New 4 wing CCI msuket caps

[major]

I talked to the good people at CCI yesterday and she told me that the new 4 wing musket caps are on the truck but the DOT people are giving them a hard time about shipping. They hope to have the whole thing resolved soon and then send the trucks out. This could be tomorrow or next month depending on what hassles the government wants to give them.

[Brett]

Thank God. About two months ago I talked to CCI and they said "soon" and then I called Graf & Sons, where the 4-wing caps are listed at a pretty decent price, and they said "very soon, any day now".

I wonder why DOT is giving them a hard time with musket caps, when the six-wing CCI caps have been distributed for, I dunno, decades I think, and the German ones are imported with no trouble?

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

This happens in cycles. A couple of years ago when there was a critical cap shortage nationwide, one of the largest importers of these had massive amounts sitting in shipping containers but they were forced to sit until DOT and other initialed agencies decided how much they were going to charge. It happens more and more now as the government (state, federal, local) tries to figure out where they are going to make up their income shortcomings, so why not charge extra for hazardous freight as well.

[major]

I know that they have to buy a license to ship hazardous fright but I don’t think that the government gets a fee for each time they ship.

[Craig L Barry]

I am anxious to see this new CCI product as it is supposed to be

1. std configuration (4 sided top hat)
2. copper (not brass)
3. less expensive than the Navy Arms or RWS

[Southern Cal]

Graf & Sons must have a large backorder. About two months ago the feller on the other end of the phone was only slighty abrupt with me asking about an order I had made a couple of months before that. Does Christmas sound about right when they first advertised the new caps?

[Brett]

It's been at least six months. I sent an e-mail out to my unit in January, offering to order the caps in bulk and be reimbursed when distributed at an event. I'd imagine Graf & Sons gets about a call a day from reenactors wondering what the holdup is. I have been buying only as many RWS German caps as I need for each event, in anticipation of the new CCI caps becoming available.

Every few years there seems to be a "Great Percussion Cap Famine" and the prices always go up. I used to complain back when the 200-cap tins were selling for $8. There is no way that simple musket caps should cost more than a modern large rifle primer.

[Southern Cal]

The price of Copper?

[Brett]

Or just the only game in town. Want musket caps? Sure! You can have them for $12 per hundred, or you can just not play Civil War soldier this event.

If it takes more than an ounce of copper to make 100 percussion caps, I'd be surprised. I'm sure the price increase has been partly influenced by rising material costs, but if you're the only producer of musket-size percussion caps, you can pretty much charge whatever you want.

Oh well. I'm just being grumpy.

[Parault]

I know that they have to buy a license to ship hazardous fright but I don’t think that the government gets a fee for each time they ship.

There are only a few trucking/parcel companies that want to go through the process of getting a haz mat license for carrying certian types of materials. It is a real big thing to go through.

As some one who has been driving a truck on and off for over 20 years I can assure you, the goverment gets some kind of fee everytime one of those big 18 wheelers move.

[7thNJcoA]

This reminds me of an event... We were at an event and there was only one sutler who had caps at all and many men needed them. The price was 11.95 for 200 (awile ago) and we went back later to buy another can and the price was 13.95 and you could see they just put the new tag on top of the old because you could peel it off and see the old price under it. Can we guess what PA based sutler this is? ....... Supply and Demand is a basic principle of economics and marketing.

Or just the only game in town. Want musket caps? Sure! You can have them for $12 per hundred, or you can just not play Civil War soldier this event.

If it takes more than an ounce of copper to make 100 percussion caps, I'd be surprised. I'm sure the price increase has been partly influenced by rising material costs, but if you're the only producer of musket-size percussion caps, you can pretty much charge whatever you want.

Oh well. I'm just being grumpy.

[Southern Cal]

There are ways to purchase caps in bulk and avoid the Sutler's exhorbitant costs. When dividing all costs among the group the price per unit of caps decreases significantly. Of course, there is always one "beat" who only buys one can of caps at a time and often borrows caps, who wouldn't shell out any money up front but comes around later and wants only one container of caps for the same low price everyone else paid when pooling their money up front. Some things never change.

[Brett]

Yep. I buy my caps and my powder in bulk. I think after shipping and taxes and fees, the price per pound for KIK powder is about $10.50 which is a lot better than the sutler.

For the last year or so, I've been buying caps "as needed" because I am waiting for the %#$@!!! 4-wing CCI caps to be distributed. I take it nobody's heard any updates on them?

[7thNJcoA]

I am not to concerned about getting caps this season but I would like to try the new CCI caps out before next season before I make a bulk order.

[50th vice pres]

Any news yet on the new caps?

[Parault]

The 4-wing CCI caps are out in the market place, according to my supplier. I went to purchase the said items and found he had sold out quite quickly.

[Brett]

They're still listed as "out of stock" or "unavailable" everywhere I've looked. If somebody has them, they are hoarding them.

[Slickrick214]

Probably I would love to get my hands on CCI 4 wing musket caps but as said they're sold out everywhere. Everywhere I look you can only buy them 5,000 count at a time for about 250 dollars. Is there anyone selling single tins out there and if so for how much?

[Blair]

My source at Back Creek Gun Shop in Winchester, VA.

http://blackpowderva.com/

They carry the CCI Musket Caps @ $70.00 per 1000. This 1000 count is the smallest quantity they deal in. With no discount for a large order that works out to $350.00 for 5000.
I bought a large quantity of Musket Caps 25 years ago. I have not had to worry about the price or the availability of caps in all that time. Buying Musket Caps in quantity is something I would highly recommend. This just makes good since!
$250.00 for 5000 caps sounds like a pretty good deal to me considering the way prices are going these days.
Does Back Creek Gun Shop have these Musket Caps in stock? Call them and find out for yourself.

[Craig L Barry]

...if you do events regularly. Figure 100 per weekend, 10 events per year...5,000 would be a five year supply. Or a one year supply for five guys. Kind of like splitting a case of black powder, which is much cheaper than buying it one lb at a time.

When the 4 wing CCI caps become available, somebody will be selling them at events by the tin.

[Blair]

I did check with Back Creek Gun Shop yesterday to see what they could tell me about the New Four Wing CCI Caps.
They DO NOT have them in stock. They have no idea when they might be available from CCI.
They do have in stock the four wing German caps @ the $70.00 per 1000. I did not discuss discounts regarding quantity purchases.
Most of the caps and powder needs for the N-SSA Skirmishers comes from this little Back Creek Gun Shop. They are one of the main distributors of such items in the U S.

[major]

I just talked to the good people at CCI and they told me that the new caps have not shipped yet. They are trying to get the DOT to allow them to ship as ORM-D instead of as Hazardous material. This would eliminate the $20 Haz-mat fee to ship the caps. They have hired a lawyer to negotiate with the DOT about this issue but are not sure of the outcome. My guess is that we will not see these caps until mid winter.

[Craig L Barry]

Terry
That is what I heard as well about the delay. It has the ring of truth to it because that was part of the problem during the percussion cap shortage of a few years ago, after production caught up to demand they had trouble shipping them.

[Brett]

If lawyers and Federal government agencies are involved... there's no way we'll see these caps this year, IMO.