Powder question

[Harold1950]

Do you leave your powder in your horn for an extended length of time or do you remove it and put it back into the can after a hunt or a shoot at the range?

 

[Zonie]

I leave mine in my horns or flasks.
IMO, there's no sense in pouring it back and forth between the can and the horns.

 

[PA16th]

I put a small sticker on the back of my flask and the bottom of my powder horn showing kind and type of powder. (2ff,3fff) Never had trouble for long term storage but think safety.

 

[Robert an saa fan]

I leave powder in horn and several styles of flasks.

Got in the habit of double plastic bagging the horn/flasks since I used to live in a very humid area and had powder clump up in flask. For longer storage I put tape and maybe some plastic around and over spouts... probably not worth doing but makes me feel better.

As PA16th mentioned its a good idea to mark the contents so you know what it is at a later date.

 

[2172]

Once in the horn, the powder stays there until poured for a shot. I've done this for over 30 years, and have had no problem. A good question though, as I just moved a couple of horns from my garage to my shop building, and I asked myself if it was going to cause a problem...decided it wouldn't, and so far it hasn't...Hank

 

[Brasilikilt]

Harold

Just think that people in the old days knew exactly what they were doing and that there's many reasons why horns became so popular as a powder storing vessel.

Also remember that large quantities of powder were routinely stored in wooden kegs for extended periods down in the holds of ships.

Wood is definitely more vaulnerable to the elements than horn is, which is likely one of the reasons why you sometimes hear about powder being transferred to large "mother horns" after arriving at it's destination on the frontier.

You might notice that metal collects moisture and "sweats" more than horn does.
IMHO I think your powder might be better off in your horn than in the can

just my thoughts

Iain

 

[LFC]

I'm thinking of making some small leather tags that I can unobtrusively fit over the knob on the base plug of my powderhorns, with powder type and granulation noted on them. I have in mind something like a teardrop shape, with the point of the teardrop rounded, and with a hole through it in the narrow end, slitted so it can go over the knob but can also be removed without much trouble and transferred to another horn or replaced if I change the kind of powder. One consideration for me is that there is a decent chance that my powder and guns will be rediscovered in the gun safe and used by my kids years after I die, so I'm interested in adopting default storage and maintenance procedures such that someone coming across them years later will be able to find his way around them without too much head-scratching or potentially-dangerous trial and error.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I don't use a horn at all...I use small red plastic tubes that I buy for 90 cents each. They come complete with orange caps so that they're easy to see in any light. I have 120 of these tubes thus far and each one is loaded with various quantities of 3Fg Goex right now! I separate the tubes into several MARKED cigar boxes so as to enable me to determine at a glance what is in each tube. This works really well if you're handling more than one firearm or a pistol and a rifle for instance. The trick to making it all work is that you don't put the orange caps back onto an empty tube. This way you don't dry-ball :redface: :shake: :cursing: . Yes, I did this just ONCE :grin: .

All of the cigar boxes are stored in my basement and I've never had any problems with damp powder, cause it's all inside of the plastic tubes, ready for action!

Dave

 

[prowler]

I just pour it from the can into the powder measure at the range. I soldered a .223 case into a cap from an empty can. A 9mm empty case makes an airtight fit on the case. In the field, I just take along a few plastic tubes with the correct powder charge (Black FFF of course) measured in to each one. I guess I don't need the extra noise I would be sure to make with a powder horn and powder measure banging around.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

I leave the powder in the horn until it is used up then replace. Also a friend and I use leather heart shaped tags put on the leather strap at spout plug end with the size of powder burnt into it. It is very good looking and lets me keep up with what powder is in what horn. Better looking than tape that I used before.

 

[sidelock]

Smokin 50---- Tell us more about those plastic tubes--- where to get em, size of em, etc. I used to have some yellow ones without caps-- need some more. Good luck. :v

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Leave it in the horns but use masking tape aroundthe stopper to make sure it doesnt accidently come out.


It can happen!

 

[Coot]

I leave the powder in the horns. The rifle horn is loaded with 3f & is also used for my pistol. The fowler horn is loaded with 2f. I always use the same horn with each gun so no confusion as to what powder is in the horn. I always store the horns in a dry place.

 

[mmorgan1730]

I've kept powder in my horns for years and never had a problem. Every thing from ff to ffff. The horns are stored in a conditioned space as the humidity is typically high here.