How do you prime your pan?

[Questing]

4f hanging for me, quick and easyView attachment 22546

Beautiful priming flask.

 

[bud in pa]

Being that I use paper cartridges, I just bite off the tail and dribble some prime in. I also replace the frizzen stall after every shot,

 

[sawyer04]

i like to use 4f in brass spring loaded tube.

4f is probably the smoothest and fast.
This is a little trick that I think I have mentioned before. Two "WOODEN" spoons, preferably large or anything equal. I have a couple of wood cookies I hollowed out.
Take whatever grind of powder you have and put some in the hollow of bottom utensil and grind with the top. Just work it in a semi circle until you get the desired grind. Yes, I know sounds dangerous, but no metal involved and no heat. I was amazed at the difference it made in ignition and speed. The fine powder settles around the touch hole nicely. I have also got a cheap tumbler that I put powder in with led balls and regrind by tumbling for about an hour.
This has been my method for over 40 years to have powder for the priming horn.
To all you smokers out there, be very careful!!!!!!

 

[Flintleather]

Very attractive priming flask.

Thanks Tom, you make a nice primer, worth every penny. I just wish it was a little easier to fill. Flintleather

 

[Yewbender]

With priming powder

 

[olskool]

whatever I have in the horn, 2f or 3f ignition is instant,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Stumpkiller]

With my smoothbore I use a little flat priming horn that Horner75 made for me.

For my rifle I carry FFFg in the horn for the main charge and use the same for priming.

 

[Erwan]

Very nice horns...

 

[Bouncer1947]

Thought I would add something here, a number of years ago I ran into some 7F stuff is like talcum powder..klatch, BOOM no hesitation and have never had a hangfire or flash in the pan..great stuff if you can find it..

 

[Rifleman1776]

I use 4Fg because it flows easily and I have a lot of it on hand. I use a brass plunger thingy because that is how the original mountain men did it. I put a fine line of primer across the bottom of the pan and try not to cover the touchhole.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Due to a lack of documentation of pan chargers with the mountain men, I believe that it is more likely that they primed from their main horn.

In blank firing, I prime from the cartridge. That nasty old coarse powder works just fine in my Long Land Pattern Bess. When I use the Bess for woodwalks, I have a small horn that contains the same powder I have in the paper cartridge to charge the pan.

 

[Heelerau]

I just prime from my horn, I use the same powder in the charge and the prime, 3F

 

[hanshi]

I like little priming horns that can be carried in the bag or in a pocket. This one was a gift I received quite a few years ago and it's made from a deer leg bone.

 

[Art Caputo]

For decades I just primed from my powder horn using the same 3F used behind the ball. I was given one of the brass spring loaded affairs, tried it with 4F. Much easier and faster, “always” throwing 4gr of 4F into my Queen Anne lock.

 

[William Sublette]

well yesterday I loaded a ball with no powder under it.



it was a lot easier poking 4f through the flash hole than 3f

 

[appalichian hunter]

4F out of a small flat priming horn, just enough that you can see the prime do not really measure just go by looking. Never been one to fill the pan to over flowing. Never had a problem fast lock time and great ignition of the main charge.

 

[Scoper05]

Horn for me, 2 or 3f, human senses can’t tell any difference in lock time tween 4 and 2. Priming horns are just cute little gewgaws you can do with out.

Well this is completely not true. I was using 2f and I had a significant delay. Now that I use 4f it fires instantly. I think it's completely up to what your gun likes.

 

[FlinterNick]

I use 4F at the range, 3F in the field. I try to get the pour (from a flask or from a horn) evenly distributed in the pan.

If I load from a paper cartridge, I use 3F in the paper cartridge.

Re-enacting I use 1F or 2F.

 

[smo]

I prime usually from a small separate horn with ffffg.

I have used fffg as well, both will make the gun go Bang!

I prefer ffffg for priming while deer hunting and fffg in my smoothbore for squirrel hunting.

At the range, plinking or woodswalks, it’s ffffg from a small horn.
Unless it’s raining, then I switch too fffg, usually out of my main horn.

Which is probably not the safest thing too do...
I mean it is cocked and loaded.

 

[Barrie Dale]

I use 3F in the barrel and No.4 in the pan on my flintlocks. works very well for me. Seperate horns of course.