Pan priming - how much?

[Baxter]

I know that this has likely been covered too many times but I'll ask again. Yesterday at the range, I had the impression of a bit of an "explosion" in the pan as the rifle fired - I use one of the tubular brass pan-powder dispensers that has a spring-loaded release and sometimes the powder flowed easily and sometimes not at all and when it did not flow, I unscrewed the "lid", checked the powder remaining and noted that the powder was dry, moved as I moved the dispenser around. I believe that I "overcharged" the pan several times. Shaky old hands here and I wonder if I should be looking at one of the metered dispensers that yields only 3 grains, etc. I wondered too if the pan-dispensers are set up to "flow" 4F better than the 3F I was using? TIA. baxter

 

[Zonie]

IMO, your "explosion" was a normal thing.
Even a small amount of powder in the pan explodes when the sparks ignite it.

You are right in your thought that you may have put more powder in the pan so the "explosion" was larger than your used to seeing but, that won't cause any real problem.

The only time I consider a pan "over-filled" is if there is so much powder in the pan that it covers the touch (vent) hole.

If this happens, the gun will still fire but the times I've done it it seemed to delay the ignition a bit.

Most of the "pan primers" work better with 4F powder. The smaller size of the powder grains seem to flow thru the tiny valve easier.

 

[Baxter]

Thanks for the reply. Pan powder never covered the vent but certainly was not "consistent" in quantity - sometimes more, sometimes less in the pan - blame my shaky old hands for inconsistency but no instances of misfire or delay. Maybe the sense of "pan explosion" was due to shooting from a covered bench where sound is "contained". I don't much like the pan-primer I have, too many times that it just did not meter easily without "fiddling" with it, thumping it gently on the bench, shaking it, opening it to "see"... I found myself stepping out of the shade of the covered bench area to stand in the sunlight to see better as I loaded my brass chamber-charger and the pan - don't like shadow at all. I'll get over these things once I become more familiar with them. I was working hard to make sure that every load, bore-swab, pan charge and shot was as consistent as I could achieve to "proove" my grouping. Things will get easier with familiarity, I am certain. baxter

 

[Bob J]

As Zonie stated, most of the pan primers with the Tresco-type push spring dispenser are designed to work with 4f. Due to high humidity here in Florida, I replaced the 4f with 3f and tried it out; it did not work well at all :td: so I have to stay with 4f.

 

[Baxter]

Thanks for the post. I didn't notice any clumping of powder inside the charger tube - seemed to shift around like dry powder when I opened and checked but when I got home and pulled the lock, I found a small amount of "liquid" in the lock mortise so perhaps the humidity was higher than I realized but I wouldn't have guessed that it could have affected the powder in this closed container but maybe.. I do have a few ounces of 4F so I will give that a try. baxter

 

[ohio ramrod]

Every spring plunger priming valve that I have had required FFFF or finer. They just don't have a large enough hole in the vale to work well with FFF. :hmm:

 

[Spikebuck]

Makeumsmoke introduced me to using little plastic bottles with flip spouts for priming at the range. They hold a "lot" and one can very easily control the amount dispensed. I love it for range use. :thumbsup:

 

[Baxter]

I have many and varied drill bits, even some really little itsy-bitsy bits. baxter

 

[Vaino]

Sometimes while hurriedly loading my squirrel LR after a miss, the priming dispenser drops too much powder into the pan and all I do is brush off the excess w/ my finger. Too much priming to me is whan the priming doesn't allow the frizzen to seat home. Perhaps I'm lucky that the amount of priming for this LR isn't critical at all....probably just like "olden times" when a person's safety depended on quickly loading his rifle and the amount of priming was a secondary consideration.....just so the gun went off......Fred

 

[nchawkeye]

I fill mine up, with FFF from my main horn...If the touchhole is in the proper position when the frizzen is closed it covers the touchhole...

 

[54ball]

Maybe I like living on the edge, I just uncap my horn, flip up steel and pour a bunch of 2ffg powder in that general direction, flip the steel back down, cap the horn and shoot. My gun always seems to go off.

