I'm a newbie who is a bit confused about how to properly load my BP pistol. I read numerous articles and talked to a number of experienced BP shooters and I got conflicting information about putting powder in the cylinders. Some folks say that you should never load directly from the flask because a lingering spark in the cylinder could detonate the powder in the flask. Other folks say that it's perfectly OK to load directly from the flask -- that the fear of an exploding flask is unfounded. (No one I've talked to actually knows of an incident where such an explosion has occurred.) I would appreciate a little advice from you folks -- as a newbie (this is my first post) I need all the help I can get. Thanks.
Loading from flask question
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Read that again, and again, and again.
Yes, it could happen. That alone tells you loading directly from the flask is dangerous and potentially deadly. Don't do it.
Flasks were military items where speed in reloading was more important than the hands, or life, of the soldier.
A modern gun club I used to belong to allowed some very careless handling of firearms. Their theory was "these guys been doing it that way all their lives and never killed anyone, yet." I always loved the "yet" part. I walked away one day and never returned.
We are playing with guns and explosives. Be careful.
I believe that some would argue that there is a bit of a difference between loading from a flask and loading from a powder horn. A flask has a spring loaded door on it that isolates the powder in the measured spout from the rest of the powder in the flask. The average powder horn does not have that feature. Does the spring loaded door make the flask safer to load from? Probably, but that doesn't mean that its totally safe. It is safer than loading from a powder horn because there is nothing separating a measure of powder from the rest of the powder in the horn. I use a seperate powder measure when loading my revolvers because thats how I've always done it. If I needed to load faster I'd carry a loaded spare cylinder or paper cartidges. For range work there is no need for speed. I don't do cowboy action shooting so those guys might have a different attitude about loading from the flask.
Don
Don
zimmerstutzen
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We know that the chances of getting hit by lightning are relatively slim, yet we don't go climbing metal towers during electrical storms.
I use a flask sometimes to load my revolvers, but simply to use the spout as a short cut way to measure the powder. I still don't put the powder directly into the chamber. The spout full of powder is placed into another container (piece of hollowed antler) and then dropped into the chamber.
I think there was a report on another forum last fall about one of those brass pan primers (sort of a flask) blowing up from a stray spark when the gun was fired. The pan primer was hanging off the shooter on a leather thong. That is something I used to do. I now make sure the pan primer is under cover before shooting.
I use a flask sometimes to load my revolvers, but simply to use the spout as a short cut way to measure the powder. I still don't put the powder directly into the chamber. The spout full of powder is placed into another container (piece of hollowed antler) and then dropped into the chamber.
I think there was a report on another forum last fall about one of those brass pan primers (sort of a flask) blowing up from a stray spark when the gun was fired. The pan primer was hanging off the shooter on a leather thong. That is something I used to do. I now make sure the pan primer is under cover before shooting.
well the flask you see in the case sets for the pistols was made so you could load from it. now a pistol has a lot less area for a spark. that all said one question how much are your fingers or eyes worth?? there were reports of people found blinded by a horn blowing up.
yes i have seen even had a cookoff.the one i had i have when loading fast with a 63 remington rifle. that is why the nssa has certin ways to hold the rifle and to dump the powder even to hold the ram rod.
so back to my question how much are your fingers or eyes worth?? fallow the safety rules and have fun for a long time. don't become a poster child for the people that want to outlaw our sport.
yes i have seen even had a cookoff.the one i had i have when loading fast with a 63 remington rifle. that is why the nssa has certin ways to hold the rifle and to dump the powder even to hold the ram rod.
so back to my question how much are your fingers or eyes worth?? fallow the safety rules and have fun for a long time. don't become a poster child for the people that want to outlaw our sport.
ronnie_kennedy
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I am fairly new to black powder shooting myself, and have only been shooting these guns for about 3 months now. I heard the same arguments when i started too. Some say it is safe and been doing it for years, others are completely against it. I agree with the statement above about getting struck by lighting and the chances being slim. But we don't climb metal towers. Better to be safe than sorry. I would rather spend the extra couple of secs pouring into a measure and then into the cylinder than risk losing a hand or worse. In my opinion, it just makes sense to not have a potential hand grenade close to a lingering spark. The only time i load directly from my flask spout (i have a measured spout on my flask) is the 1st cylinder loads of the day. No sparks could possibly be in there. Otherwise, it is straight into a measure, and then in my cylinder.
