3fff or 4ffff

[Nessmuck56]

Just wondering what you folks use in the pan when out hunting? A club member told me he uses 3fff in the pan when hunting because it wont soak up the moisture as much as 4ffff. Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[ebiggs1]

I almost always use 4f. Some will say it draws moisture faster but I have tried to make it foul with all sorts of less than desirable conditions. On purpose, mind you, and found it doesn't foul any worse than 3f does. 3f works but if you have 4f, I would use it. You need to watch it no matter which you choose to use.
Now the rest will tell you where I am going wrong! :hmm:

 

[BrownBear]

In our wet climate 4f works fine on nice sunny days with no wind, but once you've fired it and have even the least speck of fouling in any part of the pan, it's going south fast. I have to change prime about every 10 minutes to be sure of ignition. Wind is a huge issue, because it can mostly empty a pan before you get the frizzen closed. My "go to" is 3f, but I've had such good luck using the same powder in the bore, I even use 2f if that's what's going down the bore. It really is more reliable than either 4f or 3f on nasty days. Heck, my Bess is absolutely fine using 1f in the bore and the pan.

Match shooter and anyone who seldom leaves the range will tell you 4f is faster and just as reliable. Might be if you're loading and firing right away.

But if you're using your legs rather than a range box to get between shots, and waiting sometimes hours between shots, 4f is about the slowest stuff around if it gives you misfires and you have to reprime before you shoot. I figure "lock time" is somewhere between 30 seconds and a minute by the time you dump and clean the pan, then reprime! :rotf:

 

[jamesthomas]

3fff Swiss for prime while hunting, because of the moisture thing down here in the South. I use 4ffff Goex at the range. I've had 4ffff Goex turn into black goo in the pan during a wet foggy type morning we sometimes get down here.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Just wondering what you folks use in the pan when out hunting? A club member told me he uses 3fff in the pan when hunting because it wont soak up the moisture as much as 4ffff. Any thoughts? Thanks

I'm in the south and use 4Fg exclusively. In 40+ years of flintlocking I never knew there was a problem with it until I read it here.
Only problem encountered is with the little brass springy thingy dispenser nozzle. If it gets wet it will clog up.
As for moisture, I recall one time while hunting a deer was right there waiting to be shot. I checked my prime and a drop of water (rain) from a tree fell right into the pan. I cursed but the deer was still waiting to be murdered so I closed the pan and shot. Went right off.

 

[jethro224]

I use 4F at the range because I bought a pound of it when I first started with flintlocks. Might as well use it up... eventually...

When hunting I prime with the same powder that I load with. Usually 3F. Less stuff to fool with(no priming horn or brass doo-hicky) and I feel that it is more reliable even if it is a couple hundredths of a second slower.

The first deer I ever shot with a muzzleloader was with a flintlock and 4F prime. It was a moist day and the 4F had crusted over on top. Got a klatch. The doe was kind enough to stand there and wait while I stirred the prime around and tried again.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I use 3Fg so I don't have to carry two horns.

 

[BrownBear]

The worst possible use for 4f is small game hunts in wet weather. You might or might not get a fire the first time, depending on how recently you reprimed and how much care you've taken to keep the lock dry. But when you're going an hour, or even two or three hours before shooting again (compared to even 10 minutes at the range), you'll find a new definition for a CLEAN pan. Even the tiniest bit of fouling in the pan, in the tiny gap between the lock and around the touch hole turns into black soup in minutes. And that in turn quickly ruins your prime, no matter how often you reprime.

Because it's small game and I often have time to dink and prime before shooting, I'm developing a new habit even with 3f. I don't reprime after a shot. I clean the pan frizzen and flint as thoroughly as possible, then do it again before priming once I find a critter. It's slow but reliable, as long as the critter is young and stupid! :rotf:

 

[hanshi]

That's funny with a hurrah! :thumbsup:

 

[zerb]

Someone once gave me what he called 7f and said that it really made a difference in ignition time. I never knew that you could buy 7f, so I wondered if someone had ground it into a fine powder, to what he called 7f. Maybe someone here knows if there is such a powder as 7f sold on the market? I did try it, but noticed no difference in ignition time, although it did appear to draw damp faster than 4f. So I always assumed that 4f drew damp faster than 3f. I have always used 4f and just change it often when hunting.

 

[Rifleman1776]

That's funny with a hurrah! :thumbsup:

And...the rest of the story is........I missed. :redface:

 

[kbuck]

Seems like I just read in a thread here recently that 3F is coated with graphite which is intended to help it flow better and to give it somewhat of a moisture repellency, while 4F has no such coating.
I have used 2F in the pan of my fowler (when I forgot my priming flask) and had no problems with ignition.

 

[mr.flintlock]

I use GOEX 4-f or Swiss Null-B for hunting as well as at the range.

 

[rabjr]

4F for range work, 3F for hunting.

 

[wattlebuster]

I've always used fffg in the pan :thumbsup:

 

[jerrywh]

There is such a thing as 7f powder. A friend of mine has some. He says it is military blasting powder. It is factory made and is super fast stuff. It is not home ground.

 

[Nessmuck56]

Thanks for all the input !!! 3fff it shall be this weekend.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Seems like I just read in a thread here recently that 3F is coated with graphite which is intended to help it flow better and to give it somewhat of a moisture repellency, while 4F has no such coating.

If it ends in "g" it is graphite coated. Goex 4Fg has graphite. Don't know about Swiss or Kik.

 

[longrifle89]

I've had the same pound of 4F since I've been flintlocking (9 years this Christmas). I still have a bit of it left, but I've tried 2 and 3F in the pan before. I can't say I've ever noticed a difference; it really comes down to your choice of balancing potentially soaking up more moisture for a slightly faster ignition time. Less fine granulations leave more residue, but it's way more convenient to load out of the same horn/flask.

It comes down to your preference.

 

[kbuck]

Thank you.