TW-
In the context of paper wraped, breechloading, externally fired cartridges, the wire was simply used to lend some very minor structural integrity to the loaded ammunition so it'd be somewhat more robust and 'field carryable'
I'm really excited to finally see an example of these, besides the drawings I've seen in the european texts.
There were numerous iterations of this theory of cartridge system. Most of the guns got converted (immediately) to pinfire and got used up over the years or blown to bits when smokeless powder first came around.
My shotgun shown above is a pretty amazingly rare example of a relatively high grade gun, in amzaingly beautiful shape.
The wire didn't have anything to do with the ignition system.
--Tinker
