Pre ignition

[Flintlock Whiskey]

I will start with I always use a separate powder measure to charge the gun, no exceptions. That said, In my 45 yrs shooting smoke poles, I have never seen a charge go off due to an "ember" in the barrel from the last shot. Has anyone had first hand experience with this and if so, what were the particulars?

 

[Phil Coffins]

In sixty years I haven’t done it or seen it first hand, come to think of it I haven’t known anyone that had it happen.

 

[64Springer]

I will start with I always use a separate powder measure to charge the gun, no exceptions. That said, In my 45 yrs shooting smoke poles, I have never seen a charge go off due to an "ember" in the barrel from the last shot. Has anyone had first hand experience with this and if so, what were the particulars?

Are you saying you personally had a charge go off because there was an ember in the bottom of the barrel?

Your post eluded to it but did not say you did.

Does Never mean until it actually happened to you and it ignited your separate powder measure charge?

 

[TFoley]

I've seen it happen with a little cannon that had had blanks made out of newspapers - quite enlivening it was, too. Obviously there had been an ember in there that the guy with the scourer/mop had somehow overlooked. Our guess at the time was that he just hadn't gotten to the bottom of the breech. No-one was harmed, but it necessitated a change of clothing.

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

Are you saying you personally had a charge go off because there was an ember in the bottom of the barrel?

Your post eluded to it but did not say you did.

Does Never mean until it actually happened to you and it ignited your separate powder measure charge?

I will have to go back and clarify the post.
I have never seen a charge cook off when poured down the barrel, nor have I met anyone that had it happen.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Are you saying you personally had a charge go off because there was an ember in the bottom of the barrel?

Your post eluded to it but did not say you did.

Does Never mean until it actually happened to you and it ignited your separate powder measure charge?

Respectfully, from the OP:, "I have never seen a charge go off due to an "ember"
Larry

 

[hanshi]

I think one would have to "speed-load" as quickly as possible to even get close to a cook-off in the bore. I've never seen it happen, know anyone who has and it has never happened to me in the 50 (+ or -) years I've been shooting BP. But I am SLOW, turtle slow and cannot get enough shots off to heat up the barrel like that.

 

[ord sgt]

I can honestly say that I have experienced a "cook-off", that being caused by a hot ember in the breech. I was practicing rapid fire at my R/P club. I fired several shots and started to pour a premeasured FFFg powder charge when the loose powder landed on the ember. I must say it is quite a curious sight seeing flames passing between my fingers. First degree burns on several fingers was the result.
I have seen the same happen to another shooter. Since that shooter was on the firing line, he could not walk off the line during a timed event. He did continue to load and shoot with his burned hand until the time period was over. Both were connected to N-SSA.

This is why we always have the firearm pointed away from the face and body while pouring powder into the barrel.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I will start with I always use a separate powder measure to charge the gun, no exceptions. That said, In my 45 yrs shooting smoke poles, I have never seen a charge go off due to an "ember" in the barrel from the last shot. Has anyone had first hand experience with this and if so, what were the particulars?

I check our past replies to a post similar to yours and this is one that came up. The signature is one of our regulars.
Larry
Oct 10, 2020
I have had one "cook-off" in forty years of shooting muzzleloaders. I shot N-SSA for twelve years, with a Parker Hale 2-band Enfield. My standard target load was 35 grs. 3F under a 315 grain wadcutter mini. One shoot I was "farmed out" to a team that needed a shooter. While my team rarely shot more than four or five shots in an event, this hot, dry summer day my adoptive team went "full time," shooting the full five minutes. (Still didn't get 'em all.) On my thirteenth reload, I dumped the powder from my round down a too-hot-to-touch barrel and it went off. Burned my fingers and palm, which were over the barrel to dump the load. Not a serious injury, but painful. I still have a couple of spots from the event. I've never seen a cook-off with a patched round ball gun, but then again I do the "one wet, one dry" swab routine with my flintlocks.

