Failure of CCI#11 caps firing on first hit

[Bill Edick]

I have been experimenting with all the nipples avaiable for my Pietta 1860 Armies with the CCI #11 nipples now available with not good results. On most of the nipples three of five only fire on the second cycle but with the Tresso zero fire after three cycles. All my mainsprings are stock and was looking for information on what weight are the standard Pietta springs. Tried internet searches with no luck. VTI offers lighter springs which I am not interested in but would like it try a heavier spring. I shoot CAS with my revolvers for over 12 years with no issues using the Remington #10 caps but CCI #11 just are junk in my use. My single shot rifles they work great but not on any of my six revolvers. Any help would be appreciated. Bill

 

[snakebit]

I put slixshots on both of my revolvers due to 11's being more available (sorta). Never an issue. 51 Navy, 60 Army both stock pieces.

 

[Gtrubicon]

Huh, I’ve never had a prollum with Treso nipples. They decorate all that I own. Interesting.

 

[Grenadier1758]

When it takes more than 1 strike to set off a percussion cap, but they do eventually go off, the most likely cause is the diameter of the cone that is preventing the cap from fully seating and thus making a sort of cushion for the cap. The cones of a nipple are not that hard. Get a couple of nuts of the proper thread pitch (probably 6-0.75 metric) to hold the nipples in an electric drill to file or stone few thousandths off the diameter.

The tip of the cone should be about 0.155" in diameter tapering to about 0.165" where the skirt ends as the priming compound seats on the top of the nipple.

You can try to reshape the nipple cones or buy a set of slixshot nipples.

We can see from the chart that the Remington #10 and CCI #11 have the same ID. The Remington caps seem to have more priming compound and a longer skirt. Trim the nipples for a better fit with the CCI caps.

 

[Pete G]

Caps don’t fit the cones