Prime with 3 or 4F

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I'm w/App. Hunter on this one. I like the small plunger priming devices. Non-messy , two or three 7 gr. plunges right in the pan. Can buy the plungers and install them on most any small horn or whatever will hold powder. I have two on goat horns. Cool looking and work well...................oldwood
 
Really shouldn't need more than 3 or 4 grains in the pan. 4 grains distributed along the bottom of the pan from the touch hole out makes a more than sufficient ball of flame to ignite most flintlock charges.
 
No time to read all the posts on this; however, dry-balling is one very good reason to have a vent liner on your flinter.

Don
 
"No time to read all the posts on this; however, dry-balling is one very good reason to have a vent liner on your flinter."

And what do you do if the maker does not put one in it?

Person learns by reading.
 
"No time to read all the posts on this; however, dry-balling is one very good reason to have a vent liner on your flinter."

And what do you do if the maker does not put one in it?

Person learns by reading.
One takes ones time by poking a pan or two full of 4f priming powder through the touch hole. It only takes about 5 grains of powder to clear a dry ball.

An other choice is a ball puller to be used on a suitable ramrod.

Or the flintlock adapter with the CO2 discharger.
 
I still don't think that you can use 4FG. as a main charge in a RIFLE, musket, shotgun, or a single shot pistol? a revolver maybe?
 
Being a re-enactor of the French and Indian as well as the Revolutionary War, I can vouch for the fact that they used the same powder as was in their pre-rolled paper cartridges. Prior to shoving the cartridge down the bore, the soldier would tear it open, pour a bit in the pan, shut the frizzen, place the butt on the ground and with the muzzle pointing upward (somewhat close to the face) shoved the remnants of the cartridge in the muzzle and ram it home - using the paper as a wad. Today's practices won't usually allow you on the line with a primed or capped musket, but that was the life of a soldier back then. Those cartridges, by the way, were loaded with today's approximate FG powder. I have used FG, FFG, FFFG and FFFFG and they all seem to work just fine. In my smaller rifles, I typically load my priming horn or flask with FFFFG or FFFG if no 4F is available. I have also found that 4F tends to be a bit more susceptible to moisture in the air than any of the others, but living out west in Utah, that doesn't seem to be much of a problem.
 
I still don't think that you can use 4FG. as a main charge in a RIFLE, musket, shotgun, or a single shot pistol? a revolver maybe?
We are not going to start that debate all over again in this thread. Let's stick to talking about priming in this topic.
 
I tend to think over thinking this topic is a total, complete, absolute, unadulterated, and utter waste of time.

3Fs down the barrel, 3Fs in the pan. Pull the trigger, the damn thing goes KA-POW...and holes appear in the target at or about where I aimed. That's my MO. You do you.
 
The argument for priming with 3F is that "it works fine." If it works fine and that is all you want or need, then use it. But 4F is better--it is faster. That fact is indisputable. Find a video where the two are compared. 4F is priming powder. 3F ain't, although it will work. If 3F catches the spark as quickly and efficiently as 4F, then use it. If you cannot discern a difference, use it. Personally, I'm not prone to do what is easier when something else is better. Just because you can't tell lock time difference does not mean both translations accept sparks at the same speed.
That said, I am OCD. I will use what works best but still keeps me in the traditional world. I want the absolute fastest lock time. We don't get that with 3F, not consistently, even though the difference goes unnoticed by the "convenience" crowd. I mean why even get into flintlocks?
 
Being a re-enactor of the French and Indian as well as the Revolutionary War, I can vouch for the fact that they used the same powder as was in their pre-rolled paper cartridges. Prior to shoving the cartridge down the bore, the soldier would tear it open, pour a bit in the pan, shut the frizzen, place the butt on the ground and with the muzzle pointing upward (somewhat close to the face) shoved the remnants of the cartridge in the muzzle and ram it home - using the paper as a wad. Today's practices won't usually allow you on the line with a primed or capped musket, but that was the life of a soldier back then. Those cartridges, by the way, were loaded with today's approximate FG powder. I have used FG, FFG, FFFG and FFFFG and they all seem to work just fine. In my smaller rifles, I typically load my priming horn or flask with FFFFG or FFFG if no 4F is available. I have also found that 4F tends to be a bit more susceptible to moisture in the air than any of the others, but living out west in Utah, that doesn't seem to be much of a problem.
I would hate to shoot a 100 gr. blank charge in an event in a musket, or at a live fire event. jmho.
 
Being a re-enactor of the French and Indian as well as the Revolutionary War, I can vouch for the fact that they used the same powder as was in their pre-rolled paper cartridges. Prior to shoving the cartridge down the bore, the soldier would tear it open, pour a bit in the pan, shut the frizzen, place the butt on the ground and with the muzzle pointing upward (somewhat close to the face) shoved the remnants of the cartridge in the muzzle and ram it home - using the paper as a wad. Today's practices won't usually allow you on the line with a primed or capped musket, but that was the life of a soldier back then. Those cartridges, by the way, were loaded with today's approximate FG powder. I have used FG, FFG, FFFG and FFFFG and they all seem to work just fine. In my smaller rifles, I typically load my priming horn or flask with FFFFG or FFFG if no 4F is available. I have also found that 4F tends to be a bit more susceptible to moisture in the air than any of the others, but living out west in Utah, that doesn't seem to be much of a problem.
I would hate to shoot a 100 gr. blank charge in an event in a musket, or at a live fire event. jmho.
 

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