Misfire

[Haleh]

Had a friend had almost the exact problem you had. After we finally got it to fire no more problems. We think the bore butter he had used had dried up near the breach and even though he ran a couple of patches through it before loading it still didn't clear it. May not be your problem but when you said it sounded like a Roman candle it reminded me of his experience.

 

[CapPopper]

IMO, you never put powder in the bore before seating the ball in your .40. While it does sound like your vent is large, there is no way that the entire powder charge was blown out while seating the ball. Likewise, a "spit patch" wouldn't have dampened the entire powder charge in 30 seconds, AND if it had, you wouldn't have been able to put "quite a lot of powder" under the ball via the vent.

Dry balled my 32 over the weekend and after I worked powder through the touch hole I too got a woosh and I could hear the ball hit the cardboard I was shooting at...... So I would agree sounds like a dry ball

 

[CapPopper]

Dry balled my 32 over the weekend and after I worked powder through the touch hole I too got a woosh and I could hear the ball hit the cardboard I was shooting at...... So I would agree sounds like a dry ball

Would like to add I also was using a spit patch if it matters....

 

[Cattywompuss]

Dry balled my 32 over the weekend and after I worked powder through the touch hole I too got a woosh and I could hear the ball hit the cardboard I was shooting at...... So I would agree sounds like a dry ball

Again, for the third person: wish you were right, but you aren't.

 

[Lakeman]

I had a customer come in with flash in the pan problem like what you describe. Turned out that he was in the habit of periodically squirting a little WD 40 down the bore and never shooting the gun. WD 40 will dry to a gum over time and collect dust and other debris. This had happened to his gun. A good cleaning with hot soapy water cured the problem. It's possible the previous owner of your gun was a WD 40 fan?
John

 

[Grenadier1758]

No idea what it was last cleaned with. It was done by the previous owner. I ran a lubed patch down it before first firing. Then a clean dry patch. It's possible, but it would have probably had to have dried out. Also my guns are stored horizontally so it probably wasn't from me.

Now we can come to a fourth scenario. The rifle was zealously cleaned by the previous owner using a lot of oil. It was stored muzzle up and the oil dried in the breech and flash hole. Cattywompus ran a lubed patch down the barrel. I speculate that he did not notice a back pressure or the amount off air exiting through the touch hole. The lube from his cleaning patch was enough to loosen the dried oil in the flash channel and prevent the flash from getting to the powder charge. It also would have prevented any powder from getting out of the touch hole and dried oil in a perhaps chambered breech could have kept the loaded powder from reaching the bottom of the breech and his picking of the breech would have detected no powder.

Now that the rifle has been cleaned and all the traces of the old dried oils have been removed, there should be reliable ignition of the powder charge.

I do believe that a 5/64" touch hole is way too large for a 40 caliber rifle. A 1/16" touch hole is sufficient and even 3Fg powder won't get pushed out into the pan. Remove the old touch hole liner to measure the threads and replace it with a new liner of the same thread pitch. While the liner is out, use the largest pipe cleaner to really scrub out the flash channel and base of the breech.

The take away from Cattywompus' experience is that the initial cleaning of new (or new to you) rifle is to clean with rubbing alcohol as well as a soap and water cleaning. Take some time to make sure the touch hole and flash channel are open to the powder chamber. All preservative oils need to be removed before the first firing of the rifle.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Now we can come to a fourth scenario. The rifle was zealously cleaned by the previous owner using a lot of oil. It was stored muzzle up and the oil dried in the breech and flash hole. Cattywompus ran a lubed patch down the barrel. I speculate that he did not notice a back pressure or the amount off air exiting through the touch hole. The lube from his cleaning patch was enough to loosen the dried oil in the flash channel and prevent the flash from getting to the powder charge. It also would have prevented any powder from getting out of the touch hole and dried oil in a perhaps chambered breech could have kept the loaded powder from reaching the bottom of the breech and his picking of the breech would have detected no powder.

Now that the rifle has been cleaned and all the traces of the old dried oils have been removed, there should be reliable ignition of the powder charge.

