"Snail" Cappers Arrive ex USA:

- So todays good news is that the two snail cappers that I ordered have been sent from USA without any hang-ups and they look well made from solid brass.

I had to make a minor adjustment to the feed nose of the 'side finger' - bending it a little with a small pair of pliers. This is to be expected as it probably would have been fine with #10 caps but the larger #11 caps needed a wee bit more clearance.

- The combined cost of the cappers and international post is higher than it would have been at last years dollar exchange rate - but that's life eh. This device should make loading and shooting black-powder a bit less fiddly.

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So to the bad news? - well I guess that we can kid ourselves that every mistake should be treated as a positive 'opportunity' - however, I am sad to say that the ROA I bought from a large Dealer has its share of negatives.

It was a used gun but the Auckland salesperson assured me that it had NO CORROSION, that the bore was in "unworn" condition - while overall it was good with only normal scratches and dings from use.

When I took delivery in Christchurch - the person serving me couldn't find the tin of #11 caps that had been sent down as part of the deal - claiming that it had not been sent and would arrive later separately .. but eventually went off and brought it to me.

- These turned-out to not be #11s but #10 size caps, but somebody will use them I expect..

Dream on!  The next day it took several hours to unjam the new Rugers BASE-PIN (spindle) and remove the cylinder - because the base-pin was bent - and it snapped when I tried to straighten it. These are very hard to find and expensive.

Broken 'Base-Pin' shown below Trigger Guard.

20 cent Coin is Ideal For Unlocking The 'take-down screw'

However - with the cylinder out of the frame I could now run a brush through the barrel ("unworn & as new" !) to find that there are five large areas of deep corrosion pitting close to the muzzle end.

I won't name and shame this Dealer as truly I should have learned my lesson years ago .. when ending every deal with this outfit - you need to count your fingers after shaking hands.

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I have just read the small print on NZ Posts 'YouShop' site and they clearly state that firearms and firearms parts may not be sent via this service.

Marty K.