How full should the pan be?

[M. De Land]

I was wondering how full a pan should be for best ignition in general. Smooth full with the frizzen flat against or should there be some space in there? MD

 

[krshade]

That's probably a bit much. Start about 1/3 to 1/2 full and adjust if you don't get good ignition.

 

[Vaino]

While squirrel hunting and after a miss, I just dump the 4f from the measure and if too much, wipe it smooth w/ the top of the pan. Other times, less comes from the mesure and only fills the pan halfways full. Both "fills" and others in between all work fine......Fred

 

[Matt85]

"enough" depends on your gun. my 1768 will fire with just a couple of granules of FFg powder (literally like 3-4 will work).

like anything else in this hobby, you just need to play around with it. keep trying to fire the gun with less and less prime untell the gun wont fire any more. this will give you an idea of how much is really required.

-matt

 

[Dean2]

I find less works better for me. I use about a third of a pan. A right full pan of FFF seems to have a delay. I have never tried 4F for prime so it may act different.

 

[wattlebuster]

I use probably less than a third. No problems in any of my flintlocks with that amount :thumbsup:

 

[Grenadier1758]

The general rule for the ammount of priming powder needed is to use the ammount needed for reliable ignition. I like to use enough powder (3f or 4f) to cover the bottom of the pan and not cover the touch hole. The great part of what we are saying is that there is a range of what will work and you will have to experiment with your rifle to find out the best answer.

 

[Rusty_Nail]

I use a homemade pancharger with a 1gr. spout, and it is quite sufficient.

Just remember it is all about lock time, the time between the flash and boom. The slower that is, the more chance your flinch affects the shot!

Powder takes time to burn by volume. Twice as much powder, twice as much time. And the pan dust burns from the top down. A big pile takes more time to put spark at the flash hole.

If you have really good spark from the frizzen, 1/2 a level pan should do. And after you close the frizzen, a light bump will push it towards the hole, decreasing time even more!

And using a decreased volume of 3Fg powder vs. 2Fg, will reduce the lock time also!

For me, a flinch is natural, and not something I can eliminate. If I anticipate, it's even worse. So I just use little pan dust, and 3Fg powder @ 85% volume of 2Fg loads. By the time I flinch, the bullet has left the barrel!!!

 

[Rusty_Nail]

And sorry I called it lock time. That, I believe is actually the time between engaging the sear, and the flint hitting the frizzen.

 

[Vaino]

The rifle mentioned in my previous post could have been used in all sorts of wars and battles...it reliably fires irregardless of the amount of prime.....in the "heat of battle", I presume that not much care was taken w/ the amount of prime. Also...haven't observed much difference in ignition time between all the various amounts of prime......Fred

 

[ebiggs1]

And of course Mr. Letho is correct. Flintlocks are forgiving guns and tolerate a lot of differing methods. But there is a group of members on this forum that seem to think and try to use the least of everything. Whether it be main load or lube or prime. But on the matter of prime the larger the “footprint” it has the greater chance the spark will hit a good spot for “reliable” ignition.
Covering the touch does not slow ignition. Even some trickling in is a good thing.
Use enough and don't skimp om it. It's cheap!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Forget the word "full".
A thin line of powder (I prefer 4Fg) along the bottom should be sufficient for fastest ignition.
I say "should be" because different locks and set-ups will vary your success, or failure, rate. If the touchhole is not properly located or too small or venus is not in the moons' house things might or might not go well.
I prefer what I describe and do not stack up powder under the touchhole that only slows up ignition.

 

[Rifleman1776]

But on the matter of prime the larger the “footprint” it has the greater chance the spark will hit a good spot for “reliable” ignition.
Covering the touch does not slow ignition. Even some trickling in is a good thing.
Use enough and don't skimp om it. It's cheap!

Here we go again.
Completely disagree. A good lock will give all the spark contact with powder you need.
Less primer powder the quicker the ignition. Too much powder will require time for it to burn down before the heat reaches the touchhole.
The actual barrel ignition is not causes so much by the primer burning into the barrel as a sort of venturi effect bringing the heat to the main charge.

 

[wayne1967]

But on the matter of prime the larger the “footprint” it has the greater chance the spark will hit a good spot for “reliable” ignition.
Covering the touch does not slow ignition. Even some trickling in is a good thing.
Use enough and don't skimp om it. It's cheap!

Here we go again.
Completely disagree. A good lock will give all the spark contact with powder you need.
Less primer powder the quicker the ignition. Too much powder will require time for it to burn down before the heat reaches the touchhole.
The actual barrel ignition is not causes so much by the primer burning into the barrel as a sort of venturi effect bringing the heat to the main charge.

I agree. Had a friend that was shooting beside me and had a bad delay fire consistantly. I checked his pan and it was completly full and his primer hole was just a little under the plane of the pan. After he backed it off to just under the hole, no delay.

 

[outbackzack]

My experience has shown the same thoughts, less seems to be more. I started filling the pan, and accuracy was horrible--I read some tips on here, and kept lowering the amount of powder in the pan--My Traditions rifle likes about 3-4 grains in the pan, and it doesn't seem to care if it is 2F, 3F, or even 4F---Just a light touch and I get near enough to instant ignition that my accuracy,(or more specifically, my consistency, thanks to a new eyeglass prescription) has dramatically improved.

 

[nchawkeye]

Well, what some of you gentlemen are telling me is that your flintlock wasn't made properly...

With a properly positioned touch hole you can't fill the pan and get powder in the hole...See, the touch hole should be behind the heel of the frizzen when closed so it doesn't fill up with powder...

The powder should be below the level of the touch hole for quick ignition but the touch hole should be in the sunrise position with the bottom of the hole just above the top of the pan...

So you fellows are adjusting the amount of prime to compensate for a gun that wasn't put together properly...

 

[hanshi]

I use the least amount that works. Too much prime slows ignition and slow ignition means less accuracy. I try for NEVER over 1/3 pan full. When not in a hurry I usually go with a "pinch" of prime and ignition sounds instantaneous. My guns only require a few kernels of powder for reliability and FAST ignition. I can HEAR the difference between a pinch and 1/2 or more full.

 

[Number19]

I'm in the "least amount" group. As implied with several previous responses, it also depends on the powder used. I use Swiss Null B, the "fastest" primer powder on the market. I also use a 3 gr dispenser - but I don't dispense the full 3 gr. - probably about half that.

The other thing is to always keep the touch hole clear.

 

[Bruce Bogart]

I use 4f GOEX and just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. My L&R Durs Egg lock will fire extremely reliably with this tiny amount. I geuss that makes me a minimalist :grin: or is that frugal?

 

[M. De Land]

I have also been loading with a mild steel wire pick in the touch hole when charging. After the ball is seated I pull the pick and then prime the pan.
My thinking was to always have a consistently clear touch hole for the pan flash to transit. I filed the end of the pick smooth and round so it more or less just plug pushes the touch hole clear.
The touch hole in mine has just a small part of the bottom of the hole orbit level with the pan brim. It does not totally clear the pan brim. I conclude then from the conversation that I should prime the pan level to just below the touch hole which in my case would be about 3/4ths full. I've been using 4F Kik to prime with. Think I'll try some Null-B. MD