Turn a Pocket Remmy into a toy?

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deerslayer303

New member
This may sound silly, but I promise I post this in all seriousness. I have bought my newly turned 5 year old a cap gun or 5! They all either don't work out of the package or work for a few minutes and crap out. They are made of plastic and the ones that take the plastic ring caps are even worse. SO, I got to thinking ( I know that's a dangerous proposition) I could get a used brasser and turn it into a cap gun for him. Maybe I could fill the cylinder chambers with epoxy so he can't try to shove something in there. But percussion caps are a might too powerful for a young kid. Maybe the plastic caps cut off the ring would fit the nipple and work. It may be a useful training tool as well. Heck, and maybe even teach him the basics of a single action. Or do any of you know of a quality cap popper sold now days! I hope this thread is appropriate, after all this is the Cowboy Action Shooting sub forum and thats what little Slayer is trying to do!! :D
 
At the academy I attended we had deactivated revolvers. Each cylinder was drilled and tapped for a screw that prevent it from accepting a cartridge. The barrel was plugged too. Suggest you go the same route but remember, don't let him take that out onto the streets. All you need is for a cop to mistake it for a working firearm and it's a tragedy for all hands involved.
 
Your a genius sir! If my dad had thought of that, it would have been AWESOME. Two points....one, I did put those plastic nipple styles toy store caps on a walker. They DID snap. (at the time I was actually attempting ignition, that didn't work however they would go off)
two....it reminds me of the coolest cap gun I ever had. Around 1980, I had a realistic looking 1911.. Put plastic string caps in a droppable magazine, the trigger pulled the slide back via double action, raising the next cap, falling, firing. And at the same time a little knife would slice the cap off its plastic string, ejecting it like a real spent cartridge.
I shot so many paper route funded rounds thru it that it wore out.....sigh....just like my real 1911's
 
We use the red caps for practice.

Depending on who made your little Pocket Remington, the caps may rub on the back of the frame when the cylinder rotates.

You can make the gun inert by pouring Cerrosafe down the barrel and or chambers. And when the lad is old enough to shoot, remove it and you'll still have a working revolver.

Federal Law in the United States and in many states such as Florida, do not consider the cap and ball revolver a firearm. Unless you hold up a liquor store with one! They are classified as antique firearms and have none of the restrictions imposed on them that firearms do. One can open carry, conceal carry and take them to school for example. However, most people who uphold the laws these days haven't a clue so doing such is not advisable.
 
Thanks for the links T. O'Heir. It's a sad society we live in today imo. It doesn't seem so long ago that I would roll up to my high school with my .303 hanging in the window so I could go hunting after school. His Mother and I already inspect little slayer's back pack before school. He likes taking things to school to trade with his buddies, I guess he gets it honest. [emoji41] I just cut 6 of those red caps out and put em on the Police. They work pretty good and stay in place after they have been snapped. Hey why hasn't CCI or Remington made any plastic #10 or #11's? They may be the answer to open top cap jams.[emoji2]
 
^^ THAT is pretty neat. I love the way it has 6 Cases you load a BB into. Pretty neat! I don't want my little guy to have anything that actually shoots a projectile yet as I'm sure he would most definitely shoot his sister lol. I've tried to start the basics with a Red Ryder BB gun but the length of pull is way to long and he can't shoulder it (:confused:I know a Red RYDER at that) but his sisters LIL Cricket 22 has the right length of pull for him, go figure. I'm going to cut the RR down for him though.
 
That bb gun is a decent close range bb gun. I've had one since they came out. Good gun, fun to shoot. The 'cases' are about .357 mag size, easy to load off the gun, pain to insert bbs if left in the cylinder. Great fun for adults or older children, with proper supervision. There is newer version with a rifled barrel for pellets if ricochet is an issue. You could shoot pellets in the smooth barrel version as well, but sacrifice accuracy.
 
deerslayer303

Sorry, I don't think any 5 year old should know very much about the real workings of a real gun. Only to recognize one, and leave it alone, and tell you or your other half.

Too many sad stories.....bad endings.... plenty of time later when he gets older. When he is old enough to disassemble and clean one, he will probably have the judgement to control those kid type ideas that got us all in trouble.

Now....I still remember how much I loved my Hopalong Cassidy cap guns, my Roy Rogers shirt with the fringe and laces instead of buttons, and my Nichols Dyna-Mite derringer cap pistol.

