opinions wanted

[JimFlint]

I hope you find what you need, they are out there. Thank you for getting back into our passion.

 

[Packrat]

To bad you are not in Arizona I have a couple hundred from my reenactment days don't have a musket now

 

[LME]

Yeah i saw grafs earlier .... minimum 40 dollar purchase . So that means two tins at 39 a piece for a total of 115 bucks with fees . I dont need 500 caps . I could do 1 tin and find something for a dollar lol ...thats still 80 bucks for 250 caps with fees . I guess it is what it is . Anybody have experience shooting reenactment cap for live rounds ? Seen mixed reviews .

Could you get someone to split the cost with you? There has to be someone else with the same problem?

 

[appalichian hunter]

I look at it like this not only do I shoot and hunt with black powder but also the un-mentionables as well as re-load all the ammo for those weapons, I looked high and low for a certain type of rifle powder for a very particular rifle, this search lasted two years, it was to the point of either sell the rifle or begin the process of load development all over again with a different powder, was not fond of that because the rifle is a distance tack driver, This past early Oct. on my way to Wyoming for a hunt stopped at a little gun shop for a look around, my buddy comes to me with two lbs. of the gun powder I had been looking for. Ask him if there was any more, he said two more lbs. I bought all four lbs. at a very good price no shipping no hazmat manure. Keep looking it's there you just have not found it yet. Also, when you do find it buy as much as you can afford.

 

[DementedMindOfJac]

picked up a nice musket the other day but now cant find caps without dropping 150 bucks with minimum order and fees involved . my choices now seem pay the money, use reenactment caps or convert to #11 percushion caps.i did find some caps for around 75 bucks for 200 but that still seems ridiculous. what are yall guys using and whats your thoughts on reenactment caps vs percushion caps.

BASTPHEMY ALERT!!! GATHER YE ROCKS FOR THROWIN'!

Read a while back about musket cap to 209 primer conversion. Kinda scanned it for interest's sake, but I'm a dedicated flinter who occasionally trots out a percussion in an act of self-flagellation.

There is no shortage of real musket caps.

And #11 caps are mostly unobtanium.

Try Graf's for musket caps.


PS: Graf's has 1,000 musket cap bricks and 250 count tins of #11s in stock. And their shipping and hazmat is more than fair.

I shall give them a call. I have long used pinched #11's on my percussion revolvers, necessity being the mother of invention.

Side-note: If you find ANYTHING gun-related on a interzone site that requires a $400+ minimum order and requires the funds to be transferred via a service like VENMO, don't do it. Ask me how I know this.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Keep this on topic folks.

Any folks know of a ACW reenactment in November he might attend and find caps there?

LD

 

[oldschoolhunter55]

no way to treat anyone, no less a new guy. if $80.00 is no big deal to you , buy 'em for the guy.

so very true

 

[dave951]

Yeah i saw grafs earlier .... minimum 40 dollar purchase . So that means two tins at 39 a piece for a total of 115 bucks with fees . I dont need 500 caps . I could do 1 tin and find something for a dollar lol ...thats still 80 bucks for 250 caps with fees . I guess it is what it is . Anybody have experience shooting reenactment cap for live rounds ? Seen mixed reviews .

Reenactment caps for live rounds- How about NO. Accuracy will suffer. I've posted quite a bit on shooting these things with minies, how about doing a quick search.

But what would I (and my N-SSA compadres) know about shooting minies-

 

[dave951]

If you don't want to pay, you don't get to play. Everybody knows the prices for stuff is ridiculous these days, but "It is what it is"! No one cares if you "only need 1 tin". $80 is not a fortune. Just my "opinion", which is what you asked for! I have been able to find what I need. It's not that hard.

While the above sounds harsh, I get why it's been posted. There's more than once or twice somebody posts in this forum about "can't find caps/powder" or "stuff is expensive" and then whines about the cost of one tin of caps or can't find one pound of powder and then the hazmat shipping. Truth is, current insurance, gov regs, and economics have mitigated against black powder shooting sports. To stock and sell caps and black powder, the gov regs are very rigorous and add to that the insurance premiums a business has to pay to stock those items, and it's no wonder that a brick n mortar place often won't stock it. It simply costs them too much to have it on hand against the occasional customer wandering in and wanting one tin of caps and one pound of powder.

I'll post this again- IF you're serious about black powder these days, you must be prepared to think outside the old business model to get your supplies at anything like a reasonable cost. Make friends with a reenactment group, join a NMLRA Charter Club, or get to know folks who shoot black powder a lot (N-SSA maybe?). Then pool your order with them to either amortize the hazmat and shipping OR eliminate it entirely. I've had zero issues getting musket caps and real black powder. I usually buy twice a year when I go to N-SSA Nationals. I'll usually buy 5k musket caps and a case (25lb) of Swiss 3f and a couple pounds of 2f. No hazmat, no shipping, and when buying a case, the price drops. Yeah, I do some shooting but if I weren't, I'd be in touch with my former reenacting friends to feed my black powder arms.

 

[BackDraft]

While the above sounds harsh, I get why it's been posted...

If you’re just reading this thread, you missed the un-edited post by that individual. ”Harsh” was an understatement. It was just plain mean, prompting my meme response.

