With electronic trigger you don't need impact primers, you can just put a very thin electric wire in each cartridge that gets hot when you pull the trigger and ignites the powder.
So you can make magazines that aren't possible with the traditional cartridges - like pipe magazines for strong rifle cartridges for example (hard to do with impact primers).
I'm thinking a long plastic pipe with cartridges inside that is attached paralel to the barrel. Then you just discard it with a button and put another pipe magazine under the barrel from the front. Should be fairly comfortable even with bullpups.
Additionally you can make a side port in the magazine so that you can load it with single bullets like with old wild-west rifles :)
Interesting. Didn’t think of that. I’ve always liked the advantages of the bullpup (longer barrel with shorter overall rifle relative to M4 designs). Does this mean we’d be introducing some battery requirements for operating the rifle though? That would be a flat no go for me then. Or are you saying that pulling the trigger itself would generate enough charge to operate the mechanism as you describe? Man ... turning all that stuff into plastic would sure save on weight. But I’d be a little concerned about durability.
Someone really needs to try this. I’d love to mess around with a prototype. What if you could 3D print your magazine pipes?
So you can make magazines that aren't possible with the traditional cartridges - like pipe magazines for strong rifle cartridges for example (hard to do with impact primers).
I'm thinking a long plastic pipe with cartridges inside that is attached paralel to the barrel. Then you just discard it with a button and put another pipe magazine under the barrel from the front. Should be fairly comfortable even with bullpups.
Additionally you can make a side port in the magazine so that you can load it with single bullets like with old wild-west rifles :)