accident with matchlock

[brownbess67]

(sorry my english)Negligence or bad luck ? a few weeks ago,I was shooting my friend's matchlock (an ECW reproduction)at the local shooting club, when the ashes at the cord end interfered and the prime charge didnt burn... so I left the trigger, the lock arm picked up, and while I was going to close the pan, a spark "jumped" from the cord right into it, firing the musket... it hit me strong on the neck, so 10 days of pain there.... is it common to happen ??

 

[Alden]

No, it is not common. First, always presume that loaded gun is going to fire while you remove the slow match (matchcord) from the serpentine (cock). You must control the gun, muzzle and all. It could go of when you are installing your match, "trying" your match, opening the pan, be a delayed fire once you have dropped the match onto the pan, etc. You are responsible for the point-of-impact and recoil too.

Note that poorly home-made matchcord is like the American breakfast cereal Rice Krispies -- it "snaps, crackles, and pops." There are crystals of potassium nitrate on the outside of the cord which ignite and fly off as sparklers which could detonate black powder. "Too strong too long" a solution soaking. Wipe the outside down with a damp towel and redry...

This could happen again however unlikely -- don't be surprised, be prepared. You'll be fine!

I had a similar late ignition that surprised the hell out of me firing a demo at one of our military academies -- I had already un-vised the slow match and was literally sticking it into the pan by hand. It just was not going off! Finally, it went off a couple of seconds AFTER I had last pulled the match out of the pan. My face was off the stock so that I could "blow off my coal" and see the pan, but I never removed the musket from my shoulder, always kept the muzzle level downrange, and the vent hole stayed out in front of me.

Happens to the best of us. And me too.

Regards;

Alden

PS: might wanna consider lightening that powder charge up just a bit...

 

[brownbess67]

Thanks Alden !... golden rule: "I never removed the musket from my shoulder..".

 

[Canute Rex]

What Alden wrote about bad match cord goes double for me. Boil it in lye or wood ashes twice to get out the lignin. That minimizes ash and helps it work the first time. If you use potassium nitrate, make it a dilute solution and experiment with it. You want just enough to make it hot, but not enough to spark.

I'd say that the number one safety threat to matchlock shooters is the crowd of other shooters who pepper you with questions while you are loading. Distraction is the enemy.

I had an accidental discharge once because I got distracted by multiple questions and failed to blow away the excess priming powder after closing the pan. The piece was pointed downrange the entire time, of course, but it was embarrassing.

 

[Alden]

...I had an accidental discharge once because I got distracted by multiple questions and failed to blow away the excess priming powder after closing the pan. The piece was pointed downrange the entire time, of course, but it was embarrassing.

Canute, did it blow the pan cover off your piece!?

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

A couple of times I have had the "safety" cover over the pan and somehow a spark ignited the pan. The good news is the muzzle was pointing downrange both times.
Shooting matchlocks ain't for sissies!

 

[Canute Rex]

Strangely, the pan cover did not depart for unknown lands. I forget whether it even opened. It is made of 1/8" steel.

Oh, the embarrassment of premature ignition.

New stock phrase: "I can't talk until I'm finished shooting."

 

[Mike M.]

Control of the gun is essential. But this is why the Japanese matchlocks had tails on the serpentine...so you could lift them and close the pan cover with minimum exposure.

Shoot a matchlock and you learn why the Three Musketeers wore swords. :grin:

 

[Alden]

Control of the gun is essential. But this is why the Japanese matchlocks had tails on the serpentine...so you could lift them and close the pan cover with minimum exposure...

'splain Lucy. This is the lock-end of my 16th/17th C. Kunitomo .50 Japanese matchlock Miroku reproduction: