How do you prime your pan?

[beginner]

I also prime with what goes down the barrel 2f

 

[Buckskinn]

Pour powder in the pan, close frizzen…. BANG

 

[S.Kenton]

I use this as a pan primer, it’s made by Ken Netting and I beleive he said it was copied from an original. it’s filled with 3f goex, same as my main charge...I like it better than filling from my main horn due to the fact that it’s easier to control the amount of powder coming from the primer. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll fill from the horn when I need to.

 

[toot]

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!!!!!!

it is DARWINS THERY OF SELECTION OF THE FITISTEST!

 

[toot]

YES I too beleave that back in the day of a long, long time ago now gone, that they carried only one horn with the same barrel load charge and primed with same grains of powder.what say you?

 

[tenngun]

As far as we know throughout most of flintlocks prime use in America main charge was prime.
Match locks often had a separate priming horn or flask. Some military rifles in Europe carried separate priming horns.

 

[jbwilliams3]

Years ago an old family friend showed me how he filled his measure, then dumped a small amount of powder from the measure into the pan, then proceeded to load as usual. This is similar to loading from a cartridge, military drill style. It was so easy, fast, effective and save all the extra motion of priming from the horn or using some extra dedicated primer. Of course this is inherently dangerous unless you are using a flint stall, so now days I just prime from the horn. I have a tiny "priming horn" someone gave me once and it works really well. In fact, it's ideal for hunting though I've never used it for that. Holds enough powder for

 

[Mulebrain]

I have been using a small priming horn with 4f for years. However that finer granulation of the 4f, humidity can clog my spout.

I will be moving away from 4 and doing everything with 3f

 

[bigted]

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,

Frizzen stall? Please do educate this newby.

 

[Zonie]

A frizzen stall is a leather sleeve that fits snugly over the frizzen, sort of like a sock. It usually has a thin piece of leather attached to something like the trigger guard to keep it from getting lost when it is removed.

Because it is made out of fairly thick leather, If the cock (hammer) accidentally falls after the frizzen is closed, with the "frizzen stall" installed, the flint will hit the frizzen stall rather than the face of the frizzen. That will keep the gun from firing.

 

[Grenadier1758]

My hammer stall is laying beside the lock. The leather thong is tied to the trigger guard so I can remove the hammer stall and not lose track of the hammer stall.

As you can see by the scars on the leather, it has been tested.

Found a picture with the Hammer Stall installed on the Frizzen.

I should have turned it around so the thicker layer of leather is toward the flint.

 

[Zonie]

Bigted:
As you admit to being a newbie when it comes to flintlocks, when Grenadier says "hammer stall", he's talking about the "frizzen stall" I mentioned.

Back in the day, the thing we call a frizzen was called the "hammer". In those days, the thing we call a "hammer" was called a "cock" back then.

 

[Big Rviers]

Small priming horn for me. Mine has one of those small spring plungers to dispense the powder evenly. They do tend to clog with the high humidity on the wet coast but that's easily solved by cleaning it out with my vent pick. I've tried straight for the main horn but I'm just too messy and get powder in all the wrong places needing too much cleaning up. Oops, except for hunting that is as I try an eliminate all clutter and clatter of two horns. It's all a matter of personal taste.

 

[bigted]

Bigted:
As you admit to being a newbie when it comes to flintlocks, when Grenadier says "hammer stall", he's talking about the "frizzen stall" I mentioned.

Back in the day, the thing we call a frizzen was called the "hammer". In those days, the thing we call a "hammer" was called a "cock" back then.

Thanks Zonie! Yes kinda a newby to flinters. Thanks fella's for the explanations. This is kinda piece meal as stuff continues to be goofy. Bout all the "OUT" I get now is to haul raw toilet paper ... then back home.

My smoothbore flinter is fun and so far, I have primed with my main horn. Seems to go pretty well.

 

[Redstick Lee]

4" horn with 4f for my small panned .50 rifle...3 grain spring loaded spout

straight 1f from main horn for my big panned .62 smoothbore
1f sets off the barrel charge as quickly as 4f .

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I don’t.

I use the same powder as in the main horn to prime with, as did our ancestors.

 

[Tumbledown]

I like the idea of priming with a bit from the measure before dumping it down the barrel. Fewer steps, and probably more authentic. However, my club, especially at woods walks, doesn't want a gun primed/capped until one is at the line and ready to fire. This, therefore, is not a practical option unless I'm shooting alone.

I have a small brass priming flask that dumps 3-4 grains each "dose." I bought FFG to use with by Brown Bess for both main and pan powder, and it seems to work fine in the .50cal Traditions Kentucky for both as well.

 

[fire bear]

I use 4f from the plunger priming tube hanging around my neck unless it is damp out then I switch to a little dab of 3f from my flask.

 

[Tumbledown]

I use this as a pan primer, it’s made by Ken Netting and I beleive he said it was copied from an original. it’s filled with 3f goex, same as my main charge...I like it better than filling from my main horn due to the fact that it’s easier to control the amount of powder coming from the primer. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll fill from the horn when I need to.

I was just looking at 1812-era horns. One had that very type of valve. This could easily be reworked as a horn spout (if not offered as one already.)

*Just found it as a spout, in kit form, from TOW. Out of stock currently...

 

[Bob McBride]

I occasionally use a primer. On 10 bores w1/1.5f I’ll use null b. With 3f guns I use the horn.