 

[MSW]

I've had much the same problem, and my hands weren't shaky ... the little tube isn't big enough (in my opinion, anyway) to let powder flow through on a reliable basis, so it will get stuck and sometimes clump up, especially in humid weather. I have always had to use 4F in these gadgets - anything else just clogs it up.

the three grains it throws doesn't seem enough, but my lock will fire when I use just three grains. I have taken to pumping the plunger several more times, which is something of a pain in the neck.

on one of my brass primers, I have ground off a bit on one side of the tube. this will allow the powder to flow out of the tube so long as it is depressed, and you can get more powder out of the thing and into your pan.

they do seem to require more 'care and feeding' than my other powder horns, and I can attest that the springs will spring off into never never land if you tae them apart for cleaning. a ballpoint pen spring works very well as a replacement.

good luck, and make good smoke!

 

[Claude Mathis]

Maybe I like living on the edge, I just uncap my horn, flip up steel and pour a bunch of 2ffg powder in that general direction, flip the steel back down, cap the horn and shoot. My gun always seems to go off.

:thumbsup:

 

[AZbpBurner]

I read of some of the problems folks had when using the metered Treso pan chargers, but bought one anyway. It dispenses a consistent charge, but only works with 4F. I've got a lifetime 1# can of 4F, and no appreciable humidity in my neighborhood, so the charger works well for me - when I remember to pack it. Otherwise, just a light shake of 3F from the powder horn, and positive ignition is just a trigger pull away.

Maybe you can use your old-age shake as an aid to priming the pan from your powder horn :idunno:

 

[58CAL]

Hi Baxter, I use a primer from "Cash" that leaves 2 grains of 4f in the pan. Remember that overfilling the pan will slow ignition.FRJ

 

[pargent]

Unless you have a bucket on the side of your lock it is pretty hard to have to much powder in the pan

 

[matt denison]

Maybe I like living on the edge, I just uncap my horn, flip up steel and pour a bunch of 2ffg powder in that general direction, flip the steel back down, cap the horn and shoot. My gun always seems to go off.

:thumbsup:

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Grandpa Ron]

The object of priming the pan is to get a heat pulse into the touch hole, not a fuse like burn.

Therefore, a small amount of primer in the middle of the pan or sloping the primer away from the touch hole is recommended.

In reality, the touch hole is often at the top of the pan and the priming usually settles level when the frizzen is closed. The heat pulse often comes from the top of the primer.

Few people notice the lock delay from the different grades of powder. Use 4F if you have it, you will develop a feel for the lock time eventually.

 

[Dphar]

Hi Baxter, I use a primer from "Cash" that leaves 2 grains of 4f in the pan. Remember that overfilling the pan will slow ignition.FRJ

This is a snake that just will not die.

Actually in real life electronically timed testing a vent buried in powder is faster than one with the powder piled away from the vent.
See the testing at blackpowdermag dot com


Lots of testing of locks and vents and where the powder is placed.
The idea that a little powder in the pan is better than level full cannot be shown when actual testing is done. This BS came into play in the late 1960s IIRC and I always thought it was BS since it leads to a sharp rise in the number of flashes in the pan and hang fires. Pletch simply proved it. He also proved that a low, bottom of the pan vent is just as fast as one at the "sunrise" position.
The main charge is fired by RADIANT HEAT in most vents since there is no direct contact with the flame unless the vent liner places the main charge very close to the pan.
Like this.

The idea that flame shoots through the vent to the main charge is impossible since there is insufficient pressure to do this.

Dan

 

[Dphar]

This is one of my Don King pistols after 3-4 miles of roaming the hills deer hunting. I carry it in a Bianchi shoulder holster.

Not 100% full. But too full may pack the powder and make it just a little harder to light.
To little make leave too many "blank" spaces where the first spark might fall and find no powder.
This is how it looked when I pulled the pistol out and opened the frizzen.
Low prime level, cold weather and/or high wind may = flash in the pan. I have had the wind blow the priming out of the pan before it ignited, but only once I can recall. But I live along the eastern front of the Rockies and its sometimes windy. When I got up yesterday thinking to go Antelope hunting, the wind was running 35 mph with gusts. So we went for groceries instead.

Dan