Thats right! This is a real gun, not a potato gun or an air gun, this is a real .50 cal muzzle loaded pistol that actually uses a homemade powder that is similar to gunpowder for propulsion. This Instructable will teach you how to build your own muzzle loaded pistol/rifle/shotgun using a cap gun that has a plugged barrel. This will not just make a poof and plop out some potato, this thing goes bang and shoots a thick cloud of smoke 10ft long out of the barrel just like a civil war canon.
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Warning! This is an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS project and if you are actually crazy enough to try it then you are as insane as I am and deserve anything that happens to you! You have no one to blame but yourself and you will take complete responsibility!
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Since you probably skipped the warning above let me sum up for you-
YOUR TO BLAME, YOU CAME TO THIS SITE LOOKING FOR DANGER AND YOU'VE FOUND IT. Now if you are still reading this even with the knowledge that you can't sue me for your injuries/death then you have the guts required to do this project.

Good, Now if you're ready to have loads of fun with your own gun then lets begin. This whole project can be done in an hour when you have all the supplies, however there is one item, KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate), that most people don't have lying around the house. This can be bought at a gardening store, a chemical shop, or if you are willing to wait you can by it online(ebay is cheap). Let me now show you what you will need for this project:

1.) One cap gun (I used a Parris brand) with a plugged barrel that has no internal obstruction (use a stick to feel inside)
a.) If you feel inventive you could also build a gun using pipe or PVC.

2.) A Drill and bit (a small bit, but big enough for a wire to enter the hole it makes)

3.)KN03 Potassium Nitrate

4.) Sugar

5.) A hose clamp or Duct tape

6.) very thin stripped copper wire strands (If it does not turn red hot when connected to a battery then it is not small enough)

7.) regular wire with stripped ends

8.) battery pack 3 volts or higher

9.) Metal can (a green bean or chili can works nice)

10.) A camp stove (I do not recommend you to use your house stove)

11.) dowel or a stick close to the size of the barrel to use as a ramming rod.

12.) Paper and a tissue or something similar to a tissue

13.) AMMO-something to shoot, I like to use plastic BB's or a light bullet, but anything will shoot out so use your imagination. (Don't use marshmellows)

14.) stirring stick

15.) Hammer and flat-head screwdriver

16.) Funnel

17.) foil

I think that that is about it
For those of you who are still reading you may now congragulate yourself.

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Another one of those Warnings that tells you the obvious (If you are so stupid that you don't know it to begin with then you should not be attempting to build this gun, You will kill yourself).
Well anyway here it is.
Don't aim or shoot this gun at people (With the exeption of communists and terrorists, in which case be my guest). Don't shoot this gun at most animals (Cats, Dogs, and loud squawky birds are OK).
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Alrighty Time to begin

NOTE: Next time I do this project myself I will film it.

Step 1: Setting Up the Gun

To begin with we are going to get out our cap gun and examine it.

Take off the orange tip (Use a pliers) and then using a stick or a pencil probe the inside for obstructions. If all is clear then you can start on the gun.

First you are going to have to attach the barrel onto the gun by something strong (I used a hose clamp but duct tape would work too). Make sure that it is tight so that the barrel will not fly off of the handle when you shoot.

Now get out your drill, drill bits and your trusty stick. First you are going to measure the distance from the open end of the barrel to to plugged end. Take your stick a put it in the barrel and push it in until it won't go any further. Now mark the spot where the stick comes out of the barrel. Pull out your stick and hold it up the the gun on the outside with your mark at the end of the barrel. The other end of the stick will tell you where the plug ends and thus where the barrel begins. About 1/2 of an inch up from the end of the plug is where you want to drill your hole. Great, you are now done with the construction of your gun and it is ready to shoot.

Step 2: The Explosive Powder Part1

The Powder is simple to make but it takes a long time.
For this step you will need a camp stove, a green bean can or a pan, your Potassium Nitrate, Sugar, and a stirring stick.

NOTE: I do not recommend replacing my powder with real gun powder because the barrel may not stand that type of explosion.
However if you are feeling adventurous and you have a ready supply of gun-powder then test it out and tell us how it works

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Enough Warnings already!!!!!!
Remember, I am very experienced. I understood what would happen before I built this gun. You should not attempt to modify my instructions or experiment in any way if you are not experienced or have not run your plans through with someone who is experienced.
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Start by mixing equal (1:1 ratio) amounts of Potassium Nitrate and sugar in your can/pan. The more you use the bigger the boom should something go wrong. After that you fill the can with water, then stir until most of the powder seems to be dissolved. At this point you are going to get out your camp stove.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do not recommend that you do this next part on a indoor stove as it could start a fire or at the very least fill your house with a thick smoke. (I know this because I did it myself once: my smoke alarm went off for hours)
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Hold your can with oven mits over a gentle heat so that the water starts to evaporate. Let it cook until the concauction becomes a very thick paste then remove from the heat and let it cool.

