Dang Priming Horns

Harry Marinakis · Saturday at 7:30 PM

I made a little 4F priming horn with a turned wood stopper.

The problem is that the throat diameter of the horn is so small that I keep breaking off the stem of the stopper.
And the broken stem gets stuck in the horn.
I have tried turning the stopper from Maple, Oak, Cherry, Ash, and Hickory.
I've drilled out the throat to a wider diameter, but I still keep breaking off the stem of the stopper.

Today I broke off the stem on my first shot, so I spent the rest of the afternoon priming with 3F from the main powder horn.

Surprise, surprise, that worked just fine.

Anyone have any other ideas for natural stopper material? I could hand carve the stopper if the material can't be turned on a lathe.

ArmorerRoy · Saturday at 7:34 PM

Drill the stopper and glue in a wood dowel in the diameter you need. It will be stronger than whittled down wood and you won't be able to see the difference.

nchawkeye · Saturday at 8:01 PM

How about deer antler?

sb 54 cal. · Saturday at 8:13 PM

Second deer antler

WonkyEye · Saturday at 8:38 PM

What kind of wood? I made one out of a bamboo skewer and epoxied it into a chunk of beech. It's held strong since.

Alternatively drill down the center of the peg and epoxy a metal rod in there. I repaired a cracked Mauser stock with metal dowels like that, it's still going strong 15 years later.

Larry (Omaha) · Saturday at 8:59 PM

Harry Marinakis said:
I made a little 4F priming horn with a turned wood stopper.

The problem is that the throat diameter of the horn is so small that I keep breaking off the stem of the stopper.
And the broken stem gets stuck in the horn.
I have tried turning the stopper from Maple, Oak, Cherry, Ash, and Hickory.
I've drilled out the throat to a wider diameter, but I still keep breaking off the stem of the stopper.

Today I broke off the stem on my first shot, so I spent the rest of the afternoon priming with 3F from the main powder horn.

Surprise, surprise, that worked just fine.

Anyone have any other ideas for natural stopper material? I could hand carve the stopper if the material can't be turned on a lathe.

View attachment 368666

Get a chunk of Cocobolo wood. Good stuff. If that don't work, cheat and put a tapered brass stem in.
Larry

WonkyEye · Saturday at 9:21 PM

Also, nice horn, it looks great

Beaverman2 · Saturday at 9:36 PM

Purple heart is harder than the hubs too, it will have a purple color to it but will brown in a few years if let unfinished so the surface oxidizes.

nbogan · Saturday at 9:48 PM

I've used dried rose canes for plugs.

Brokennock · Sunday at 12:29 AM

If you use too hard of a material in hopes of not breaking the stopper,,, you risk splitting the horn.
Is the hole in the horn tappered as it should be?

Why not just keep using the 3f from your horn? It works, and won't have the moisture issues that 4f has if you hunt.

Ohio Rusty · Sunday at 10:04 AM

Can you open the hole in the horn more ?? That larger spout hole may help with the stopper issue as it could be a bit larger. I agree with the other folks that deer antler is tough and less prone to breakage.
Ohio Rusty ><>

French Colonial · Sunday at 10:19 AM

Or you can drill through the middle of the stopper and insert a 1/16" brass rod to strengthen it, leave it extra-long where it goes in the horn and you now have a built-in vent pick.

And there you go....

Harry Marinakis · Sunday at 10:54 AM

French Colonial said:
Or you can drill through the middle of the stopper and insert a 1/16" brass rod to strengthen it, leave it extra-long where it goes in the horn and you now have a built-in vent pick.

BOOM!

Newly O’Brian · Sunday at 11:03 AM

If you make the hole and stopper tapered, it won't seize in the horn.

Best of luck!

rchas · Sunday at 11:22 AM

Maybe what you need is flexibility. Try a scrap of heavy leather soaked in hot bees wax.

Alby · Sunday at 12:37 PM

I have used a thorn from a thorn apple tree for years with no problem. Naturally tapered and very strong.

Terrier · Sunday at 6:35 PM

Or maybe a locust thorn?

Tom A Hawk · Sunday at 7:05 PM

To be honest, I have not encountered this problem. Is the plug especially tight?

Absoroka · Sunday at 8:44 PM

Try a piece of ramrod. Hickory is tough stuff.

Harry Marinakis · Sunday at 8:58 PM

Tom A Hawk said:
To be honest, I have not encountered this problem. Is the plug especially tight?

I think the wood swells with atmospheric changes

Dang Priming Horns

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