Priming Powder, 4F or ?

[TTT]

This is probably a dumb thing to say, but why should anybody really care which you use to prime with. That's similar to the argument that 3F is superior over 2F in your rifle. It probably is, but it is your own business. I don't mean to rain on anybody's parade, but this argument is not gonna go away anytime soon. To add a little fuel, has anybody ever primed with fake powder and have it work?

I prime with 4F in most cases but when hunting in humid or damp conditions 4F soaks up the moisture quickly. At these times I use my 3F that I load with in the pan. 3F does not cack up as quickly. I. sure there is a differance but at the time of my hunting shots I've never been able to Notice.

 

[Psycho Mike]

I'm late to the party and will flog the dead horse a bit too. For the Brown Bess reproduction I had, I gave the lip of the pan a little wipe with beeswax to help keep the moisture out and used 4F. Now, granted, with it being a military set-up it had a 1" flint in the jaws and a fair bit of powder in the pan, but ignition was always pretty much instantaneous.

 

[reddogge]

Always prime with 4F powder , esp. in damp weather , no more than 1.2 ounce , push the powder away from the touch hole approximately 1mm , even better if you separate the powder and make two rows in the pan . The ignition will be exceedingly fast , much faster than any other granulation would be and very little flash for less distraction from your sights/ target .

I'm sorry to disagree with you Rob, but I find the fastest is to make two small lines in the pan with 4F and have the lines in a V shape converging on the touch hole. So fast it can't be measured.

 

[Rob M.]

I'm sorry to disagree with you Rob, but I find the fastest is to make two small lines in the pan with 4F and have the lines in a V shape converging on the touch hole. So fast it can't be measured.

Oh , I was just joking bud , havin a little fun . Sorry . Its a spoof from the guys that have these very strange priming rituals . The way I really prime is I pour powder in the pan , any on the edges that will keep the pan from closing I brush away or into the pan , then close the pan ....thats it .And if the T.H. is drilled correctly and positioned correctly thats all you need to do . The gun is going to get carried around while hunting ...when I hear them say to push the priming away from the T.H. or to make a little mound in the middle of the pan it cracks me up . Its not going to stay there . I shoot all my guns I build upside down before they leave the shop . If they can't do that ,and very fast ignition , they dont leave till they do ....and I dont use 4F . The each their own though . Take care bud .

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

Pyrodex makes a great pan primer.

 

[TDM]

Pyrodex makes a great pan primer.

T7 is faster.

 

[Rob M.]

I'm sorry to disagree with you Rob, but I find the fastest is to make two small lines in the pan with 4F and have the lines in a V shape converging on the touch hole. So fast it can't be measured.

... 2F priming ....

 

[reddogge]

Oh , I was just joking bud , havin a little fun . Sorry . Its a spoof from the guys that have these very strange priming rituals . The way I really prime is I pour powder in the pan , any on the edges that will keep the pan from closing I brush away or into the pan , then close the pan ....thats it .And if the T.H. is drilled correctly and positioned correctly thats all you need to do . The gun is going to get carried around while hunting ...when I hear them say to push the priming away from the T.H. or to make a little mound in the middle of the pan it cracks me up . Its not going to stay there . I shoot all my guns I build upside down before they leave the shop . If they can't do that ,and very fast ignition , they dont leave till they do ....and I dont use 4F . The each their own though . Take care bud .

I know, I was just joking too.

 

[Rob M.]

Oh

I know, I was just joking too.

Oh shoot !! Ya got me ! He!! , I thought you was serious ! LOL ...ive seen some duzees !

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

When Im out of flints I use a chunk of dried smoldering cattail.

 

[Psycho Mike]

When Im out of flints I use a chunk of dried smoldering cattail.

While I am not sure how serious you are for a rifle, I have seen something very similar used on a cannon

 

[Commodore Swab]

Testing a lock by firing on its side instead of inverted will be more difficult. In regards to priming powder it's twice as fast if you grind up the 4f. That's what the dimple was for in the stocks. Who wants lube left out unprotected? However, a ball fits perfectly to grind up powder small mortar and pestle!

 

[tenngun]

I
I think we’re at that point now. But it gave everybody something to post about.

Whoops I saw a twitch

 

[bpd303]

You asked: "can the human brain really tell a difference in that time span of thousands of seconds?". My answer is: I dunno. But, I do know, I believe I can tell the difference. I have seen the vids and have seen the results. The difference, if any, is, supposedly, too small for the human brain to notice. I always use 4Fg for prime because when I started this game an old timer mentor told me "you are supposed to". So I did and got in the habit. Now, I have several pounds of 4Fg on hand that will last me years. I use it because I prefer it and have it. That is part of playing this 'do yer own thang' game.

I am of the same mind. My grandfather used 4fg to prim his original 36 caliber Ohio flint lock and he taught me that when I was just a kid of ten years old. Seventy years later 4fg is still my priming powder. He also taught me to wipe the frizzen, pan and flint once in a while, clean = fast ignition.
Besides that I have enough 4fg to supply several divisions of the Minutemen militia, if I ever get my time machine running and to return to 1776.