Just to add to the safety aspect of shooting, i'd like to share an incident that happened to me just yesterday at the range. I have an 1851 Navy revolver that i love to shoot. Have put about 125 balls through it since getting it in march. I heard arguments saying putting grease or some sort of lubricant on top of the cylinders before shooting was unnecessary since chain fires are believed to be started from the nipple side by some, but decided that it was safer in my opinion to do so. While at the range, i decided to shoot one more cycle before putting my gun away. In order to save a little time, i didn't put my usual bore butter on top of the balls before firing. Fired 1 shot fine. When i fired the next shot, it went off, and then immediately following i had another chamber fire off. Could've been a coincidence, but while using the grease, i have never had an incident like this. Either way i learned a valuable lesson real quick. Didn't hurt myself or mess up the gun, but why take the chance.
If you are going to have this hobby, why not take every precaution to save yourself injury and be able to enjoy it for years to come.
Just to add to the safety aspect of shooting, i'd like to share an incident that happened to me just yesterday at the range. I have an 1851 Navy revolver that i love to shoot. Have put about 125 balls through it since getting it in march. I heard arguments saying putting grease or some sort of lubricant on top of the cylinders before shooting was unnecessary since chain fires are believed to be started from the nipple side by some, but decided that it was safer in my opinion to do so. While at the range, i decided to shoot one more cycle before putting my gun away. In order to save a little time, i didn't put my usual bore butter on top of the balls before firing. Fired 1 shot fine. When i fired the next shot, it went off, and then immediately following i had another chamber fire off. Could've been a coincidence, but while using the grease, i have never had an incident like this. Either way i learned a valuable lesson real quick. Didn't hurt myself or mess up the gun, but why take the chance.
If you are going to have this hobby, why not take every precaution to save yourself injury and be able to enjoy it for years to come.
RonnieK
I am glad you were not injured.
When we started our ml club here I had just moved to the area (about 35 years ago). I was the only experienced ml shooter in the club, or county for that matter. At the range one day a member had a new C&B revolver. He was shooting with no wads or over ball grease. I advised him to use one or the other as a safety measure. His response was to curse at me. Partly, it was the oft used "It ain't blowed up yet". Sure enuf, next time he shot it chain fired. Scared the fertilizer out of him. Haven't seen him since either.
I am glad you were not injured.
When we started our ml club here I had just moved to the area (about 35 years ago). I was the only experienced ml shooter in the club, or county for that matter. At the range one day a member had a new C&B revolver. He was shooting with no wads or over ball grease. I advised him to use one or the other as a safety measure. His response was to curse at me. Partly, it was the oft used "It ain't blowed up yet". Sure enuf, next time he shot it chain fired. Scared the fertilizer out of him. Haven't seen him since either.
zimmerstutzen
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About 1967, at an Army Navy Store in Reading PA, I saw a colt dragoon repro, with a third of the cylinder blown off. The sign over it said to grease the chamber mouths after loading. That was before I ever had a cap and ball revolver. But the image sticks in my mind and I am inclined not to make that mistake.
Same goes for loading directly from a flask or horn.
My dad was a hunter safety instructor and had an old double barrel shot gun that had been fired with an obstruction in one barrel. Huge patch blown out the side and the muzzle all split wide.
It was an impressive show and tell piece.
Been extra careful around guns ever since.
Same goes for loading directly from a flask or horn.
My dad was a hunter safety instructor and had an old double barrel shot gun that had been fired with an obstruction in one barrel. Huge patch blown out the side and the muzzle all split wide.
It was an impressive show and tell piece.
Been extra careful around guns ever since.
arcticap
54 Cal.
I personally load off the frame using pre-measured powder charges that are stored in pill bottles so only one powder charge is poured at a time.
However many people do safely load directly from their flask into their chambers.
Among the reasons loading that way can be done safely is because they use proper judgement about letting the proper length of time pass between taking the last shot in the cylinder and the start of the loading process where they start to drop in the fresh powder charges.
What the proper amount of time is to allow for any embers to burn out is a matter of experience.
For instance, whenever there's a misfire with a percussion cap, safety rules would require that a period of time be allowed to pass before the load is considered to no longer be a hang fire. That period of time could be considered to be anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute or more. Wait double the amount of time if you feel that's necessary.
Usually that amount of time has passed between when a revolver shooter takes his last shot emptying his revolver and the first new powder charge is loaded.
And remember that the last chamber to be fired isn't always the first chamber to be reloaded either. So some chambers may have already gone cold while the other remaining chambers are still being fired.
I think that if a person puts their gun down after the last shot and waited 1- 2 minutes before reloading then the entire gun is going to be cold and safe.
