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1942farmall

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During the current period where percussion caps appear to be hard to find and unreasonably expensive.
My curiosity has me wondering...
Has anybody tried a spent cap with a roll cap (from a kids cap gun) or two simply inserted?
Not sure if they would have the fire required for consistent ignition.
I've seen on other forums for cartridge reloading people attempting to recharge primers so it got my mind turning on percussion caps. I'd never try it with reloading primers and would be concerned about my fingers but am curious what others have successfully tried (and not hurt themselves in the process)
 
During WWII, Filipino resistance fighters used kitchen (strike anywhere) match heads to reload primers in cartridges. (From the book "They Fought Alone"). Might work with percussion caps, don't know. As a kid, I remember some caps that were peeled off individually for use in certain cap guns. They might work stuck on the underside of the hammer instead of on the nipple. Man, I AM getting old.

Opened a can of "Goldmark" caps this evening - way before my time. Do not look promising. At least some of the Alcans go off - sometimes.
 
I had Afghani come in the gunshop 35 years ago . He had found a double rifle in a hut and wanted brass to reload , I sold him 50 .357 H&H magnum brass , then I asked what he was going to do for primers and powder , pull fired primers apart and refill with strike any where match heads and use powder from a RPG !!
 
My #11 cap maker should be delivered this afternoon. I paid $50 (shipping included) for the tool. I have read that people that have bought the tool and made caps are getting nearly 100% ignition, depending on the method they use for charging them.

DW
 
I use the toy plastic cap gun caps all the time. Cheap and work. If you do have a gun that is a bit reluctant with the toy caps to ignite, remove the white insert and place 4-5 granules of powder in the cap and replace the insert, had to do this for my Zouave. The caps fit the #11.
 
The Sharpshooter/22 Reloader Cap Maker is a quality made product.I have a Forrester Auto-cap and the new Cap MakerThey are both good. It seems that this has come into it's own. Some of us here have been doing this a long while and can help with questions. What works and what will not. The Prime / all you can order will work and is powerful. To answer the first question. Yes you can reload a used cup if you find any that are in good shape. I don't get them like that.Anymore I just use my own.
 
Well there truly isn't anything new under the sun.......

take a look at what they were trying back in the late 1800s. Maynard tape priming system.
1638631397444.png
 
Well there truly isn't anything new under the sun.......

take a look at what they were trying back in the late 1800s. Maynard tape priming system.
View attachment 107706
Yeah, when I think about the old roll-cap toy cap guns I had back in the day (40-50 years ago), I guess they were basically a “Maynard-style” double-action. You pull the trigger and it advances the cap to be ignited.
 
I know primers are also hard to come by these days, but Pedersoli makes/made a conversion for large pistol (or rifle, can't remember) primers to fit on percussion locks. It's slow to reload but it lets you shoot/hunt if caps are unavailable but you have primers.
 
Yeah, when I think about the old roll-cap toy cap guns I had back in the day (40-50 years ago), I guess they were basically a “Maynard-style” double-action. You pull the trigger and it advances the cap to be ignited.
Back then we didn't know to clean our cap guns to remove the black powder fouling. No wonder they all rusted up internally and got thrown away when rusty springs broke :doh: I had a lot of cap guns of all types but my little brother had the coolest of all, a Mattel Tommy Burst. It sure ate up a roll of caps fast.
 
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