Pedersoli ignition -- humidity problem or human problem?

[smoothshooter]

I recently picked up a Pedersoli Kentucky from a forum member. I like it. I have to work on that flinch though.

Part of my challenge was getting ignition. I can get the powder to flash in the pan just fine. But on the one time I was able to get it out, I was getting 3-5 flashes in the pan for every "boom!" I'm pretty sure it's mostly an issue of user error. Just got to figure out what errors I'm making.

The first couple of shots went off pretty well. After that, it was more like I had a stuck ball & was trickling powder into the vent hole in order for it to go off at all. I was careful to not get the priming powder too close to the vent every single time. I used my ultra-fine screenings and 2/3 F granulated powder to prime but I had the same problem either way. Toward the end, I managed to get more consistent ignition by overfilling the pan with powder. It wasn't 100% but it was way better than just dribbling enough to fill the pan level in the right-side 2/3.

When I got home, I got a 1/16" drill bit and widened the vent a tad. It didn't take out much -- the hole was pretty darned close to 1/16" as it was.

I'm sure it didn't help that we have VERY humid winters here. Humidity was probably around 90%. I've seen burnt powder residue collect moisture out of the air like nothing else -- creating a slime on cold metal surfaces. I was swabbing between shots and wiping the pan with a rag every time. But is the flash channel likely to have been getting wet with wet residue & ruining what powder was getting in there?

Good chance it bas a patent breech.

I recently picked up a Pedersoli Kentucky from a forum member. I like it. I have to work on that flinch though.

Part of my challenge was getting ignition. I can get the powder to flash in the pan just fine. But on the one time I was able to get it out, I was getting 3-5 flashes in the pan for every "boom!" I'm pretty sure it's mostly an issue of user error. Just got to figure out what errors I'm making.

The first couple of shots went off pretty well. After that, it was more like I had a stuck ball & was trickling powder into the vent hole in order for it to go off at all. I was careful to not get the priming powder too close to the vent every single time. I used my ultra-fine screenings and 2/3 F granulated powder to prime but I had the same problem either way. Toward the end, I managed to get more consistent ignition by overfilling the pan with powder. It wasn't 100% but it was way better than just dribbling enough to fill the pan level in the right-side 2/3.

When I got home, I got a 1/16" drill bit and widened the vent a tad. It didn't take out much -- the hole was pretty darned close to 1/16" as it was.

I'm sure it didn't help that we have VERY humid winters here. Humidity was probably around 90%. I've seen burnt powder residue collect moisture out of the air like nothing else -- creating a slime on cold metal surfaces. I was swabbing between shots and wiping the pan with a rag every time. But is the flash channel likely to have been getting wet with wet residue & ruining what powder was getting in there?

Good chance your gun has a Patent Breech that is causing your problems. They require different cleaning methods. I hate ‘em.

 

[Nuthatch]

Thanks for the tips, all. One question, though. If oil in the breach is causing the issue, why would the first 2 shots go off just fine but subsequent shots (fouled) become problematic? Wouldn't any oil have burned off by then? Just trying to wrap my head around this before I go out again.

I should add that those first 2 shots were this rifle's first 2 shots ever -- brand new. I had cleaned the barrel with acetone to get the grease off a few days before I went out. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I just swabbed the bore with my bear grease/beeswax patch lube and didn't have anything in the breach -- oops. What's the best oil to use in the breach to protect the metal but not cause ignition issues?

I'll try filling the pan more evenly & see how that works. Since overfilling the right 2/3 worked pretty well, I'd say that has a good chance of improving things.

 

[Ames]

Try Birchwood Casey Barricade.

My percussion guns AND this flintlock require a moist patch first or the ramrod will stick near the breach, almost like a stuck ball but with just a cleaning patch.

Sounds like the jag it too wide for the bore. Chuck it in a drill press, lathe or hand drill if necessary. Glue some Emory cloth on a backing block and "sand" a little off its diameter. Not a lot. Just a one hundredth at a time. It will give you just a bit more room. Just go slow.
I had to resort to this AND casting smaller balls for my Hawken. These carry smaller than listed bore sizes quite often I was told. Made all the difference.

