Kutter, I read all of your posts. Wish we had a ton more like yours. Yes, dropping one of the pinfire shells seems like it could be a problem. I have never had that happen. The French, and probably later , the English, developed some cartridge carriers worn on the belt like these.
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

The pins were protected. I have never had it confirmed, but would guess the pinfire cartridge was developed because of what primers were on hand at the time. The percussion primer, of course. To make a breech loading gun with percussion primers , the next step was the pinfire. Most pinfires did not have extractors, but used the pin to pull on while removing the fired cartridge.

Last edited by Daryl Hallquist; 05/05/26 03:56 PM.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PqK3UImDCrsOrk6O_2DsovHXvaNSzliSiwaP35Y6PMk/edit?tab=t.0