Prime in Pan

[Briarhunter]

I am sure this has been asked but I could not find it on the search function. How do you keep a reliable charge in the pan while hunting? I shook the rifle at he range and found less reliability - a couple of misfires after shaking the rifle. I assume powder in the pan moves around, I tried tapping the rifle with frizzen up after shaking the rifle and it seemed to help on ignition reliability but inconsistent.

Thanks to all that helped me with flint, bevel and frizzen angle, the rifle now fires extremly reliable. I am working on reliability while hunting up steep ridges and down in kettles.

Thank to all.

 

[roundball]

Have you checked closely after shaking to see if you might actually be losing some prime ?

Examples:
Frizzen might not be sealing the top of the pan tight;
Or, the side of the pan may not be tight against the barrel, causing lose of powder in the slight opening between them.

(BTW, priming powder accumulating down inside a lock can eventually cause a number of problems, one of which could be significant)

 

[Briarhunter]

Thanks the primer has not gone down into the rifle, I checked that, the barrel matches up to the pan tight.

I think I do loose alittle primer, when shaken, was thinking of grinding bottom of the frizzen or pan to make a better fit but very hesitant as could make it worse, as angles would change on match up. Any thin gasket that would work for a while?

 

[BrownBear]

Any thin gasket that would work for a while?

I don't think I'd do it in warm weather, but in cold rain I've rubbed beeswax around the rim of the pan to help keep out moisture, then pressed the frizzen down tight to smooth up the mating surfaces. Works really well with no tendency to stick, but not something I'd try on a warm day.

 

[roundball]

That can be a little tricky, especially without being able to inspect it up close.
Years ago I had a T/C Hawken where the pivot hole of the frizzen was a few thousands off and was held up higher off the pan than it should have been...leaked powder...in that case I sent it back to T/C and they replaced the lock.

Just grabbing at straws here, depending on where you can see light coming through, maybe an emergency short term fix could be the use of a very thin piece of brass or something as a shim...maybe tack it in place with a couple drops of superglue...dunno

 

[Briarhunter]

Hey thanks that sounds like a great idea. Brass should work.

 

[Rifleman1776]

It will move around. But a good lock will still fire as the heat is great enough to do the job. That said, when hunting I frequently check my pan to make sure the prime is still there and evenly spread.

 

[Billnpatti]

There are a couple of possibilities that come to mind. If your prime is covering the touch hole, it may slow the firing time just a tiny bit. You may need a bit more prime in your pan. If you have only a tiny bit in there and loose any through a loosly fitting frizzen, you may end up with not enough prime to set off the main charge as quickly. One way to minimize any loss from a loose frizzen to pan fit is to use a larger granulation of powder. If you are using 4f, and many people do, you might try using 3f instead. You will not be able to tell the diffenence in ignition time due to the larger granulation and it may minimize how much you loose from a poor frizzen to pan fit (if a loose fit is your problem). There have been some folks on this forum who have reported using granulations as large as 2f in their pan without being able to tell any difference in ignition time. You surely shouldn't loose any 2f from a poor frizzen to pan fit unless it is really a poor fit.

 

[azmntman]

Only took my rocklock hunting once...I didnt prime until I had my deer in site and wuldnt be running and jumpin and setch. Likely get back int it soon.....

 

[Rifleman1776]

...I didnt prime until I had my deer in site and wuldnt be running and jumpin and setch.

I see some of those hunting shows where they, sit down, get comfortable, chamber a round and have a conversation for a while before shooting. :shocked2:
Not in my world. In the Ozarks good practice for deer hunting is quail hunting. Gone in a blink. Ye gotta be ready.

 

[nchawkeye]

With a properly made flintlock this is no problem..

The touch hole should be behind the heel of the pan when shut and the lock is properly inlet into the stock so no priming powder is lost...I fill my pan to the top...

 

[Stumpkiller]

When hunting my pan is 3/4 full of powder. I'm not afraid to load it up.

 

[hanshi]

While at the range I prime with about 1/4 to 1/3 pan full. But in the woods I just dump in prime, without over filling, and don't give the amount much thought.

 

[BradCayton]

With a properly made flintlock this is no problem..


Agreed! I'm spoiled I guess. My flints all have Chambers locks and I built them from kits making sure the touch hole and pan were right.( thanks to the great advice from members here)

Knock on wood, but I've never had a misfire in the field or range. I do check my prime while hunting and reprime if damp. I use 4f if deer hunting where I'm just expecting 1 shot, 3f while small game hunting with the prime getting damp due to multiple shots.

I do wipe my pan dry before repriming when hunting but really don't worry about where the prime is in the pan.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Mine too, Jon Donelson and Tip Curtis assembled mine. But I still baby them. ;-)

 

[palonghunter]

I just overprime when I'm hunting. Usually the pan is just about full. Seems to work fine that way. I've never had a misfire in the field. In point of fact, the only misfires I've had were with dirty guns and/or dull flints at the end of a shooting session.

I do try to be careful when I'm carrying a flintlock,and I check my priming every oncein a while too.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

A crayon around the edge of the pan, seals the frizzen, and a rap to the top of the lock will put all the primer in the right place.

I carry mine by the muzzle over my shoulder. The powder gets thrown about. Holding it level, and tapping the top of the cover (bottom of the frizzen) seems to work for me.

The crayon keeps water out, just dont use the pink one