I do believe that a 5/64" touch hole is way too large for a 40 caliber rifle. A 1/16" touch hole is sufficient and even 3Fg powder won't get pushed out into the pan. Remove the old touch hole liner to measure the threads and replace it with a new liner of the same thread pitch. While the liner is out, use the largest pipe cleaner to really scrub out the flash channel and base of the breech.

The take away from Cattywompus' experience is that the initial cleaning of new (or new to you) rifle is to clean with rubbing alcohol as well as a soap and water cleaning. Take some time to make sure the touch hole and flash channel are open to the powder chamber. All preservative oils need to be removed before the first firing of the rifle.

And.... if it comes with a giant touch hole, replace it prior to use.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Thankee for all the answers!

 

[Crowtalks]

Thankee for all the answers!

Did you ever get your vent liner out?

 

[flntlokr]

I would love for it to have been a ball with no powder. That would make the explanation simple. The fact that I know it wasn't is far more concerning. I do think it is possible for too wet a spit patch to do it if the pressure of loading squeezed a lot of moisture out as it was seated. But the space behind the ball definitely leaves open the possibility of the powder blowing out the vent.

IMHO, the only way you could put enough moisture down a barrel to soak your powder completely would be to pour it in. No kind of spit patch could hold enough water. Flash hole shouldn't be larger than 1/16".

 

[Cattywompuss]

Did you ever get your vent liner out?

My aircraft machinist customer from work has it at home and will be removing it. We swap books and such and the guy is a metal-work genie so I asked him to drill it out. Guy spends most of his time making parts for planes that have older engines, and was a parts inspector for Delta for 25 years.

 

[Cattywompuss]

IMHO, the only way you could put enough moisture down a barrel to soak your powder completely would be to pour it in. No kind of spit patch could hold enough water. Flash hole shouldn't be larger than 1/16".

Flash hole is vastly larger than 1/16. So it's getting a new vent liner.

 

[flntlokr]

I make liners out of SS 1/4x28 set screws with a 1/16 hole drilled through. Easily removed for cleaning/cheap to replace. work well.

 

[flntlokr]

The other advantages of the type of liner I use are; You can remove it easliy to get powder under a dryball. You can remove it and screw in a rifle nipple, and use a cap to get a bit more flame into a damp load. You can remove it and screw in a tire valve adaptor and use a bicycle pump or compressor to push out a stuck or dry ball. I use the valve adaptor without a core to attach a hose for cleaning as well.

 

[flntlokr]

Thanks Grenadier, I will do as SMO suggested when next I take that rifle out. Let's put it this way regarding the patch- I had to ring it out to use it at all, so no dry mouth. I'm leaning toward a wet charge now.

No way your patch was spitty enough to wet 40 gr. of powder. I slobber all over my patches when I detect a bit of fouling just above the charge on the previous shot; never had any kind of effect on my load that I could detect. Unless you have a patented breech, you shouldn't be able to get more than a couple of grains of powder down the flash hole. If you did, it was because the ball wasn't seated, and your powder charge was scattered loosely up the barrel, and didn't light up with the original flash. Dirty gun would be my guess; the ball jammed up a couple of inches up the barrel. If the previous owner was using greasy patches a lot, you may have to soak the breech area with soapy water for an hour or so to soften the asphalt-like fouling. Good luck with it.

 

[Cattywompuss]

No way your patch was spitty enough to wet 40 gr. of powder. I slobber all over my patches when I detect a bit of fouling just above the charge on the previous shot; never had any kind of effect on my load that I could detect. Unless you have a patented breech, you shouldn't be able to get more than a couple of grains of powder down the flash hole. If you did, it was because the ball wasn't seated, and your powder charge was scattered loosely up the barrel, and didn't light up with the original flash. Dirty gun would be my guess; the ball jammed up a couple of inches up the barrel. If the previous owner was using greasy patches a lot, you may have to soak the breech area with soapy water for an hour or so to soften the asphalt-like fouling. Good luck with it.

Fraid I solved this issue a few months ago.