Of course there is always the opportunity for a visual inspection of the cylinders to see if there's anything left in them that they think could cause a problem.
I think that the amount of time that a person waits is where personal judgment comes into play which determines when the gun truly becomes safe to begin loading the next fresh powder charge.
Folks need to trust their own judgment and not to be in too much of a hurry to reload. As long as they treat their last shot the same as if it just had a misfire, then the chances of having a cook off when loading directly from the powder flask is going to be absolutely zero.
The critical factor is whether the person waits an adequate amount of time before loading powder from the flask.
As long as a person trusts their own judgment about the length of time that's required then it's a perfectly safe practice since the chambers will always be cold when the fresh powder charges are being loaded.
If a person doesn't trust their own judgment to be able to determine when their cylinder is cold, then by all means they shouldn't load from the flask.
It's a personal decision about whether they can do it safely or not because they must actually apply the safe procedure each and every time without fail.
We've all experienced misfires on the firing line, and we all know that a certain amount of time needs to pass in order for the barrel to be considered to be cold and no longer hot or active.
That may not involve a powder flask but that occurrence involves applying the exact same type of personal judgment, and everyone needs to know how to apply proper judgment in a real life situation.
If folks don't know how long to wait for a barrel or cylinder to go cold and to trust their own judgment, then they probably haven't been properly trained about how to treat misfires or hang fires.
However many people do safely load directly from their flask into their chambers.
Among the reasons loading that way can be done safely is because they use proper judgement about letting the proper length of time pass between taking the last shot in the cylinder and the start of the loading process where they start to drop in the fresh powder charges.
What the proper amount of time is to allow for any embers to burn out is a matter of experience.
For instance, whenever there's a misfire with a percussion cap, safety rules would require that a period of time be allowed to pass before the load is considered to no longer be a hang fire. That period of time could be considered to be anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute or more. Wait double the amount of time if you feel that's necessary.
Usually that amount of time has passed between when a revolver shooter takes his last shot emptying his revolver and the first new powder charge is loaded.
And remember that the last chamber to be fired isn't always the first chamber to be reloaded either. So some chambers may have already gone cold while the other remaining chambers are still being fired.
I think that if a person puts their gun down after the last shot and waited 1- 2 minutes before reloading then the entire gun is going to be cold and safe.
Of course there is always the opportunity for a visual inspection of the cylinders to see if there's anything left in them that they think could cause a problem.
I think that the amount of time that a person waits is where personal judgment comes into play which determines when the gun truly becomes safe to begin loading the next fresh powder charge.
Folks need to trust their own judgment and not to be in too much of a hurry to reload. As long as they treat their last shot the same as if it just had a misfire, then the chances of having a cook off when loading directly from the powder flask is going to be absolutely zero.
The critical factor is whether the person waits an adequate amount of time before loading powder from the flask.
As long as a person trusts their own judgment about the length of time that's required then it's a perfectly safe practice since the chambers will always be cold when the fresh powder charges are being loaded.
If a person doesn't trust their own judgment to be able to determine when their cylinder is cold, then by all means they shouldn't load from the flask.
It's a personal decision about whether they can do it safely or not because they must actually apply the safe procedure each and every time without fail.
We've all experienced misfires on the firing line, and we all know that a certain amount of time needs to pass in order for the barrel to be considered to be cold and no longer hot or active.
That may not involve a powder flask but that occurrence involves applying the exact same type of personal judgment, and everyone needs to know how to apply proper judgment in a real life situation.
If folks don't know how long to wait for a barrel or cylinder to go cold and to trust their own judgment, then they probably haven't been properly trained about how to treat misfires or hang fires.
barnettshale
36 Cal.
I have to tell you that I witnessed that happening in about 82 in Corpus Christi, TX at a shoot. A club called the Krankawa Muzzle Loaders held Saturday morning matches and as it worked out everyone loaded at the line. I had a box between myself and the man to my right. He was loading straight out of the horn. I heard a "Big Bang", felt the concussion and saw him trying to put the sparks out on his clothes and trying to pick horn splinters out too. My box sitting between the two of us took the brunt of the explosion. I have never forgotten that experience. It still influences how I load and how I instruct my kids and grandkids to load. We were all shooting rifles at the time, not pistols. I normally load my revolvers with the cylinder out of the frame.
Don't take this personally, but even a lot of words cannot make an invalid statement fact.
You are wrong.
The "safe" amount of time may be much longer than you may think it is.
