If you shoot percussion at all you probably have encountered an occasion of wanting to remove a live cap. If the cap fits the nipple tightly it can be a pain to remove. This difficulty has induced some to take the dangerous course of leaving a rifle or gun capped in the vehicle or camp. My own life very nearly ended at age 16 by my dad's 12 gauge loaded into the auto with hammer down on capped nipples. So here is a gadget to remove caps. It costs about nothing and takes but a few minutes to make of a scrap of heavy leather such as a bit of an old belt. In use just press the small hole down over the cap and pull up. Presto you have the cap off the nipple and contained in the leather undamaged and secure for reuse. The small hole is only slightly critical. A number 11 cap has an OD of about .179". The punch I used has an OD of .168" but due to the elasticity of the leather the hole actually measures about .159", thus a tight fit. If you don't have hole punches I'd advise using a 5/32" drill bit. Twist drills make very rough and ragged holes in leather but there is a trick to smooth them. After drilling, reverse the bit in your drill chuck so the smooth shank sticks out. Lightly wet the leather and spin the smooth drill shank in the hole and it will smooth and burnish the hole. For the finger hole I used a 3/4" wad punch but that is totally optional, it works as well without the finger hole.
