cap and ball

noun

An early loading system for handguns where the percussion cap, powder, and bullet were separate components loaded individually into the gun. Typically used in early to mid 1800s.

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Meanings

nouncap and ball (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAn early loading system for handguns where the percussion cap, powder, and bullet were separate components loaded individually into the gun. Typically used in early to mid 1800s.

    The old cap-and-ball ·44 was in Pa's saddle bag with its belt and powder flask and the leather sacks of lead bullets and caps.

    1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, Prairie Kid; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 47
Cite this entry
APA

cap and ball. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cap%20and%20ball

MLA

“cap and ball.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cap%20and%20ball. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cap and ball,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cap%20and%20ball.

Source: cap and ball on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.