Here is story of an incident I observed. It was at my club range. I was range officer that day.
A member, named "Scotty" went to the firing line to shoot with his single shot pistol. The cap went off but gun did not. Doing as he should, he kept the muzzle down range and waited. He said several times, "I know I loaded it." He stood there for some time repeating that. Then he raised the muzzle pointing up and started back to the loading bench to pull the ball. He still, wisely, kept the muzzle up. He changed his mind and went back to the firing line with the muzzle still pointing in a safe direction. Well, this went on for more than five minutes, maybe ten. Finally convinced he hadn't loaded, he turned to go back to the loading bench, with muzzle still up, when the pistol went off.
No doubt, the cap igniting left a tiny smoldering ember somewhere in the breech area of the pistol and after 5 to 10 minutes it finally ignited.
I was an eye witness, as range officer watching this shooters gun handling very carefully. I know what happened.
It was a valuable experience and lesson.
For me, your 30 second to two minute thing is only a disaster wanting to happen.
Never, ever, never-ever, load directly from a flask.
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I'm going to take it to heart as I have always loaded my revolvers directly from a flask and can see the potential danger although remote.
One of the problems with sparks or embers is from patch material. I have never seen clean uncontaminated Black powder alone leave hot embers. If it did we would be in great danger every time we load a rifle without water swabbing first. This is the reason for cannon swab protocol, wadding embers.
I have seen folks use a dipper to load cylinder chambers from an open container thinking they were being safe. In my opinion they were in far greater danger of a conflagration from ignition sparks(flintlocks near) than loading straight from a flask.
I think removing the flask from directly charging the cylinder makes sense as a separate charge cup would add one more layer of safety. MD
One of the problems with sparks or embers is from patch material. I have never seen clean uncontaminated Black powder alone leave hot embers. If it did we would be in great danger every time we load a rifle without water swabbing first. This is the reason for cannon swab protocol, wadding embers.
I have seen folks use a dipper to load cylinder chambers from an open container thinking they were being safe. In my opinion they were in far greater danger of a conflagration from ignition sparks(flintlocks near) than loading straight from a flask.
I think removing the flask from directly charging the cylinder makes sense as a separate charge cup would add one more layer of safety. MD
I admit I've loaded from the flask many times with my revolvers. I finally bought a small adjustable measure so I could load into it and then into the chambers. I would strongly suggest loading from a measure on ANY bp gun. I think of the times I loaded directly from the flask (one of those round brass CVA deals) and get the willies looking back on it. It was essentially a pipe bomb waiting to happen. :shocked2: I don't trust that little sliding brass plate to keep the flask contents safe should an errant lingering spark ignite the powder coming out of the little spout that's screwed into the top. :td:
arcticap
54 Cal.
Rifleman1776 said:
I'm not taking anything personally and you shouldn't either. There's a complete context that includes everything that I said including this:
arcticap said:
Experienced shooters know how to visually inspect their revolver chambers and I mentioned that.
Experienced shooters should know that there's a difference in the depth between a revolver cylinder and the breech of a single shot pistol which changes the entire situation with regards to embers, air circulation, fouling and the ability to perform a visual inspection before loading a fresh powder charge using a flask.
Folks use their own adult judgment about which loading methods that they choose to follow.
It's mainly about being properly informed along with some training and experience.
Folks can learn how to load their revolvers safely using a flask.
We all know that there are exceptions to every rule, and I think that there are exceptions to the rule about never loading directly from a flask. There's room for an exception for revolvers as long as adequate waiting time is followed. I'm not referring to loading during competition and breaking any organizational rules.
No one needs to do it if they don't feel competent or confident that they can assess the situation by using their knowledge and experience.
sffone: you may not realize it but you have asked a loaded question- no pun intended. In the past I have been sort of critized by a few for not advocating "safe" gun practices so let me begin by recommending you sell the gun and take up stamp collecting- provided you do the stamp collecting in an indoor, safe enviroment.
All kidding aside I don't think it serves you well just to be told "be safe" so I'll try to add my experience. I've been shooting all types of black powder for over 40 years. I started as a young'n.
First, because the foot pounds of energy of black powder firearms is far less than modern firearms there is a misconception that black powder firearms must be safer than modern firearms. That is generally untrue. You are dealing with open powder being poured down hot barrels that may contain an ember and the safety mechanisms on most muzzle loading/black powder firearms is not equal to that on a modern weapon. You must therefore first realize you are dealing will firearms that are LESS safe.
