I love that smell too. If the boys didn’t have a gun available, they would just use a rock. I should get a cap gun for one of my boys on his birthday.
Heck, I had one when I was a kid and I was a girl!
Or a hammer. Or a magnifying glass.
As a youngster living in Michigan, where all fireworks except snakes and sparklers are banned, we would smash an entire roll at once to simulate a firecracker.
One fourth of July we were kneeling on the side of the street so intent on banging the cap rolls we didn't notice a State Police cruiser pull along side us.
We finally looked up and the trooper smiled, told us he was just making sure we didn't have real fireworks, told us to be careful and drove off.
Scared the crap out of my friend and I!