Picked up some #11s at Academy Sports today! Seems they are hitting the market.
My local sporting goods stores haven’t seen caps in over 3 years 🤷♂️🤦♂️
This morning I stumbled into a sporting goods store that had a longforgotten stash of #11 CCIs.
I bought 1000. I should go get some Powerball tickets now
Good afternoon from Syracuse NY brother and I got what I need
What happened to the days when companies would expand production to meet customer demand?
You said that percussion caps are a low priority, is that because they can't sell enough to be profitable? How has demand for caps been over the last 40 years? I remember a time before inline rifles when sporting goods stores had huge selections of guns, kits and accessories available, now the pickings are a shadow or what they were. Bass Pro in my area had no caps, patches and the balls were very expensive. There isle was 10% of what it was 10 years ago. They had one old traditions kit that was stuck in the back room that the guy showed me, he said they wouldn't be oredering any more when that was gone.
I anticipated this
RWS are still available in places. I just saw a PILE of them today at a specific store North of Kansas City.
Love the intro….!!!!
Thank you, I was afraid I was getting too goofy, but thought it might be fun to try!
Could these Remington caps be new old stock ?
I live in Missouri ,Graf and sons has them in store or online....scored cci caps in my local Walmarts but they only came in right before deer season
I was checking every trip to my local Wallyworld and managed to score half their stock in early August last summer. The sales guy wanted me to take all of them so he wouldn't have to deal with it again. But I'm not that guy!!! Only about $6 each tin, but quality was kind of poor with many per tin that were half filed or otherwise defective. I think I sent Ethan a picture after his last report of quality issues.
I just got some musket caps shipped from them to where I live here in Western New York
Have you ever considered reverting to flintlock ignition?
That’s the main topic of my “beginner muzzleloading in 2024” video
I'm thinking of a couple solutions:
1) there is 209 primer conversion nipple available. I have a couple. These may or not be legal for hunting in your State, but you can still shoot. 209s are plentiful
2) you can often find #10 percussion caps...get an extra #11 nipple, carefully file it down to accommodate the #10s. In the past several months, i have found 10s when 11s were nowhere to be found. I stocked up.
Just my humble opinion.
Can you teach us how to file down #11's down to #10's?
@@BrilloHead well, I said "file" but really what I do is to wrap the threads of a #11 nipple with duct tape, chuck it up in a drill and use a strip of emery cloth to sand it down. Just keep checking the #10 cap fit as you go along.
@@davebarr9378 I heard some guys try to pinch a #11 cap to fit on a #10 nipple. But that the results are mixed. Some good, some not so good.
@@BrilloHead yeah maybe...I like my idea better. to each his own...
Ethan, I really do appreciate your work in keeping us informed. I don't understand why CCI doesn't increase production output if there is such a high demand for percussion caps. They certainly wouldn't have any trouble selling them. And after all, the idea behind any company is to make money. When you here that WalMart gets only 1000 caps for the entire year, that just doesn't make sense for both the retailer and manufacturer, when they could probably sell 100 times that inventory at each store. Me smells a rat in the form of some woke corporate board members that just don't like us very much.
It's a wild time. Businesses aren't run like they used to be.
I have an older muzzle loader that takes caps I got this from my dad when he passed. It was around 15 year ago I have no idea how to tell what size caps I need. I want to get into muzzle loading and would love to use my dad’s old gun even though caps are had to find. But I have no idea what I am really looking for on the size. Is there just one size? How can I find out what size I need? What I know about the rifle is it is a 54 cal. Musket ball cap that is really it. I can try to get more info by looking up the model number and stuff if that will help.
Now is a good time for some other company with capabilities to step in and start producing the elusive percussion caps .
