Does anyone have a pic of powder in a pan?

[John Spartan]

I have read how much powder should be in a pan for a flintlock but does anyone have a pic handy of what it should look like. The written directions seemed simple but maybe a little counterintuitive to my inexperienced mind.
If there is one handy...

 

[Cattywompuss]

The uncertain concensus here abouts is fill it up, provided you use as little as possible Seriously though, you are opening up a can of everyone is right and everyone is wrong. A discussion best left for a quiet evening at the bar when folks are only one pint in.

 

[1950DAVE]

Instruction booklet that came with my GPR kit yrs ago concurs with Cattywompuss, but i have found that I have had excellent results with far less than a pan full and a lot less crap to clean up around the lock. You will have to experiment to find what is right for your rifle.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I fill the pan just up to the touch hole opening. I often will drag my nipple pick through the pan to make a trough in the middle of the pan powder although that really doesn't make much difference in lock time. My Bess will often get a pan full of powder when I am loading blank rounds with a paper cartridge. For live rounds to shoot a ball, I fill using a pan charger to the touch hole. That's considerably less powder than I use for a blank charge.

 

[user 49399]

It depends on your gun, powder and flint. I had a flint pistol once upon a time that only needed a little. My Fusil de Chasse likes a pan full.

 

[FishDFly]

Most pan primers are designed to drop three (3) grains. That seems to be the standard.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I have read how much powder should be in a pan for a flintlock but does anyone have a pic handy of what it should look like. The written directions seemed simple but maybe a little counterintuitive to my inexperienced mind.
If there is one handy...

A photo is only going to show proper prime for that pan and TH. Prime so you obtain the widest portion of the pan in order to catch as much spark as possible. For depth of prime, that too can vary. I have flintlocks that like the TH covered and some that like prime right at the bottom of the TH, not covered, but completely open. You need to experiment and see what your gun likes best.
Larry

 

[tenngun]

Fifty shooters fifty answers, i prime from my horn, tap in enough to be about to the bottom of the touch hole. Some times a bit more then I need and blow on it with little puffs.
Wrap my knuckle son gentle taps to the gun to smooth it out a bit.
There are tricks to fastest ignition but in general shooting make little difference. Just don’t over fill and don’t block the touch hole.
Contrary to popular myth flintlock ain’t rocket science

 

[Flintlock]

The less you can get reliable ignition with the better.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I like a little line across the bottom of pan.

 

[CapPopper]

I like to just fill the trough all the way across on my .32s pan but since I'm using a homemade pan primer sometimes I get more and sometimes less...... It doesn't seem to picky as long as I get a good spark and don't cover the touchhole.

 

[cornstalk]

A picture won't help as no two guns, frizzens and flints are alike. Confirm that the gun is not loaded. Point the muzzle down range. Dribble in the smallest amount of powder. Cock and fire. Get a nice ignition? Then you know how much you need. Get weak or no ignition (and you did see sparks) try again with just a little more powder. If it's a good lock it will take a lot less powder then you probably think.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Somebody show the man a picture! Surely somebody is going to a range today!

I think the important thing to remember is that the main charge ignites from the incandescent flash of the priming. The vent should be open. For my guns, I use a little priming flask with a free-flowing valve tip. I try to keep the amount of powder just below the bottom of the flash channel. If powder fills the flash channel, you have effectively produced a fuse, rather than a flash, and you get a slight hang fire.

I’ve tried “priming from the horn” but apparently don’t have the dexterity needed to direct or regulate the flow, and I end up putting in too much powder and scattering the grains outside the pan. This makes for great spectator appeal, but is rather disconcerting if you are the shooter.

Notchy Bob

 

[user 49399]

This may or may not help and not the answer your looking for but I prime from the horn (2f) and I’ve shot mine enough that I can get the right amount by just eyeballing it.

I’ll try to get you a picture shortly.

 

[user 49399]

Here’s what mine likes. Works every time for me.

 

[springfield art]

View attachment 106037Here’s what mine likes. Works every time for me.

Your illustration is right on the money. You want the spark to jump into the hole, whereas if you pile a huge dump it actually slows down ignition. You've shown a perfect example.

 

[Crow-Feather]

I have read how much powder should be in a pan for a flintlock but does anyone have a pic handy of what it should look like. The written directions seemed simple but maybe a little counterintuitive to my inexperienced mind.
If there is one handy...

Since each rifle is an individual, the best way to determine what gives you the fastest ignition, or at least an ignition that you are comfortable with is to start small and work up. A pan charger (Treso) is nice to use so that your priming charge is pretty much always the same. The placement of the powder also has a bit to do with speedy ignition. There are several articles on this subject. The one that used slow motion video and a timing device proved that the powder placed up next to the touch hole (but not covering it) was the fastest. Start with a small amount of powder and work up trying about five shots with each. 20 grains of powder in the barrel is usually enough topped with a tight wad. One must ensure that there isn't any space tween the lock and the barrel. If there is a gap, powder can filter into the lock area and possibly ignite causing damage to the rifle. I placed freezer wrap onto the in-place barrel, then applied epoxy to the top edge of the lock adjacent to the pan and screwed it into place. After drying, remove the wrap and viola, an air tight joining of barrel and lock in the pan area.

 

[CaptainKirk]

However much powder you choose to put in, the two things you want to remember are:
1) don't cover the flash hole. Quick ignition requires a clear path for the flame to travel, not a "fuse" of powder to burn to your main charge
2) when the pan is charged and frizzen down, before you fire tilt the gun sideways(lock side facing the ground) and give the stock a quick bump opposite the lock with the butt of your hand...this will clear any accumulated powder from the flash hole.
Good luck, and do some experimenting!

 

[Jaeger]

I like a big flash and a lot of pyrotechnics when I touch off my flintlock.....it makes me feel like more of a flintlocker....

 

[Flintlock]

I like a big flash and a lot of pyrotechnics when I touch off my flintlock.....it makes me feel like more of a flintlocker....

Yeah, so does everyone else flinching, ducking and cussing on the line next to you. lol