ADK Bigfoot

 

[tenngun]

Heard of it, never seen it.
I’m put in mind of the Irish drinking song
‘Even if you saw it yourself
You wouldn’t believe
And I wouldn’t trust a fellow
Like me if I was you
Sure I wasn’t there
I’m sure I have an alibi
I heard it from a man
Who had a friend who swore it’s all true
I got some .575 ball and made cartridges for my .62
Just for fun I had to try military loading. I couldn’t get out of the Awkward Squad as it took me 1min 7 seconds to get four shots. However in the back of my mind I kept hearing ‘your an idiot, your going to blow your fingers off stupid’

 

[Don Steele]

Saw it happen at my club to a shooter near me at the loading bench. He was an excellent shot, firing a caplock rifle. He routinely loaded and fired quickly, with little time taken between shots and no attempt to wipe the bore after each shot. In this case, the rifle went off as he was seating the ball. His ramrod had a large wooden “ ball” on the top. When the rifle went off, that ball did considerable damage to his hand and fingers. I followed up with him after this happened but he never returned to shoot BP. with us again.

 

[Larry Akers]

I saw it happen to a guy at my club years ago. He was loading without wiping between shots and was pressing the ball down with the palm of his hand on the end of the ramrod. It went off and the 4ft ramrod and 50 cal ball went through the palm of his hand. The patch stayed in the wound. The round went between the bones in his palm so in that, at least, he was lucky. We never did find the ramrod.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Yes, witnessed once. A single shot caplock pistol. A shooter went to the line after loading and popped a cap but no ignition. He stood there for a couple minutes with muzzle pointed in a safe direction ( good on him) after, at least five minutes the gun went off. Most shooters would have returned to the bench to pull the ball or try other methods to solved their problem.

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

Yes, witnessed once. A single shot caplock pistol. A shooter went to the line after loading and popped a cap but no ignition. He stood there for a couple minutes with muzzle pointed in a safe direction ( good on him) after, at least five minutes the gun went off. Most shooters would have returned to the bench to pull the ball or try other methods to solved their problem.

I will usually pop a couple more caps first. That's a long time for a hang fire.

 

[user 34300]

IF you are loading at a normal pace I have never seen any evidence it is a danger. If you are trying to load as fast as possible and/or using paper wadding it seems to be possible.

Some people see smoke coming out the vent and believe that proves ember are present. That is not so. No more than exhaled tobacco smoke proves embers exist in the lungs.

I shoot in a club where it is required to damp swab between shots as a safety precautions. The people who made that rule are misinformed and like unnecessary rules. I do it anyway, I want consistent shot to shot levels of bore fouling for accuracy. When I am casually shooting, say a trail walk I use a looser combination and a wetter patch. There is not need to swab and I do not worry about it.

Most shooters would have returned to the bench to pull the ball or try other methods to solved their problem.

Where I shoot you may not return to the loading bench with a misfire. The rifle is place on the ground with the muzzle toward the targets or moved to a work table that is on one corner of the line. You get whatever you need, CO2, nipple wrench, or pick and come back to the work table. With the muzzle pointed down range you do what you have to to deal with it. The range safety officer will be over seeing the process.

 

[smokepolehall]

I have never seen it in my 63 years of shooting ML's.

 

[64Springer]

I have never seen it in my 63 years of shooting ML's.

45 years and have never seen it nor knew anyone it had happened too.

It's more common to have airplane crash in your yard.

 

[smokepolehall]

45 years and have never seen it nor knew anyone it had happened too.

It's more common to have airplane crash in your yard.

Or so much powder was poured down the barrel it would be burning 5 minutes later after the shot. Maybe it was loaded with 250 gr for T-Rex hunting

 

[Abarnes]

I have tried rapid fire and gotten my barrel too hot to hold but I was using pirodex and never had a cook off.... yet

 

[XVIIc Wheelock]

I wonder during a Civil War battle or the Alamo, (or any BP war previously) when everything was hot and heavy...how many pre-ignitions happened?