chapotraphouse

So I was sort of idly thinking, just for shits and giggles "what's the next step in doohickey technology? How can this luducrously basic, electrically ignited muzzle loader be made more effective, and what's the biggest leap in effectiveness that can be achieved for minimum additional parts and labor?"

And the first thing that came to mind was "electrical contact surfaces"

As it is, the ignition wires seem to end in the chambers, buried inside the propellant charge. This makes the ignition and firing system one inseparable piece, which makes sense for a weapon that was never designed to be reloaded in the field. But if you want to get wacky with it, say if you're somewhere where normal cased ammunition is just too hard to come by, why not separate them? Make the ignition come from a copper rod permanently pressed into the chamber: the end of which, when the barrel is seated, makes contact with another copper piece hooked up to the gun's battery. Add a latch and a couple springs to the frame and bam, quick change barrel system. Keep some spare barrels, pre-loaded, and suddenly reloading your modern blunderbuss is as quick as a barrel change.