When you come back to it you should notice that your stuff has hardened (it should be a yellowish color). Now be very careful that you don't let it ignite as the stuff you are looking at is a form of solid rocket fuel used in model rocketry. Most people know that rocket fuel doesn't explode but just burns fast enough to propel a rocket. What most people don't understand is that when confined, rocket fuel does explode.
And this is the idea behind our guns propulsion.

My Pictures are Not Uploading SO you will have to make do without them until I can get them Up.

Step 3: The Explosive Powder Part2

With the hardened rocket fuel you cant do to much, so now we are going to break it up into an actual powder.

First we take out our screw driver and our hammer and wack away. When you have broken your sugar (From now on I will call it sugar like they do in rocketry) into chunks dump it into a bag. Now with your hammer you will have to break up all of the chunks into a fine powder. You can leave the sugar inside the bag but make sure that you put something under it because the bag will break open. After that use your hands to break it up one last time to make sure that it is ground enough. When you have a fine powder then you are ready to build the means of ignition.

Step 4: Electronic Ignition

For this step there are a number of things you could do. You could get a torch and shoot a jet of flame into the hole to ignite the sugar, you could use gun powder in the hole, you could make a fuse, or you could discharge your gun electrically.

I chose to use the electronic ignition because it is the easiest and most efficient way. All that you will need for this is a battery, wires, foil, tape, and a really thin piece of copper wire/heating wire.
What we are going to do is connect the battery to the wires and put that aside.
This next part can be left out or done differently but it does add to the overall effect of the gun.
Take out your foil and wrap it around the back end of the trigger guard just behind the trigger. Then do the same thing on the trigger itself. Adjust them properly so that they only touch when the trigger is pulled. Now take one end of one of the wires that is attached to the battery and tape it on to the foil on the trigger guard. Take a new wire (not a battery wire) and do the same thing to the trigger foil. You have just created a button that will fire the gun electronically. Now run the wire that is attached to the trigger and the other battery wire to a place just under the hole you drilled earlier and tape them securely.

Now for the igniter:

Remember that this is going to have to be small enough to fit in the hole that you drilled.

Take a piece of tape and cut it into 2 strips, each a little wider than the hole and about an inch long.

Now take a piece of your wire and strip off the coating 2 inches down and cut off the wire that is left bare. Now unwind the wire that you cut and save 2 of the strands. Lay the strands of wire close together but not touching on one of the strips of tape you just cut. Make sure that the wires stick out about 1 cm on one end and that the rest sticks out the other. Then take the other strip of tape and tape over the wires to isolate them and prevent shorts. Cut off any extra tape on the sides to make it fit in the hole.
Now for the final step before shooting.
Take that ultra thin piece of copper/heating wire and wrap it carefully (so that it doesn't touch itself and reduce resistance)around the two wires that are sticking out of the tape by 1cm. When you have it wrapped then you have finished the construction and are ready for the fun part.

KA-BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Step 5: KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Now for the part that we have all been waiting for! The shooting!

This gun can be loaded pretty fast, however it does have a process that requires thought, concentration, and caution.

Pick up your gun and look to see if there are any problems anyplace. If it is OK then start by measuring out some of your powder on a spoon.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Warning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The more powder you put in the bigger the bang. A small spoonful is plenty enough to send any projectile flying. Start smaller and slowly add more when you know it is safe.
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Ok now use your funnel to dump the powder into the barrel.
Pull out your dowel and push it into the barrel compressing the powder as best you can. Now take a pencil and push it into the drilled hole making an opening for your igniter. Push the igniter into the opening you just made, taking great care that you don't break it in the process. Take the battery and attach it to the gun someplace. Remember duct tape is your friend!

NOW! GO OUTSIDE!

You have your bullet/shot in your hand, a tissue for wadding and your dowel. Take your bullet, put in in the barrel and ram in down with your dowel. Take part of the tissue (just enough to keep the bullet in the gun) and stuff that in there too with your stick.

Note: At this point it might be necessary to set up targets or perhaps go next store and borrow your neighbors cat.

Everything is ready, check it all one last time for problems.

NOW! Ready Aim!

Hold the trigger for

1.....

2.......

3..........

Fire! Fire! Fire! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

That is about all! Happy shooting!

One more thing! After you are done shooting don't forget to clean the barrel with water to keep your gun in tip top condition.

Thanks for reading!