How you fill your pan makes no difference ...

[Rob M.]

With a properly placed touch hole it doesn't matter how much prime goes in the pan.

Exactly ! .... I mean ... If you use bat blood , eye of newt , part the priming down the middle , push it away from the TH slightly , touch hole is st the bottom of the pan and , is smaller than 1/16 " dia. , use 4F but only from a spring activate priming flask , take a breath and hold it while slowly closing the frizzen , muzzle has to be pointing to the south west and dont move until after you shoot , and recite the national anthem just before you pull the trigger .. ....Lordy

 

[Terrier]

Maybe it had something to do with how your OP was worded... Left the door wide open for everyone and his brother to chime in, 'cuz to me it came off like you might not be sure of how to prime a flintlock and an invitation to all to explain how they do it..

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

Eye of gnewt does wonders with smooth bores ! I can get 2" groups at 200 yards , off hand

Eye of gnewt is is getting difficult to find anymore since the present administration considers the little creatures to be a source of greenhouse emissions that will destroy the planet.
I always try to see or put a little humor into everything. One acquires a lot of perspective when one has come close to death or great bodily harm near a dozen times. I appreciate your response by not taking mine seriously as some do for lack of anything meaningful going on in their lives at the moment.

 

[Rob M.]

Eye of gnewt is is getting difficult to find anymore since the present administration considers the little creatures to be a source of greenhouse emissions that will destroy the planet.
I always try to see or put a little humor into everything. One acquires a lot of perspective when one has come close to death or great bodily harm near a dozen times. I appreciate your response by not taking mine seriously as some do for lack of anything meaningful going on in their lives at the moment.

Ah no ....love it . Sense of humor is a good thing ....

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

muzzle has to be pointing to the south west

Would you be good enough to to tell us exactly how many degrees S/W? Maybe Mills would be more precise.

 

[BackDraft]

A large enough touch hole and you'll have a self-priming rifle.

We’re all still talking about flintlocks, right?!?

 

[BackDraft]

…I use a cows knee to cover the lock in bad weather, ie rain/snow…

That’s just the Bees’ knees!

 

[DixieTexian]

I used to prime with gasoline, but getting a good seal between the lock and barrel was tricky, and you had to hold everything perfectly level, so now I put a tiny piece of styrofoam in there before adding the gasoline.

 

[BackDraft]

I used to prime with gasoline, but getting a good seal between the lock and barrel was tricky, and you had to hold everything perfectly level, so now I put a tiny piece of styrofoam in there before adding the gasoline.

 

[Rob M.]

Would you be good enough to to tell us exactly how many degrees S/W? Maybe Mills would be more precise.

Its a bit complicated . A magnetic compass is standard equipment but a GPS is much more accurate .... Exact coordinates coming soon .....

 

[Rob M.]

We’re all still talking about flintlocks, right?!?

We started out with flintlock priming but I think ole boy gravitated toward prison life with that quote about his love for large touch holes ....

 

[Rob M.]

Yep , that must have been it . When I explained how someone can get fast and reliable ignition without much effort or how they can achieve same , I was actually subliminally think " I sure hope everyone tells me how they prime their traditions flintlocks " . Bababooey ......

 

[Hawkeye55]

I don’t fret about it. Prime and charge with 1 horn. 3F or 2F works fine.

I do the something, I've used 4F. 3F and 2F and the rifle went Off with No Problems

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I used to prime with gasoline, but getting a good seal between the lock and barrel was tricky, and you had to hold everything perfectly level, so now I put a tiny piece of styrofoam in there before adding the gasoline.

When using gasoline it's the fumes that ignite

 

[beyu]

I just pour a small amount of FFG in the pan, rotate my Charleville to let the powder flow a little toward the vent and then close the frizzen.

I find that if I put a heap in the pan, my shooting hand gets a few hot grains of burning powder on it.

 

[Flint1]

Some years ago I was tinkering with my Narragansett Early Virginia. It has the Chambers colonial lock and uses a 7/8 flint. I primed with 4f, 3f, and 2f and my human senses could tell no difference in the lock time. I'm sure one of those high speed cameras would pick up some difference, but I couldn't. Most modern day shooters, including me, probably use a separate priming horn, especially on a range. I read some years back no separate priming horns have ever been found in surviving possibles and hunting bags, which would seem to indicate Daniel Boone, Lewis Wetzel, Simon Girty, and their peers primed from the main horn.

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

When using gasoline it's the fumes that ignite

How about TANNERITE!!!

 

[Britsmoothy]

You know when you shoot the flintlock upside down do you still use the six o'clock hold or does it become 12 o'clock, and if so do I need to change the clocks?

 

[Juniata]

I personally don't like mine too full mainly to keep powder from interfering the pan closing tightly.
But I'm with ya. I am a 1 horn for everything guy, 3f in about everything guy and the only thing I do ignition related other than prime is I pick my vent everytime. It does help clear any obstruction there is no arguing that, it's a simple step I failed to do one time and it cost me a bear. The only flash in the pan I ever had and it was 11:15 am on October 24, 2020. Still bothers me.

 

[John May]

Less is more...