FFFF from FFF

[Gene L]

This may have been addressed, if so, forgive. I'm expecting my first flint soon (although not soon enough) and all I have is 3F and larger. I've got a stone mortar and pestle and am thinking about grinding up some 3F to 4F.

A friend of mine did this and survived, so I know it's been done at least once. Also, he used to work for a ML gunsmith who demonstrated that pounding BP with a hammer is not dangerous. The gunsmith pounded BP on an anvil to show it's not subject to detonation by pounding.

I'm not going to pay the $28 Hazmat fee for a pound of 4F. It's either grind it or go with 3F in my priming pan. I know the totally safe answer is to leave it be, but I'm wondering if there is a second opinion on this. Would grinding really destroy the corning feature?

 

[necchi]

You could ask up in the Flint Lock section.
(or search priming/primer there)
But the general consensus on this forum is that 3f is fine for the pan and many times the main charge.

 

[mooman76]

Just use 3f as is, in the pan. It works fine.

 

[nwtradegun]

make sure you list me as the life ins. benificary. black powder can ignite from that. is your life not worth the hasmat fee.

 

[jackley]

+1

 

[coloradoclyde]

My interests are strictly percussion rifles as those are in my family's history and I grew up on tales of them from my uncles, who used them back in the early 1900s.

What changed your mind ??? :haha:

Welcome to the wonderful world of "flinch" locks.
Secret is the follow though..
Like others said 3fff will work just fine....But if you do decide to grind some, be smart....Don't grind any more than you plan to shoot up in a day.. Grinding removes the glazing and graphite coating making it more susceptible to moisture.
Also don't use any power equipment....just a non metallic mortar and pestle, and then only 5 or 10 grains at a time, because you are essentially standing over a shape charge. :grin:

 

[tenngun]

All of ml is a waste of time and money in return for the fun we get. Use ceramic and only do about twenty grains at a time. That way if it flashes it won't hurt you. Use quickly don't try to keep. It will give you something to fiddle with but you will see no did fence in your shooting.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, the whole idea of grinding up some 3Fg powder into a finer powder is silliness.

Even if some increase in the speed of ignition did happen, human senses can't detect it.

If the speed increased say .005 (five thousandths) of a second, that could make a 2 feet 2 inch difference if we were racing a 300 mile an hour top fuel dragster but when shooting a flintlock it would make no real difference at all.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Yep! everyone gets the idea in their head at least once....Then you do it and realize what a waste of time it was, and never do it again...
But,....you know, some folks just won't take no for an answer... :haha:

 

[Gene L]

OK, I guess it'll just be 3F. Although I don't think percussion (not a percussion cap, percussion) alone will ignite BP.

I've got a few percussion (cap) MLs, and thought I'd go in for a flintlock because...well, just because. When I was a kid, I had a military flintlock I worked for three weeks to buy, but never fired it. Couldn't afford powder.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Although I don't think percussion (not a percussion cap, percussion) alone will ignite BP.

Agreed!.....

I remember having to collect bottles and scrap as a kid to afford BB's for my BB gun.... :haha:

 

[cynthialee]

3F works just dandy in my lock

 

[Rifleman1776]

Not only unnecessary but, in reality, you cannot grind 3Fg into 4Fg. You can grind the 3Fg but you will end up with ground up bp, not evenly granulated finer powder. As others have pointed out using 3Fg will not cause you problems. Prime with it and enjoy. One day you will be at an event where bp is being sold and you will be able to buy 4Fg. For the sake of honesty and disclosure, I use 4Fg for priming. Mainly because I was long ago schooled that only 4Fg should be used for priming. That has proven incorrect. I continue to use because I have a many years worth of supply on hand and because I use the brass plunge primers which do not work with coarser grades of bp. Lotsa words for a simple answer.

 

[smoothshooter]

I pour a little 3F onto a block of wood or a porcelin plate and press firmly down on the powder with the bottom of a metal spoon while rolling it around. It crunches down into finer granules nicely. While in the process of doing this, usually have to cup my hand that is not holding the spoon around the the powder pile to keep it from flying all over the table as I crunch it down.

 

[AZbpBurner]

When I was in high school, there was an old gent who would be out at the range almost every weekend with a few rifles from his family collection. I used to hang out at Golden Age Arms back when they were in downtown Worthington, and already "knew" that you were supposed to use 4F for pan priming (that's why they sold the little priming horns).

The old guy taught me to load, prime and fire a flintlock, and I asked him where his priming horn was. His reply is that many of the rifles in his family collection had powder horns, but none had separate priming horns. HIS Dad & Granddad taught him to prime from the powder horn or flask.

While I do have 4F and a little Ampco pan primer, when I'm out of 4F during a trip to the range, 3F works just fine.

As for 2F vs 3F for different bore sizes, he said that all the powder he has is from old family sources. Horns were still filled with powder from their original owners, and he said he did have some stuff in casks marked "gun powder". He said that back in the day, you used what you had on hand.

BTW, he was an excellent shot with every rifle he brought to the range.

 

[hanshi]

Prime with 3F. Zonie is correct; trying to grind 3F is silliness. 3F makes good prime.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Pletch did some emperical studies on lock and ignition times. 4Fg was significantly faster than 3Fg. When your offhand "wobble" can wiggle 24" per second at the break of the shot (not an uncommon wobble speed), a .01 difference in ignition time can move your point of impact significantly. YOur ears and eyes won't be able to tell the difference, but your targets will.

 

[faste350]

Pletch did some emperical studies on lock and ignition times. 4Fg was significantly faster than 3Fg. When your offhand "wobble" can wiggle 24" per second at the break of the shot (not an uncommon wobble speed), a .01 difference in ignition time can move your point of impact significantly. YOur ears and eyes won't be able to tell the difference, but your targets will.

X2

 

[kemart17]

think your nuts for even thinking that, just go with the 3f, works just fine

 

[Arrowstorm]

From personal experience, 3F can be used as primer, but it's not as fast at 4F, and that split second will make the difference sometimes when you need to make that shot count.