I just got into cap&ball in 2023 with a 50cal Lyman trade rifle with 2 tins of cci no 11 went out to test fire it and the first 5 caps didn't work at all my brother has a genuine antique pistol cap&ball and he lent me caps that worked I got in contact with the gun shop and thay haven't got any and fast forward 2024 no body's got caps and reloading for most firearms are unobtainable, I can go online and buy some accessories but they can't deliver any ammunition or the parts to relode cus our gubinment says its illegal...
Might as well get flintlock. Theyre starting to crack down on black powder percussion.
THANKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wonder if You could shape a fire steel into the shape of a regular flint for a flintlock rifle !? I don't know if it would work , but , I don't know why it wouldn't ! ( when was the last time You ran out of fire steel in a bic lighter
before You ran out of fuel ?
I think everyone should own at least one flintlock. No percussion caps needed.
Flints ain’t cheap. You can knap your own of course.
@@americanman4746 right now, it is less per shot for flint and you can find flints or, pick up flint from streams and chip out your own.
Flintlocks have their issues too, especially in the rain. That's why a lot of mountain men in the 1800's switched to them "nipple huggers" lol
I’ve seen tin’s selling around here from $40-$60 Canadian…. Ouch.
Now do a video about where all the French flints are!!!!
I was told at store ,shipping is the problem
I got in to Muzzle Loading just over a year ago and today 7 guns latter and a ton of money spent / lost due to no stores or dealers near me it is safe for me to say there is a ton of Price Gouging going on and mom and pops gun stores gave up selling caps and powder to cost and INS rules and laws in place so they are done with it unless a new company is started cause it is more then clear cap makers have other plans and were not on there to do list again a new company needs to be started
This might be a dumb question, but can you use musket caps on a traditional muzzleloader?
Yes, if you have the correct nipple size.
You can get no 10 cap makers for around 50 bucks. Sheet copper makes better caps than aluminum cans. You can get a lifetime supply of potassium chlorate and antimony trisulfate quite reasonably. Sulfur is easily obtainable and the ground glass is a DIY. I have better luck with alcohol than acetone. A drop of duco cement in your acetone is supposed to prevent crumbling but I am still working on confirming that. As always your mileage may vary.
I am not sure CCI is the only manufacturer of percussion caps. RWS comes to mind.
There has been one shipment from them in the past two years if that I am aware of. I’d love for them to be more reliable, but with what’s happening in Germany, I won’t hold my breath.
Here in France the situation seems to have improved. Last year the shortage was terrible, and profiteers were splitting boxes into packets of 50 and selling each packet for 25 euros!! Now they are reappearing on our websites for 35 Euros per 250 (winged musket caps are cheaper). Which is not as good as 18 euros like in 2022, but better than last year.
What brand of caps? Any help is appreciated. It’s hard for me to get info from Europe
@@ILoveMuzzleloading Hi mate we have 2 brands to choose from. One brand is Sellier and Bellot. I think they are based in the Czech republic. The other one is RUAG Ammotec Furth, Germany. They are sold as size 1075, and fit my Hawken and my Pietta revolvers. I will send you an email of the boxes. I'm English by the way although I live in France. Better gun laws here than the UK! The main website in France for all gun related stuff is Naturabuy. There are whole sections of it dedicated to Black Powder arms and reloading.
@@bsaneil 12 caps for €8 Insane, or 25 for €10.
Maybe it's because people buy more than they can use in several lifetimes. It's a fear factor. In old times, you went to the local store and bought some tins as you needed. If you pooled all the caps together that people owned in America, there would be plenty to go around.
Yeah, I wish those people would start selling theirs.
Gosh, great thinking.
We should petition the government to seize all the caps and distribute them equitably!
It’s the government that buying them. Ha!!
I’m surprised that they can be shipped directly to purchasers
I gotta have more cap-bell!
I havent been able to get percussion caps in multiple years now
I didnt want to, but converted to 209 shotgun primers with a mag spark nipple. It'll be a long time before we cant get those.
Please keep poo pooing diy caps! That means more components for me. My diy (22 reloader) caps are powerful and 100% for me.