Dare I post the link?

[BillinOregon]

Found it on the Japanese Matchlock Study Group FB page. Oh to be seven years old again -- with access to a 3D printer.

 

[TobJohn]

It’s never too late to be a 7 year old!

 

[rickystl]

Bill: Are you old enough to remember the toy wood and metal U.S. Civil War muskets from Parris Manufacturing ? That's what I started with back in the late 1950's and early 1960's. I was 7 in 1957. Back then those guns used greenie-stick-um caps to fire cork balls. LOL

 

[Notchy Bob]

Bill: Are you old enough to remember the toy wood and metal U.S. Civil War muskets from Parris Manufacturing ? That's what I started with back in the late 1950's and early 1960's. I was 7 in 1957. Back then those guns used greenie-stick-um caps to fire cork balls. LOL

I remember those! I had one of the muskets, and my best buddy had the pistol version. Both were genuine Parris (or Paris ?) models. Both of us also had real guns (bolt-action .22 rifles) that we used with supervision, and we knew the difference between those and the toys. No orange muzzle caps in those days, either. I’m here to tell you, we had some fun.

I’m out of touch with the airsoft/Nerf phenomenon, though.

Notchy Bob

 

[rickystl]

Hi Bob

LOL !! I owned 4 of those cork shooters. And I still have one of the pistols. I had a blast with those guns running around the neighborhood and forest preserve with my Union kepi hat. Those were fun days.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Hi Bob

LOL !! I owned 4 of those cork shooters. And I still have one of the pistols. I had a blast with those guns running around the neighborhood and forest preserve with my Union kepi hat. Those were fun days.

Ha! I wore gray. You and I would have been on different sides back then, but we would have had fun, anyway!

That’s great, that you held on to your old pistol. I’d love to see a photo, if convenient. I really wanted one of those as a backup for my musket, but never did get one.

Notchy Bob

 

[TobJohn]

That’s great, that you held on to your old pistol. I’d love to see a photo, if convenient.

Seconded, preferably in your classic style of display on the red cloth, Rick! Would be a neat juxtaposition.

 

[rickystl]

OK. Will post a pic later today.

 

[BillinOregon]

Yes. I had at least one of the bolt-action "springfield" type cadet rifles and a "Davy Crockett" rifle. Very well made stuff! I liked shooting the cork balls better than the Mattel two-piece Shoot-n-shells, but those had their place, too, in the pantheon of toys with which you could poke your brother's eye out.

 

[tarawa1943]

I still see the muskets for sale ….old ones at antique stores and newer ones as souvenirs at historical places. Of course they have the bright orange muzzle cap

 

[RMFnLA]

Bill: Are you old enough to remember the toy wood and metal U.S. Civil War muskets from Parris Manufacturing ? That's what I started with back in the late 1950's and early 1960's. I was 7 in 1957. Back then those guns used greenie-stick-um caps to fire cork balls. LOL

One of my first posts on this forum was about those.

I got my first one at the age of 10 (I think, long time ago!) and realized the breech was the same as a real ML, so I poured the powder from a firecracker down the barrel, tamped a lead sinker, and promptly shot a hole through a wooden fence.

Good times!

 

[BuffaloSoldier]

I wish I still had mine. My younger brother, a orney little cuss, decided to put all our "weapons" down a well pipe one day. You could see them with a flashlight, but couldn't fish them out!!

 

[rickystl]

DARN. Now I can't find the pistol. POUT. But I'll locate it by this weekend. Anyway, it is very similar to Post #11 above. Mine was a bit earlier and didn't have the painted silver butt cap. On the top of the barrel, at the breach end, there are two small holes. That allowed the flame/burst from the cap to exit upwards instead of out the muzzle of the barrel. For safety reasons I guess. But just the burst of the cap was enough to send the little cork balls flying. We had so much fun with those.

 

[RMFnLA]

DARN. Now I can't find the pistol. POUT. But I'll locate it by this weekend. Anyway, it is very similar to Post #11 above. Mine was a bit earlier and didn't have the painted silver butt cap. On the top of the barrel, at the breach end, there are two small holes. That allowed the flame/burst from the cap to exit upwards instead of out the muzzle of the barrel. For safety reasons I guess. But just the burst of the cap was enough to send the little cork balls flying. We had so much fun with those.

If you rotate the barrel 180 degrees the holes will face down against the stock and you won’t lose that pressure.

Or, you can do what I did and just trim the rear of the barrel with a pipe cutter and get rid of the holes entirely.

Not too bad for a 10 year old, eh..?

 

[TobJohn]

Yes. I had at least one of the bolt-action "springfield" type cadet rifles and a "Davy Crockett" rifle. Very well made stuff! I liked shooting the cork balls better than the Mattel two-piece Shoot-n-shells, but those had their place, too, in the pantheon of toys with which you could poke your brother's eye out.

A friend of mine had one of those prop Springfield cadet rifles in the late 90s or early 2000s! I was so jealous.