3F / 4F

[Le Grand]

"BTW ground up FFF does not work as well as fine granulated powder does."

Dan, Educate me, please. What is FFFFg if it isn't ground finer than FFFg?

 

[paulvallandigham]

Not that I know about. You have about 30 minutes after posting a thread to edit it, by clicking on "edit" , but after that, you are out of luck!

That is why- or one of the reasons-- I told you not to worry about misspellings or typos. They are very common here.

As for computer illiteracy, stand at the back of the line, Please! I learned to type on a Manual Typewriter, and there were only 2 electric typewriters in the classroom. I basically can type on this darn thing, and that's about all.

"Senor moments" are very common for me, and many of the other posters here. Thank the Lord that he gave me a good sense of humor, and the temperament to not to take myself very seriously. As much as my own typos, and misspelling bother me( TOO MUCH), I look at them as daily proof that I am not perfect, and never will be. :rotf: :blah: :blah: :haha: :surrender: :hatsoff:

Just do the best when you post. If something doesn't come out right, someone here will ask for a " repeat"! :haha: :idunno: :rotf: We have other posters who don't know when or how to use commas and periods. They just type words, like James Joyce's "Ulysses", without punctuation. Now, THOSE posts are REAL challenges to read! :shocked2: :youcrazy: :hmm: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:

 

[tg]

""BTW ground up FFF does not work as well as fine granulated powder does."

I am certain that that would vary with different peoples experience as many cannot tell the difference twixt 3f or 4F one cannot make absolute statements about such things

 

[Larry Pletcher]

(Quoting my self)

Recommendation? -- I have no dog in this fight. I recommend that you use whatever you like. Every grain size will work. I have a slow motion video of a Siler igniting Goex cannon up-side-down. The chunks were like coal - you needed to move them around in the pan to get the frizzen to close. Was it slower than Null B? sure

Regards,
Pletch

While I won't suggest what another shooter should use, I will tell you that I like Swiss Null B. Twice in the last couple of years I have been shooting with a friend who uses ffg for prime. He dry-balled and ask me for the Null B that he knew I carried. We trickled enough in the vent to allow shooting the ball. Dan Pharris mentioned this advantage.

As far as shooting advantages go, I'm past my prime and working on growing a set of cataracts. Whether I use Swiss Null B, Swiss 4fg, Goex 4fg, etc - it probably doesn't change my shooting much. I do however like to call my shots, and I think it's easier to do if the gun goes off when you expect it to. So, my second reason for me to use Null B is to make calling my shot easier to do.

Again, this is not a recommendation for anyone else. Please use what you like.
Regards,
Pletch

 

[Grandpa Ron]

Pletch, that is a really nice bit of work. Thanks for sharing.

One other bit of information; during the Bi-Centennial year my family was shooting a lot. We shot almost every weekend and sometime two diffrent events on the same weekend. You really keep your edge that way and you notice the slight variations in the gun.

Now all these years later I still shoot a lot but I only shoot muzzle loaders once or twice a month.

I am older for sure, and worse yet I switch from a rifle with set triggers etc. to smoothbore Trade Gun or modern skeet gun.

Years ago I was told "Beware of the man who shoots one gun". I believe that saying has some merit.

Again thanks for the post.

 

[ebiggs1]

It is a good thing we are not counting typing errors! :nono: :hmm:

 

[lakota]

It is a good thing we are not counting typing errors! :nono: :hmm:

I am sure I would get an F grade on that!

Off topic-A few years ago the service I was working for switched from paper reporting to a lap top computer for writing reports. Before you could print the report it would do automatic grammar and spell check. Thats when I discovered that I am expert speller and a champion run-on sentence user

 

[hanshi]

I find it amazing how a perfectly written, spelled and punctuated post can pick up all these errors from the moment you press the send button and when it posts a couple seconds later. :surrender:

I prime with 4F because I have plenty - still have an unopened can of Dupont 4F - and I like it. It bothers me not at all when I find myself out and have to prime with 3F.

 

[ebiggs1]

I am sure I would get an F grade on that!

That was actually a comment poking fun at the person that brought it up in the first place
even thought he is not with out guilt!
:grin: :haha:

 

[HAMMERSCHILD]

I have had luck with just grinding FFFg in a soapstone mortar and pestal to get enough to fill my pan charger. Just a thought

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you screen 3Fg powder through a 50 mesh screen( Mcmastersdotcom), ( the closest you can get to a screen with 46 mesh per inch), the fine powder that passes through the screen will give you plenty of "flash powder" to use for priming a flintlock pan. According to my Hodgdon Data manual, 4Fg powder should pass through a 46 mesh per inch screen, but not through a 60 mesh per inch screen.

The first time Peter and I screen some FFFg powder, we though the "fines" we got through the mesh were just carbon edges knocked off the granules of FFFg powder. Then we tried the Powder in a flash pan.

WOW!

Does that go off fast-- faster than 4fg powder.


This is safer than using a mortar and pestal- soap stone or not-- to grind up powder to make flash powder. A wooden pestal would be the wiser tool to use, BTW, as it makes a much lower risk of creating sparks. Wood is an insulator, and doesn't allow static electricity to build up. :hmm: Wood also contains a small percentage of moisture, which draws any heat cause by the breaking of the granules to be "sucked" away from the powder fast. Soap Stone is still Stone, and you don't have these benefits when used as a pestal.

 

[HAMMERSCHILD]

If you screen 3Fg powder through a 50 mesh screen( Mcmastersdotcom), ( the closest you can get to a screen with 46 mesh per inch), the fine powder that passes through the screen will give you plenty of "flash powder" to use for priming a flintlock pan. According to my Hodgdon Data manual, 4Fg powder should pass through a 46 mesh per inch screen, but not through a 60 mesh per inch screen.

The first time Peter and I screen some FFFg powder, we though the "fines" we got through the mesh were just carbon edges knocked off the granules of FFFg powder. Then we tried the Powder in a flash pan.

WOW!

Does that go off fast-- faster than 4fg powder.


This is safer than using a mortar and pestal- soap stone or not-- to grind up powder to make flash powder. A wooden pestal would be the wiser tool to use, BTW, as it makes a much lower risk of creating sparks. Wood is an insulator, and doesn't allow static electricity to build up. :hmm:

Excellent notion. I have been pondering a new lathe project. walnut mortar and pestal will do nicely. cheers! :thumbsup:

 

[Ethan]

Boy, there's a lot of number crunching. Most of it comes down to what you do with your gun. If, like myself, you spend many days afield hunting in all weather you're better going with 3f. It takes way more abuse from moisture and the like and the difference in firing time is a non-factor in most hunting conditions.

 

[Jason Lewis]

Loose powder will may actually ignite faster due to be spread in the bore and allowing faster flame propagation. I WOULD NOT use FFFF for blanks.
4f has 2 known uses. Priming fintlocks and it was used in small cartridges in small amounts. A friend had pulled apart a UMC 38 S&W and found it loaded with a less than full capacity charge of a powder eyeball identical to FFFF.

why wouldn't you use FFFF for blanks? it's not pushing anything.

But this was probably not more then 12 grains at the most maybe less. I did not get to weight it.
The only time I use FFFF in a bore is when tricking 5 grains or so through a vent to get a ball out. This is the often ignored advantage of FFFF or Swiss Null B is that it will pass through a 1/16 or smaller vent easily.
This one reason I use FFFF or now Null B to prime.
BTW ground up FFF does not work as well as fine granulated powder does.
Dan