Why Is WP Caplock Slower?

[Gryphon Chick]

Are you sure? Caplock guns were fast loading, so it makes no sense.

[Fubarius]

As an occasional muzzleloader hunter, I could see classifying a caplock as slightly slower. There's an extra component and step to consider in the reload phase.

For a flintlock you measure powder, pour in powder, get patch and ball from your ammo satchel, place patch and ball, pull ramrod, tap down ball, put ramrod away, pour a bit of powder in the pan (powder already handy from step one), rooster, aim, fire.

For a caplock you measure powder, pour in powder, get patch and ball from your ammo satchel, place patch and ball, pull ramrod, tap down ball, put ramrod away, get primer cap from your ammo satchel (usually stored in a small tin can), place primer cap, rooster, aim, fire.

The main advantage of the caplock system is reliability. Flintlocks are pretty much useless in the rain, and really should have the firing pan primed right before use. A caplock can be kept primed and ready (at half rooster, for safety of course) for extended periods of time, and fire just fine in the rain.

Of course it's been a while since I read through TD, so I'm not sure how they handle the fine details. To paraphrase something once said somewhere on this forum "there's real life, and then there's Palladium"

EDIT: apparently the forum likes to censor the word for "pull hammer back to the ready to fire position, rhymes with 'rock'".

[glitterboy2098]

As an occasional muzzleloader hunter, I could see classifying a caplock as slightly slower. There's an extra component and step to consider in the reload phase.

For a flintlock you measure powder, pour in powder, get patch and ball from your ammo satchel, place patch and ball, pull ramrod, tap down ball, put ramrod away, pour a bit of powder in the pan (powder already handy from step one), rooster, aim, fire.

and that presumes it's an earlier model. later flintlock designs had a small port in the barrel so all you had to to do was hold the gun at a slight tilt and tap the side, which would cause some of the powder from the breech to flow into the frizzen pan. made things a lot faster. especially since that advance occured around the same time as the pre-measured charges of powder, ball, and a paper cartridge that doubled as a wad.

For a caplock you measure powder, pour in powder, get patch and ball from your ammo satchel, place patch and ball, pull ramrod, tap down ball, put ramrod away, get primer cap from your ammo satchel (usually stored in a small tin can), place primer cap, rooster, aim, fire.

caplocks usually used the pre-measured charges, but the extra step of placing a small percussion cap (which was small, needed ot be carefully placed, and had to be handled with care not to cause the impact sensitive fulminate of mercury to go off pre-maturely) slows things down.

The main advantage of the caplock system is reliability. Flintlocks are pretty much useless in the rain, and really should have the firing pan primed right before use. A caplock can be kept primed and ready (at half rooster, for safety of course) for extended periods of time, and fire just fine in the rain.

well, the cover over the frizzen pan helps keep things drier, but in any sort of humidity, the powder didn't work as well. and the pan lid had to flip up when fired. the cap definately made things slightly more reliable. ultimately the percussion cap wasn't that helpful an advance until brass cartridges became common. it just made the gun simpler to make.