Snidely70431
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- Mar 10, 2018
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This article is excerpted from the book, The Muzzle Loading Cap Lock Rifle by Ned H. Roberts. The entire book can be accessed here:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951000799864f;view=1up;seq=7;size=175
Early in the 1880's in their efforts to improve the long range accuracy of their rifles Horace Warner, Wm. V. Lowe, and N.S. Brockway decided that better ignition of the powder through the medium of a stronger flame would improve the accuracy. Accordingly these makers devised a method of replacing the ordinary nipple with a steel fitting and cap, or top, with a firing pin inside, which used a shot-gun primer or large sized rifle cartridge primer, in place of the percussion cap and gave a stronger flame resulting in much improved ignition of the powder charge, which, in turn, considerably increased the accuracy of their rifles at all ranges. Illustrations are shown herewith of the method employed by Wm. V. Lowe and N.S. Brockway in using the primer instead of the percussion cap in their rifles.
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The particulars of the device can be found on page 21 et seq of the above cited book.
IMHO, Ned Roberts would have heartily approved of modern inline muzzleloaders, as is illustrated by the following:
Has some old hide-bound custom, or practice, prevented the present-day riflemen from using the primer ignition in the muzzle-loading rifle? If so this custom should be ignored as this is a day of improvements - of progress - and no old custom should be allowed to stand in the way of worthwhile improvements even in muzzle-loading rifle shooting. If the present rules do not allow the use of the primer instead of the percussion cap, those rules should be changed so as to allow this and promote improvements instead of hindering this.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951000799864f;view=1up;seq=7;size=175
Early in the 1880's in their efforts to improve the long range accuracy of their rifles Horace Warner, Wm. V. Lowe, and N.S. Brockway decided that better ignition of the powder through the medium of a stronger flame would improve the accuracy. Accordingly these makers devised a method of replacing the ordinary nipple with a steel fitting and cap, or top, with a firing pin inside, which used a shot-gun primer or large sized rifle cartridge primer, in place of the percussion cap and gave a stronger flame resulting in much improved ignition of the powder charge, which, in turn, considerably increased the accuracy of their rifles at all ranges. Illustrations are shown herewith of the method employed by Wm. V. Lowe and N.S. Brockway in using the primer instead of the percussion cap in their rifles.
-------
The particulars of the device can be found on page 21 et seq of the above cited book.
IMHO, Ned Roberts would have heartily approved of modern inline muzzleloaders, as is illustrated by the following:
Has some old hide-bound custom, or practice, prevented the present-day riflemen from using the primer ignition in the muzzle-loading rifle? If so this custom should be ignored as this is a day of improvements - of progress - and no old custom should be allowed to stand in the way of worthwhile improvements even in muzzle-loading rifle shooting. If the present rules do not allow the use of the primer instead of the percussion cap, those rules should be changed so as to allow this and promote improvements instead of hindering this.