 

[dave951]

If you’re just reading this thread, you missed the un-edited post by that individual. ”Harsh” was an understatement. It was just plain mean, prompting my meme response.

Nope, I've been reading this one all along. And yes, I can understand why the mean response. There's lots of these type of threads of "where can I get powder" or "cap shortage" or "nobody has powder near me". The powder/cap situation has been ongoing for years vis a vis being stocked in a local shop. We have multiple threads on how to deal with it.

 

[R Ellis]

The op is new to all this so how is he to know if he cant ask those of us that should be able to help?

 

[dave951]

The op is new to all this so how is he to know if he cant ask those of us that should be able to help?

Does anybody ever use the "Search" function. Asking for a friend.......

 

[rmefbowhunter]

BASTPHEMY ALERT!!! GATHER YE ROCKS FOR THROWIN'!

Read a while back about musket cap to 209 primer conversion. Kinda scanned it for interest's sake, but I'm a dedicated flinter who occasionally trots out a percussion in an act of self-flagellation.

I shall give them a call. I have long used pinched #11's on my percussion revolvers, necessity being the mother of invention.

Side-note: If you find ANYTHING gun-related on a interzone site that requires a $400+ minimum order and requires the funds to be transferred via a service like VENMO, don't do it. Ask me how I know this.

I (unfortuantely) have to second that 'side-note' admonition as I, too, fell for it a couple of years back trying to buy unmentionable Lapua brass. Caveat emptor!

 

[BuffaloSoldier]

Yup, they are out there, just got to find them! When you do, break out the wallet and get them right then and there, 'cause if you don't, there's a guy in line right behind you.

 

[Mad L]

Yeah i saw grafs earlier .... minimum 40 dollar purchase . So that means two tins at 39 a piece for a total of 115 bucks with fees . I dont need 500 caps . I could do 1 tin and find something for a dollar lol ...thats still 80 bucks for 250 caps with fees . I guess it is what it is . Anybody have experience shooting reenactment cap for live rounds ? Seen mixed reviews .

Gone are the days of buying 1 or two tins and a pound of powder, then thinking you can just buy more when you run out.
It used to be that way but as you have noted: prices have gone Crazy!

Bite the bullet, buy all you can squeeze the cash for (within reason, no one Needs several thousand tins....but then...).
Two reasons:
1) You WILL run out and WILL need more.
2) When you run out they will cost even more...IF and when you find them again.

Reenactor for live fire: No
Some will disagree, but seriously; they dont sell good powder/caps cheap to reenactors just because us live shooters are too stupid to save money. They don't charge more for Swiss because we are too stupid to know it's just GOEX.
Reenactors blow smoke.
Live shooters shoot lead, hit targets, bring down game.
But yes, reenactor grade will make your gun go 'BOOM' but also yes, there is a difference.

My advice: make the sacrifice and a minimum of 500/700 caps and 5 lbs powder.
If you only occasionally shoot you will be set for a while, if you enjoy shooting a lot; be prepared to go through this all again by say....next Spring. Maybe prices will be higher, maybe prices will be lower (fingers crossed), or maybe it will all be gone again.
Think; ants and the grasshopper....don't be the grasshopper

 

[Sir Boniface Harrison]

Nope, I've been reading this one all along. And yes, I can understand why the mean response. There's lots of these type of threads of "where can I get powder" or "cap shortage" or "nobody has powder near me". The powder/cap situation has been ongoing for years vis a vis being stocked in a local shop. We have multiple threads on how to deal with it.

Most of the people who put up posts like that are relative newcomers. They are keen to get started as soon as possible or, having recently started, are frustrated at a sudden lack of materials and put up a post hoping for a quick reply to set them straight. If @Old Hawkeye is irritated by this all he needs to do is ignore the post, rather than reacting like a teenager pouring scorn on a newb's interaction in an MMO game. I hope that this kind of contempt for the beginner doesn't put the guy off a passtime which has dwindling numbers. I doubt he would have spoken to him like that face to face in a bar.

 

[DementedMindOfJac]

The op is new to all this so how is he to know if he cant ask those of us that should be able to help?

That is the main reason I will not buy a membership here. Who wants to belong to a club where half the members are iceholes? Sarcasm and irony is one thing. Bitchmade is quite another matter. Thankfully, there's the other half.

 

[SOLANCO]

Yeah i saw grafs earlier .... minimum 40 dollar purchase . So that means two tins at 39 a piece for a total of 115 bucks with fees . I dont need 500 caps . I could do 1 tin and find something for a dollar lol ...thats still 80 bucks for 250 caps with fees . I guess it is what it is . Anybody have experience shooting reenactment cap for live rounds ? Seen mixed reviews .

Graf sells a lot more than just caps. Browse the site. Probably put together a minimum order easily.

 

[DementedMindOfJac]

Reenactment caps for live rounds- How about NO. Accuracy will suffer. I've posted quite a bit on shooting these things with minies, how about doing a quick search.

But what would I (and my N-SSA compadres) know about shooting minies-

View attachment 264037

I KNOW this is not the right thread for this discussion, so bite me.

Dave, I'd be mighty interested in what you're shootin', your load, and range. It's not the group I'm havin' trouble with. It's the handwriting.