Now, for your question. Let's first consider a percussion, muzzle loading rifle: if it has a side drum with a hole into the bore, there are all kinds of nooks and crannies where fouling can build up. When this type of firearm is cleaned at then end of the day you ought to use a scraper to scrape the end of the bore and if the end is coned, then you need a cone shaped scraper. Regarding the gunk in the bore of this type weapon: have you ever heard of a chimney fire? The gunk in the chimney builds up and catches fire. Well the gunk in the bore might hold an ember and obviously if you pour a powder charge down into the bore an explosion will occur. If you are pouring from a flask or powder horn- the explosion goes right up the barrel and blows up the horn or flask- and probably your hand. SO.....on that type of firearm you NEVER pour from a horn or flask.
Now, cap and ball revolvers. Years ago all the instructions with photos, etc always showed the charges being put into the chambers directly from a flask. Not that long ago the question about this arose and a recommendation arose to pour from the flask into a measure and then the chamber. Well that certainly is safe- no argument there. The question therefore is how dangerous is it to pour from a flask into a chamber on a cap and ball pistol.
My feeling is that the pistol is a different situation for several reasons. First, there are six chambers so if you are shooting one hundred rounds in an afternoon- each chamber gets only 1/6 of the total- so less fouling to begin with. The next thing is that you are not pouring the charge down the barrel but from the side, so the only potential embers in issue would be in the chamber itself. The third point is the nipple is in line with the back of the chamber so less area for some fouling to accumulate. And, finally there is no swabbing like in a rifle. In order to reload a muzzle loading rifle after a few shots there is so much fouling in the bore that it is difficult to push a patched round ball down the bore so the bore gets swabbed. This swabbing pushes a lot of fouling down to the end of the bore and into all the nooks and crannies, all places an ember may hide. None of this happens with the cap and ball revolver.
Now can an ember occur in the chamber of a cap and ball revolver? You bet it can, it depends on how you load the gun. If you use combustible paper cartridges, a felt wad, or some type of filler like cream of wheat- then there is at least some chance there may be left over residue. I personally shoot paper cartridges a lot and the residue does accumulate. On the other hand if you load only powder and then the ball and then grease the ends of the chambers- everything burns up and in my experience there isn't any fouling. If you plan on shooting over 100 rounds in one afternoon then it wouldn't be a bad idea to take out the cyulinder and brush it out a bit ( even after 50 rounds if you prefer) but in my experience any shooting under 100 rounds will not build up enough fouling to be a problem. As a force of habit I usually look in the chamber before pouring a charge.
So what am I trying to say.....
1. If you shoot 100 or less rounds and just powder, then the ball and then the lube. I think it is safe, within acceptable ranges- to pour from a flask. However if, after a day's shooting, you don't clean your weapon or if there is something odd going on- such as a lot of apparent fouling from whatever type powder you are using, then that's a flag to stop and think. Sure you could pour from a measure and continue shooting and that would prevent a flask from exploding but do you really want even the powder from a measure exploding in your face? So keep a clean gun, brush out the chambers every 50 or 100 rounds, use fffg black powder (less fouling than some substitutes) and a ball and lube- and you will be shooting as has been done for many years with no mishaps that I have ever heard about.
All kidding aside I don't think it serves you well just to be told "be safe" so I'll try to add my experience. I've been shooting all types of black powder for over 40 years. I started as a young'n.
First, because the foot pounds of energy of black powder firearms is far less than modern firearms there is a misconception that black powder firearms must be safer than modern firearms. That is generally untrue. You are dealing with open powder being poured down hot barrels that may contain an ember and the safety mechanisms on most muzzle loading/black powder firearms is not equal to that on a modern weapon. You must therefore first realize you are dealing will firearms that are LESS safe.
Now, for your question. Let's first consider a percussion, muzzle loading rifle: if it has a side drum with a hole into the bore, there are all kinds of nooks and crannies where fouling can build up. When this type of firearm is cleaned at then end of the day you ought to use a scraper to scrape the end of the bore and if the end is coned, then you need a cone shaped scraper. Regarding the gunk in the bore of this type weapon: have you ever heard of a chimney fire? The gunk in the chimney builds up and catches fire. Well the gunk in the bore might hold an ember and obviously if you pour a powder charge down into the bore an explosion will occur. If you are pouring from a flask or powder horn- the explosion goes right up the barrel and blows up the horn or flask- and probably your hand. SO.....on that type of firearm you NEVER pour from a horn or flask.