The Nichols had a brass case and a lead slug drilled through. You had a round single cap that you put between the case and slug. When the hammer fell, the cap would get smashed between case and slug....and then a wisp of real cap smoke would come out the barrel. Cool! Loved it. Kinda simulated loading a real gun.

There were several styles. You can still see them on Ebay. Maybe that is what you are looking for...something different.

http://www.nicholscapguns.com
 
Not recommended as a cap gun

I have 3 of these buggers, all steel frames. One is in my truck toolbox, the other is in my workshop in a bolt drawer. They are good close range defensive tools and a .32 conical with a flattened nose will put a hurt on a close range assailant.

I WOULD NOT recommend one for a child, though even though it will be thoroughly deactivated. Main reason is that the mainspring is quite stiff on that thing, and cocking it is a chore. Cocking it with fingers that have even a bit of grease on them greatly increases the chance of accidental slippage. Unloaded, the hammer spur might just painfully scrape some skin off your thumb. Loaded, well, the hammer is gonna come down on a live cap. If you want to decock it, you gotta be extra careful as well and make sure you have no grease or oil on your hands or the gun.

Making the gun work to it's full potential requires a bit of experimenting as well, I found out. The reason being that the bore diameter is a tad bit larger than the chamber diameter. A substantial amount of propellant gas escapes once the ball enters the barrel and reduces the velocity. Some users said that they sleeved the barrel, then re-rifled it. I used another method. I took some .32 conicals and hollowed out the base of them like a Minie ball until a thin skirt of lead surrounds the cavity just like their rifled-musket counterparts. The slug expands to fit the bore pretty good and I could get almost 900 fps using priming powder as the main charge.

Overall, they are good novelty pieces and are quite useful with a bit of tinkering. But as a cap gun, no.
 
Sorry . . . I may get flamed for this but I think it is a bad idea. While YOU may know it's a de -activated firearm (whether it is C & B or cartridge - doesn't matter) . . . I don't think a five year old has the capability of knowing the difference between de-activated and "real".

Your child may not always be under your supervision . . . and kids are kids. At this point in his life he receiving an education of how he should never "play" with a real gun. Handing him a "real" but de-activated handgun sends the wrong message. At some point, he will be at other kid's houses and not under you supervision. What is he going to think if they find a real (and loaded) firearm and there are no adults around . . . regardless of whenever it should be locked up or not . . . read the news . . . accidental shootings and deaths involving children happen far to frequently. Ask yourself . . . will he have the ability to know the difference and not point it at another child or person and pull the trigger thinking it is a "play gun"?

Some may think me over cautious or a "wet blanket". Sorry, but as someone who worked ambulance, fire and rescue . . . I saw more than my share of shootings and a couple of them involving children.
 
Billy, I understand your position. But I fail to see the difference in a properly deactivated pistol and some of the "toys" offered now days. When I was a kid I had cap guns etc. Me and my little buddies often pointed then at each other and shot each other dead in a make believe world. When I was old enough to move into real guns my father was a good teacher and I IMMEDIATELY knew the difference in regards to safety. Granted, I was never able to handle firearms without direct supervision. For instance below is a pic of a Toy.
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Perhaps part of the deactivated gun should be painted orange, like the last few inches of the barrel? Make it look different enough to both the child and adults around them. The latter is just as important. Personally I do not see what is important in making the firearm look completely authentic to an adult. I do not think the child would be as concerned about this as the father apparently is.

Bob
 
No I whole heartedly agree, I was just pointing out how real these toys look. With the price of pocket Remingtons and now that I've found out there is not a whole lot of used ones offered for sale. I am going to order him one from Nichols. My whole reason for wanting to convert an actual cap and ball was to have something reliable that would work. Toys now days are just terrible IMHO.
 
I agree. The toys nowadays are of poor quality. (Sorry for the bold text) BTW by law doesn't the toy firearms suppose to have an orange end of the barrel?

Bob
 
All my air soft pistols came with an orange piece on the barrel muzzle.
Other versions of airguns, BBguns, pellet guns, did not.
But the orange gizmo is easily removed or painted over.
 
by law doesn't the toy firearms suppose to have an orange end of the barrel?
Click to expand...

I think there's a law that says they have to put them on there but it's not against the law to take them off.

Kids have always been given old worn out guns to play with. With today's society tho it might not be a good idea,
 
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