Loading a flintlock

[riarcher]

After reading all this,,, I wonder,,,, If it depends on the size of the touch hole vs. powder ganulation size?

 

[paulvallandigham]

I don't think so. The size of the touch hole will affect how well your prime provides a flame to be sucked into the hole and ignite the main charge. Often enlarging the hole just a little will cure a gun that tend to misfire sometimes. But we use the vent pick to make a hole for air in the main charge,whether we leave a feather, toothpick , or vent pick or wire in the barrel while loading the powder charge, or poking a hole in the powder charge with the pick after the ball is seated. We take advantage of one of the three requirments of fire,( Heat, Fuel, and Air), to draw the flame from the prime into the barrel to ignite the main powder charge. By making a hole we do two things to make ignition sure( reliable) and fast. We introduce a space for AIR in the powder charge, and we expose many more granules of powder to the flame that is drawn into the barrel by that air, there by igniting a lot of "little fuses" to burn all at once. Fire is drawn to AIR, or oxygen, to be more specfic, and we use that fact to make a flame that would ordinary burn Upwards, to go Sideways through the touch hole into the main powder charge. Using coned vent liners introduces even more air, as any powder that might be in the top of a vent liner when the gun is being loaded iwth the butt on the ground, falls down due to gravity when the gun is changed to the horizontal. That extra air helps draw the flame even faster into the barrel, and speeds ignition that much faster. In a flintlock, if you don't compress the powder, and use a coarser powder than you would use in a percussion gun, you get faster ignition. If you want to raise the velocity, raise the chamber pressure by using an over powder wad, or a filler, to add mass( weight) to the charge, and delay the movement of the ball away from the powder until pressure has built that much more to overcome the inertia of the wad or filler. That raising of pressure also accounts for why some guns burn FFg powder as cleanly as most percussion guns can burn FFFg powder, using only a PRB.

Flint and percussion are really two different systems of ignition, with their own rules. What works well with a flintlock, does not generally work as well in percussion guns, and vice versa. Loading the flint action does not depend on the size of the touch hole, or the size of powder used. If you have too big a touch hole, as some of the original Brown Besses seen in museums show today, of course powder will spill out into the pan, or out the gun, if the frizzen is open. The smaller your choice of powder, the more likely there will be some loss of powder. If you have that problem, you can either install a vent liner, or you can take a round rod, or stick, or toothpick, file a flat on one side to let out air, and put that in the touch hole before loading the gun. The flat will let air escape without pushing out the toothpick or vent pick. Obviously, you will have to make or locate another pick to plug the touch hole if your purpose is to keep moisture out of the main powder charge.

 

[Richard Allen]

You, sir, are a braver man than I. You are placing a lot of faith on the half cock step of your tumbler holding.

I understand the NMLRA rules prohibit loading flintlocks with the frizzen closed during competition.

Richard/Ga.

 

[spotlink]

I load like in the drill books. I bite the cartridge, prime, pour down the barrel, and follow it with the ball in the wrapper.
So that I dont blow up I have a leather frizzed guard on the frizzen.

 

[Richard Allen]

I am not familiar with the "drill books" you mentioned but having a tough leather cover over the fizzen does provide a greater level of safety when loading after priming.

:youcrazy: If your "Smilie" reflects your opinion of my concern for firearms safety, so be it. I have been handling and shooting various types of firearms for half a century and I still have all my body parts and have never unintentionally harmed anyone with a firearm. Ignorance is not an excuse for the unsafe handling of firearms. I apologize if I misinterpreted your intent. :v

Richard/Ga.

 

[Landngroove]

Just to keep things simple: Goex FFFG, in the pan, Goex FFFG, as the main charge. Boom! Great ignition, and performance. You can either put a feather, or touch hole pick, in the touch hole when loading if you like, or just don't. I see no difference in performance, either way.