Do The Math

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Banjoman

Hillbilly
Joined
Jul 10, 2023
Messages
1,111
Reaction score
3,241
Location
Hills of East Tennessee
651F4E9A-7B65-45D2-B551-5A29E2D85451.jpeg
Was used for 73 shots. Can be sharpened and used again.



693D46AA-8E9B-4A03-8227-292C79F80984.jpeg

Good for just one shot. Can’t be used again.

Do the math. Shoot, even us ole boys from East Tennessee can figure this one!





This information was posted for laughs only. Don’t let it knot yer knickers.🤣
 
I swing both ways, if the chips are down and I have to have kill game to eat, I can kill several hundred critters before I run out of caps. I shoot my cap guns better than my flint guns. If I am able to survive long term, I have enough powder, flints and lead to last 20 years or more. I know how to knap flints so I can always make more if I run out.

For those of you that don't know, broken arrow heads often make great gun flints as well, I probably have 500 broken arrow heads in a cookie tin from my old collecting days.

I also have a variety of steel traps; I live on a creek and near a huge lake. I have a pile of DP traps and suspect coon will be on the menu if things get tough.
 
Last edited:
I have done the math too. Came up with different results. I can make 73 perfectly good percussion caps . The cost is $.08 for the cups and $.20 for the priming. I get Zero failures to fire. No failures for several years. I'm also using Pyrodex for most of my target work. How many failures to fire do you get with your flint? Flints aren't cheap anymore. At the matches I shoot in I see failures to fire in flint guns . It does happen.
 
If we only cared about cost per shot we'd all be shooting rimfire or air rifles.

Now if you wanna talk about cap availability vs being able to whack out your own flints (if you live in the right area) and make your own BP, well, OK you have a point.
 
I wack out my own percussion caps, Cost me almost nothing. Available anytime at arms reach. It's not only cost it's also reliability. The priming powders became easy to get and well known how to use them , Some effort is needed to make these . Home made flints aren't that easy either.
 
A small stone.

DSC00196.jpg
[/url]


I can probably make more hits with the stone than I can with the rifle. And stones are FREE!
 
Back
Top