 

[Siringo]

Will give that a try. The advice I had read & received so far has always been to keep the vent clear & the powder on the outer 2/3 of the pan. I guess when the rules fail, try breaking them?

From learning on percussion guns, I developed a habit of leaning my rifles toward the lock and whacking the fore-end near the lock 6 times with the heel of my hand just after loading the powder. When that didn't work, I tried tamping the butt of the rifle down on the ground but the sandy soil & wet conditions don't give it much jarring this time of year. It just gets the butt wet & dirty as the butt just sinks a couple inches in the ground Using the tailgate was the best I could do. But it didn't make any difference either way. Guess we were thinking the same on that one.

Once you place the prime in the pan and close the frizzen, just moving the gun up and down, right and left will cause the prime to move. So all these suggestions of where to place the prime are tales. My lord, what do people think happens while carrying during hunting.

All Pedersoli rifles have patent breeches. The used trade gun I bought was nearly plugged. The original owner must have had lots of problems because he did everything the resolve the issues. I ran a camera down the bore and saw the problem. Cleaned and now works like a champ.

 

[Brokennock]

All Pedersoli rifles have patent breeches.

Not so sure.
That is what I thought too.
I had a Frontier/Blue Ridge that had one. But when I found a heck of a deal on their .50 cal "Kentucky" model, he bought it, and it doesn't have one.
I also bought a .32 cal barrel for a Kentucky model thinking it would be a drop in replacement for an older gun I have (it wasn't, now this barrel is just hanging around for years) and it doesn't have one either.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Thanks for the tips, all. One question, though. If oil in the breach is causing the issue, why would the first 2 shots go off just fine but subsequent shots (fouled) become problematic? Wouldn't any oil have burned off by then? Just trying to wrap my head around this before I go out again.

I should add that those first 2 shots were this rifle's first 2 shots ever -- brand new. I had cleaned the barrel with acetone to get the grease off a few days before I went out. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I just swabbed the bore with my bear grease/beeswax patch lube and didn't have anything in the breach -- oops. What's the best oil to use in the breach to protect the metal but not cause ignition issues?

I'll try filling the pan more evenly & see how that works. Since overfilling the right 2/3 worked pretty well, I'd say that has a good chance of improving things.

....

The first couple of shots went off pretty well. After that, it was more like I had a stuck ball & was trickling powder into the vent hole in order for it to go off at all. I was careful to not get the priming powder too close to the vent every single time. I used my ultra-fine screenings and 2/3 F granulated powder to prime but I had the same problem either way. Toward the end, I managed to get more consistent ignition by overfilling the pan with powder. It wasn't 100% but it was way better than just dribbling enough to fill the pan level in the right-side 2/3.

When I got home, I got a 1/16" drill bit and widened the vent a tad. It didn't take out much -- the hole was pretty darned close to 1/16" as it was.

I'm sure it didn't help that we have VERY humid winters here. Humidity was probably around 90%. I've seen burnt powder residue collect moisture out of the air like nothing else -- creating a slime on cold metal surfaces. I was swabbing between shots and wiping the pan with a rag every time. But is the flash channel likely to have been getting wet with wet residue & ruining what powder was getting in there?

You are dealing with very humid conditions. You did a good job of preparing your rifle for its first shots. The powder did its job but left some fouling in the bore. By swabbing between shots you were pushing that fouling into the chambered breech. That fouling combined with the high humidity made a thick sludge in the chambered breech that your swabbing can't get out. Swabbing only makes that fouling plug in the chambered breech worse. You need a different procedure to maintain consistent and minimal fouling in the barrel. One of the better is to stop the swab about an inch above the chambered breech. This can be difficult without a bunch of marks on your working ramrod. More workable is to make a loading/swabbing jag that is smaller than the cleaning jag to slide the swabbing patch over the fouling then bunching up to pull the fouling out. The third version of swabbing is the not swabbing but using your wet patched ball do the swabbing. At the target range the wet patch won't spoil the charge. For hunting use mink oil to grease the patch.

 

[nhmoose]

What size is the touch hole? It may be too small.