Priming From The Barrel

[jimhallam]

The Musketry drill for the Brown Bess included a separate stage for priming the pan BEFORE ramming the (paper) cartridge --- see

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Bess
Enlarged flash holes will obviously leak powder but also reduce velocity.
I hope that "Hanshi" only drills out touch-holes on REPROs.

 

[toot]

Ezekial Baker reckoned on 1/16'' for a rifle & I/16'.and on 32nd part as he puts it . I E 3/32d" for the musket .Toot yours is likely burnt out .As Tenn Gun says .
Rudyard

I beleave that you & Ten Gun are most likely right. but it shure makes for a fast inanition, and if the frizzen / hammer is not closed it will let the main charge blow our from the compression of the load.

 

[toot]

Watch from the beginning , the ram rod is double headed. Ball fit is "loose"

I did and the ram rod is not the same diameter at both ends. the end that goes into the entry pipes is smaller! I don't know what you saw? I watched it 3 times & even stopped the action, and it is easy to see that there is a difference in the diameter of it. and yes the ball fit offers no resistance in being seated even after 18 shots.

 

[flintsteel]

Use a feather in the touchole instead of a toothpick. And do like a lot of old timers did, drill a small hole in bottom of buttstock to keep the feather in.

 

[hanshi]

Enlarged flash holes will obviously leak powder but also reduce velocity.
I hope that "Hanshi" only drills out touch-holes on REPROs.

Correct! All the new rifles I've owned came with a miniscule starter hole in the liner that rarely gave any sort of reliability. 1/16" has worked for every gun I've fired.

 

[ohio ramrod]

If my remember correctly (some times I do some times I don't) Rogers Rangers enlarged their touch holes so their guns would self prime to increase their rate of fire.

 

[TerryK]

Saw a video by Cap and Ball and he talked about self priming muskets, and their inaccuracy due to the large opening.
Sorry I don't recall what specific vieo he discussed it. May have been tactics of neopoionic wars or the one on Jaegers.

 

[Ontario47]

I did and the ram rod is not the same diameter at both ends. the end that goes into the entry pipes is smaller! I don't know what you saw? I watched it 3 times & even stopped the action, and it is easy to see that there is a difference in the diameter of it. and yes the ball fit offers no resistance in being seated even after 18 shots.

The rather long winded dialogue described the ram rod as double headed, no pictures shown, I suspect at best a thin sleeve to cover usual threads. The dialogue also described the barrel as thicker and 50% increase in charge to compensate windage and velocity loss and theory was volley density not accuracy.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Loading with the cock back and frizzen closed is a SERIOUS safety risk, but it was SOP for a British soldier loading from a paper cartridge.