Now, cap and ball revolvers. Years ago all the instructions with photos, etc always showed the charges being put into the chambers directly from a flask. Not that long ago the question about this arose and a recommendation arose to pour from the flask into a measure and then the chamber. Well that certainly is safe- no argument there. The question therefore is how dangerous is it to pour from a flask into a chamber on a cap and ball pistol.
My feeling is that the pistol is a different situation for several reasons. First, there are six chambers so if you are shooting one hundred rounds in an afternoon- each chamber gets only 1/6 of the total- so less fouling to begin with. The next thing is that you are not pouring the charge down the barrel but from the side, so the only potential embers in issue would be in the chamber itself. The third point is the nipple is in line with the back of the chamber so less area for some fouling to accumulate. And, finally there is no swabbing like in a rifle. In order to reload a muzzle loading rifle after a few shots there is so much fouling in the bore that it is difficult to push a patched round ball down the bore so the bore gets swabbed. This swabbing pushes a lot of fouling down to the end of the bore and into all the nooks and crannies, all places an ember may hide. None of this happens with the cap and ball revolver.
Now can an ember occur in the chamber of a cap and ball revolver? You bet it can, it depends on how you load the gun. If you use combustible paper cartridges, a felt wad, or some type of filler like cream of wheat- then there is at least some chance there may be left over residue. I personally shoot paper cartridges a lot and the residue does accumulate. On the other hand if you load only powder and then the ball and then grease the ends of the chambers- everything burns up and in my experience there isn't any fouling. If you plan on shooting over 100 rounds in one afternoon then it wouldn't be a bad idea to take out the cyulinder and brush it out a bit ( even after 50 rounds if you prefer) but in my experience any shooting under 100 rounds will not build up enough fouling to be a problem. As a force of habit I usually look in the chamber before pouring a charge.
So what am I trying to say.....
1. If you shoot 100 or less rounds and just powder, then the ball and then the lube. I think it is safe, within acceptable ranges- to pour from a flask. However if, after a day's shooting, you don't clean your weapon or if there is something odd going on- such as a lot of apparent fouling from whatever type powder you are using, then that's a flag to stop and think. Sure you could pour from a measure and continue shooting and that would prevent a flask from exploding but do you really want even the powder from a measure exploding in your face? So keep a clean gun, brush out the chambers every 50 or 100 rounds, use fffg black powder (less fouling than some substitutes) and a ball and lube- and you will be shooting as has been done for many years with no mishaps that I have ever heard about.
I always loaded from my flask when shooting revolvers but I was in no hurry to reload, I do not know if there is any documented case of a revolver setting off a flask while loading, this is a matter of personel risk assement and choice.
Not if you are at a range or in a competition that has safety (e.g. NMLRA) rules and range officers.
Out in the middle of nowheres, maybe what you say might be true. The "personal risk" part is still iffy as far as I am concerned. Most of us still have family to think about. Death and injuries affect those around us also. If you are alone in this world I still think bleeding to death slowly in the woods would be an awful way to go. Worse if you think about the critters that will be eating your corpse.
I knew there would be a lot of responses with qualifying statements trying to ignore the fact that this procedure involves unnecessary risk and danger. Each to his own.
ChrisHarris
Sharp Shooter
Rifleman1776 said:
I was shooting today with my daughter. We were shooting a .54 rifle. I loaded and put a cap on. It was my turn to shoot, so my daughter was standing behind me. I pulled the trigger.
Snap
Boom? .......... nope....... silence
I was bench shooting, so I stood up and kept the muzzle pointed down at the ground - down range. I stood there for a minute and asked my daughter, "Did I put powder in the barrel? Or did I just dry ball?" She indicated that I had put powder down the barrel. We stood there and talked for about 2 minutes - all the while I've got this rifle shouldered and pointing at the ground about 10 feet in front of us.
I decided to put another cap on and fire it again. I started to reach for the capper.........
BOOM!!
Never got the chance to put that 2nd cap on it. It took about 2 and a half minutes - but it went off alright.
Good thing it only had 30grs of powder in the barrel or it would have jumped out of my hand while I reached for the capper.
I know this has nothing top do with loading from a flask, but it does show you that these things can be unpredictable and should ALWAYS be treated with the respect.
Glad your experience ended well and no one was injured. If there is a postive, your daughter learned a valuable bp safety lesson.
I am kinda safety obsessive on the range (everywhere, really). Some would say obnoxious. That's OK, if it helps keep someone from injury.
BTW, if I am range officering, I'm not obnoxious. I am polite.....until the third warning. :shocked2:
When I had my ml gun shop I refused to sell flasks.
