Mag Spark conversions

[Dogmann]

Can anyone tell me about the mag spark 209 conversions for percussion rifles?

[Themoose]

Dogmann,

I have one I put on a mountain rifle I built from parts using a fast twist Green Mtn Barrel... I wanted to use BH209 with paperpatching... the Magspark did the trick... regular caps were not hot enough for BH209... The mag spark screws into the threaded bolster where the percussion nipple was.. it is a two piece unit.. you install the bottom into the threads on your rifle, place in a 209 primer then screw the top on... the hammer hits a pin in the top, detonating the shotgun primer.. it does work... not real fast, but it does work.. you do have to clean periodically... hope this helps.. you might try a search here, possibly look at some posts by Johnson1942.... I think that is where I learned about them...

Hope this helps,

TheMoose

[Dogmann]

Sounds good. I'm gonna try it out on a tc 58!

[OverMax]

Have them installed on all my 54s shooting P/Ball only and a dandy T/C 45 Hawken at times sporting its G/M stainless LRH barrel.
Reason for the switch out: Got tired of seeing my #11 caps swallowed up by the shag carpeted floor in my deer stand when re-capping my rifle. Tried using Musket caps at one time. They worked excellent. Never lost one of them in the carpet or the woods. But they as well as #11 got to be extinct one time or another throughout the years. Since 209s are never a problem in finding and too cheaper in cost. Those Mag Sparks installations have worked out> "Just fine."
Only one suggestion. At the time of your Mag Sparks purchase. Consider buying a couple spare nipple screw-on covers. Just in case one gets unexpectedly lost or worn out.

[johnson1942]

go to warren out doors on the internet and ask for paul and tell him the manufacture of your rifle and he will send the right one. dont go more than finger tight on the cap. dont put powder under the shot gun primer to help it along as it is enough in it self. dont buy muzzle loader 209 primers as that is a ripoff. charge more for the name muzzleloader primers. heres a little trick ive been doing for years to help the spent 209 primer come out of the nipple. put a wad of spit on top of the primer when in the nipple. it will not prevent the primer from going off. turns to steam when you fire the gun and this steam helps keep the spent primer loose in the nipple cavity. the aluminum silver colored primers are less able to get stuck in the nipple after fireing and the brass ones more able to get stuck. look at the brass ones before you put it in the nipple as some are bad and you can see the fireing pin will never reach it to fire it. they wouldnt even work in a shot gun shell. also go to the internet and buy a very very small tiny well made pliers. keep it in you possible bag. now and then it is needed to get a stuck primer out of the nipple cavity. dont be thinking your cheating and they are not traditional. shot shell primers were not 1840/s but they were around in the 1860/s. they knew a good thing when they saw it back then also. also their are still a similar ones out their that are not mag spark. it is called accushot. it uses a small pistol primer and is well made. they dont make them any more but they are laying around in gun junk drawers and if you put a need for one out their on the internet here or other gun sights you may come up with one. they are for american breech guns only. work good on thompsons. maven who is a member sold me a while back and it is being used and works real good. i only use magspark on my own sidelocks except for the accushot. if i could get more accushots i would use them also. have fun and never worry about a gun going off when you pull the trigger again. oh yes one more thing, some say they ruin accracy, nooooooooooooooooo, sold a paperpatch 50 side lock to a shooter a while back for hunting elk. that 686 grain bullet would go through the chronograph at 1200 ft persecond with only no more than 4 ft diff shot shot after shot. only 70 grains of powder was used, that shot gun primer helped the powder burn better behind that big bullet. that was poured into a measure charge, not a weighed charge. have fun johnson 1942