MtMan-List: to "bust caps"

[Mark <markr@soltec.net>]

I got this from another listserve and thought myself. Where does the term
"Bust caps" (ie: shooting) come from. Any ideas guys and gals?

> RE:"Bust Caps"
> To make a weapon make a lot of noise,

	Presumably this traces back to percussion caps, yes 
(or is it some expression for primers I haven't heard) ? Can 
anyone put a date to this expression ?
	I've got a strong suspicion that Robert Duvall's use 
of it in 'True Grit' is a 'sixties anachronism, but I'd love 
to be wrong.
	Cultural anthropology, philosophy, CITES, and now 
linguistics; all human life is here. Sorry to anyone really 
bored by this. 

C.M. White.
email   c.white@uea.ac.uk