4f priming powder...

[garypl]

I mix 4f or Swiss Null B with 3f in my priming horn. Weather is often damp here in Georgia and the 3f helps keep the 4f from clumping.

 

[Fitzhugh Williams]

The only reason I use 4f for priming is because the smaller grains go through the nozzle of my priming horn more easily. And when I am at the range I can only prime (or cap) when on the firing line. So I have a small priming horn I use for that. Any other time I prime with whatever goes down the barrel. After some 25 or so years of shooting I am now on my third can of 4f.

 

[JB Books]

Use what you have. Learn from your own first hand experiences, not from the opinion of some keyboard jockey on the internet. Once you try different powder manufacturers and various granulations you will figure what you like and works best for you in your guns. In mean time, use what you have and keep notes. In the big picture, have found most any real blackpowder works to some degree and amount of satisfaction. One just has to figure out what makes them smile the most.

No sarcasm intended but it occurred to me while reading your response and others in the past about note keeping that a big segment of our ancestors couldn't read so I don't think they kept notes on their weapons performance in fact I don't think they did much testing at all (my assumption) not that I'm against testing and notes I've done aplenty of it with all of my noise makers. Just sayin'

 

[david w]

I don't give an F what you use, just go out and make some smoke!

 

[Mark E. Prickett]

Well I'm just getting started in all of this and I have a crappy CVA 32 caliber squirrel gun and it will hardly fire at all with BP substitutes. Barley fires 3 out of 10 tries with BP 3f and 3f in the pan. 4f BP in the pan fires every time. With my limited experience it looks like the gun has a lot to do with what powder works or dosen't.

 

[akroguy]

Yeah, F it and go make smoke.

 

[SDSmlf]

No sarcasm intended but it occurred to me while reading your response and others in the past about note keeping that a big segment of our ancestors couldn't read so I don't think they kept notes on their weapons performance in fact I don't think they did much testing at all (my assumption) not that I'm against testing and notes I've done aplenty of it with all of my noise makers. Just sayin'

Agree that today many will overthink things. Plus I doubt our ancestors had the same access to the internet that we have today….. They had to figure things out for themselves and/or rely on local tribal knowledge.

 

[Mikekj]

I believe for most of history, if it went down the barrel, it went in the pan.

 

[FishDFly]

No sarcasm intended but it occurred to me while reading your response and others in the past about note keeping that a big segment of our ancestors couldn't read so I don't think they kept notes on their weapons performance in fact I don't think they did much testing at all (my assumption) not that I'm against testing and notes I've done aplenty of it with all of my noise makers. Just sayin'

Interesting, most of the trapper camps had a library, maybe small but they had one. If nothing else, they had a Bible.

Keeping notes is value added, it stops stupid mistakes.

 

[Nobody85]

I always use 3F unless your in some kind of competitive shooting. 4f and null b seems to soak up moisture from the air. You prime your pan in the morning and don’t get to shoot until lunchtime and sometimes it fails. 3F will do you fine. Heck you can use musket powder. That’s what they used to use right out of the cartridge

 

[hanshi]

I have always preferred 4F for prime and for the same reasons the other posters noted. But I have also used 3F quite a bit and can't really tell any difference. I'd suspect 2F would also suffice.

 

[SlidePicker]

I've never had any 4F powder. 3F has always worked well.

 

[user 49399]

Thanks for the responces. The weekend will be cold and wet (maybe flurries on Sunday!), not the best weather for a greenhorn's first outing with a flintlock! By the time I get to shot it, I will have my 4f! It's nice to know that I can use other powders in pinch. I will use the 4f, but will try the others at some point.

It’s supposed to rain here tomorrow. I plan on shooting my flintlock smooth rifle since the range I use has a covered firing line and there probably won’t be anybody else there. I will be using only 2f. I would prefer to shoot when it’s snowy. Wintertime is my favorite time to shoot flintlocks.

Clean the pan, wipe the flint and clear the touch hole after each shot. Keep your horn and rifle dry and your flint sharp and you shouldn’t have too many problems.

 

[Bushfire]

Well I'm just getting started in all of this and I have a crappy CVA 32 caliber squirrel gun and it will hardly fire at all with BP substitutes. Barley fires 3 out of 10 tries with BP 3f and 3f in the pan. 4f BP in the pan fires every time. With my limited experience it looks like the gun has a lot to do with what powder works or dosen't.

That's got nothing to do with 4F. Substitutes are not the same as black powder and can't be used reliably in flintlocks. 1F real black will be just as reliable as Null B, just not as quick.

 

[Flint Striker]

Howdy All,
I'm a flintlock virgin. I've been making smoke with a percussion rifle for 3 years, but I just purchaced my first flintlock (T/C Hawken .50). In my research (internet expert!), I've learned that flintlocks are primed with 4f. I've read here that 3f (even 2f) works also. I've ordered some 4f but it will not arrive until next week. Should I wait until the 'fine' stuff arrives or go blasting using 3f primer? I'm a big boy and can wait, but I really want to try my new boom stick this weekend (weather permiting)!

Prime it with the 3F. I’ve also shot a musket primed with 2F (thinking I only had to take one powder to the range that way). Both worked. I couldn’t tell 3F from 4F with my human senses, but 2F is definitely slower.

 

[Trooper]

I did some experimenting and made my own Black powder.
Granulating the stuff is problematic but I now have about two pounds of 4F.
It burns fast as it should.

 

[Mark E. Prickett]

That's got nothing to do with 4F. Substitutes are not the same as black powder and can't be used reliably in flintlocks. 1F real black will be just as reliable as Null B, just not as quick.

Re read my post. It's a crappy gun and won't fire with 3f black in the pan and barrel. But toss some 4f in the pan and it fires.

 

[david w]

Re read my post. It's a crappy gun and won't fire with 3f black in the pan and barrel. But toss some 4f in the pan and it fires.

Maybe you have a small touch hole, or you have a partially clogged hole? I bought a used flinter, and had problems with ignition. I punched out the hole with a 1/16" punch. After that, I had reliable ignition, shot after shot.

 

[Mark E. Prickett]

Maybe you have a small touch hole, or you have a partially clogged hole? I bought a used flinter, and had problems with ignition. I punched out the hole with a 1/16" punch. After that, I had reliable ignition, shot after shot.

It's a kit gun I purchased my father in 1983. He assembled it and never fired it. It sat in the gun safe all those years. I did drill out the touch hole to 1/16 and it helped some.

 

[david w]

It's a kit gun I purchased my father in 1983. He assembled it and never fired it. It sat in the gun safe all those years. I did drill out the touch hole to 1/16 and it helped some.

Then, we're down to two things, the frizzen isn't properly hardened, and/or it's your flint. What flint are you using? There is another factor in that the hammer spring and the frizzen spring ratio isn't balanced. The hammer spring should be about 3 times the force of the frizzen spring. Does the frizzen always fully open?